They take and take and take
In some parts of the world they don’t use cops or DPW employees as flagmen – they use mannequins.
In Connecticut, Police Officer Bob Nappe, president of the local police officers union, says that the union will take to arbitration the Board of Police Commissioners decision to dismiss a grievance opposing the town’s use Department of Public Works employees as traffic flagmen.
“I don’t understand why we are being continually punished by this administration,” Nappe said. “They’re taking away our dispatch and they’re taking away road work. How much else do they want to take away from our officers?”
According to Town Finance Director Paul Rizza, police officers make $45 an hour working traffic details. DPW workers make a little more than $24 per hour to do the same work. At Tuesday’s meeting Nappe noted that a public works employee was struck by a car on March 10 while working a road job. Nappe said an accident report revealed that workers failed to “set up a proper cone pattern” and that the accident could have been avoided had an officer been assigned to work the detail.
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