New England Coalition of Public Safety
NECOPS
Two huge wins for NECOPS members thanks to our legal team!!!!!
Two NECOPS members still have jobs thanks to the NECOPS legal team of Hanley, Hassett & Fitzsimmons, LLC. Had it not been for the fact that these members belonged to a strong union with superior legal services, they would both surely be looking for jobs in this tough economy.
1) Local 6 President Wayne Miller was “targeted for termination” by his employer, American International College, after non-job related allegations were made against him. President Miller was advised that his “Special Police Officer” status in the City of Springfield would soon be revoked, and that he would no longer be eligible for employment as a police officer at American International College, which would result in his immediate termination. NECOPS jumped into action, and our representatives attended several meetings with President Miller and his employer. It was quite obvious that saving President Miller’s job was going to be a difficult task, but Attorney Michael Hanley worked diligently on President Miller’s behalf. Thanks to the tireless efforts of Attorney Hanley and the rest of the NECOPS team, President Miller was able to retain his status as a “Special Police Officer” and his job at American International College.
Had this incident occurred just a few short months ago, prior to AIC joining NECOPS, President Miller would have been terminated without recourse. Thankfully that was not the case, because AIC did join NECOPS, and now belongs to the only union in New England dedicated to representing public safety professionals at private colleges and universities.
2) In July of 2009 a Suffolk University Security Officer and member of the New England Coalition of Public Safety (Local 7) was terminated. The member officer, a new mother working the midnight shift dozed off while on an assignment. A University employee working for the Office of Residence Life saw this and immediately reported it to several members of the University administration, including Vice-Presidents, Deans, and Human Resources.
The member officer, a 2 year employee, was called into a meeting with the Human Resources Director, Assistant Director, and Chief of Police and terminated on the spot. Local 7 immediately filed a stage 3 grievance on behalf of the member officer, as outlined in their Collective Bargaining Agreement with the University, and began the process of trying to get this officer reinstated. Suffolk University refused to reinstate the member officer.
Local 7 then filed a stage 4 grievance requesting that the case be sent to arbitration. The grievance was then assigned to the NECOPS legal team from Hanley, Hassett & Fitzsimmons LLC. Attorney Brian Fitzsimmons took the case, and filed all the necessary paperwork for arbitration.
Attorney Fitzsimmons contacted the University’s attorney to gather all the relevant evidence, and began negotiating for our member. An arbitrator was agreed upon and a date was scheduled for the hearing. During this time, Attorney Fitzsimmons met with Local 7 President Christopher DiBlasi and the terminated member to work on a defense. Attorney Fitzsimmons also had a phone interview with a witness of the incident. Attorney Fitzsimmons was in constant contact with President DiBlasi and the member, in addition to the University attorney throughout this case.
Several Days before the scheduled Arbitration hearing, the University attorney contacted Attorney Fitzsimmons and accepted a negotiated proposal of reinstatement of our member. The member was not only reinstated, but was given back full seniority from her original date of hire, some vacation accruals and some sick time accruals.
Without the assistance of the New England Coalition of Public Safety, and the diligent work by its representatives and attorneys, this member would not have been reinstated. This is a big win for NECOPS, as we made a stand against this large University, demanded fairness for our member, and were successful in our mission.
The last 18 months have been great for the New England Coalition of Public Safety, as we have brought on new Locals; negotiated several new Collective Bargaining Agreements; prevented and overturned terminations of our members; prevented and overturned several suspensions and written reprimands; and improved the overall working conditions for our members.
January 27, 2010 President McCarron testifies at the State House
NECOPS President Peter McCarron testified at a public hearing at the State House today in support of Senate Bill #921, which would allow all law enforcement officers to carry firearms in court while on official business. Also in attendance were representatives from the Environmental Police Association, who we all need to thank for filing this Bill, MPA, SPAM, MA Police Chiefs Association, MSPCA and MACLEA.
At the conclusion of the hearing, the Senators in attendance spoke in favor of the Bill and it will now be moved to the next phase of the process. The sponsor of the Bill, Senator Brewer, thanked all who attended and stated “In all of the years that I have been doing this, I have never seen such a unified group work together in support of a Bill.”
It is now up to each and every one of us to work together to get this Bill passed. Please contact your Senators and urge them to support Senate Bill #921. Click on the link below for information regarding your Senator.
NECOPS Local 3, Wentworth Police Patrolmen, ratify contract!
The following is an open letter from Brian Carr, the President of Local 3.
First off I want to express my sincere and profound thanks to all the members of NECOPS who made this contract and Wentworth's entry into NECOPS possible. A special thanks to Executive Director Dwayne Goldman without whose help and guidance this would have been a longer and more difficult process. Secondly I would like to thank President Peter McCarron whose support and advice was extremely helpful along with his presence at some of our meetings. Thirdly I would like to thank Executive Vice-President Chris DiBlasi who with his support and dedication to NECOPS is essential in maintaining and growing this Union. Finally I need to send a huge thanks out to our Consultant, Sean McArdle for his patience and hard work in negotiating our contract.
To highlight the positives in our contract I have to begin by saying that this is my first contract and Union. I view the whole contract and being a local of NECOPS as a positive just for the fact that the Wentworth Patrolman now have a voice. Some of the more positive aspects in our contract are the pay increases that the officers received and that the contract calls for 3% for the next 4 years and an increase in the differential. We also negotiated first right of refusal, injury benefits, just cause clause and training equipment standards. All this and future benefits wouldn't have been possible without joining NECOPS. Once again I would like to extend my thanks and appreciation to all those who gave their help and support.
Brian Carr
President
NECOPS Local 3
Wentworth Police Dept
September 10, 2009 American International College joins NECOPS!!!!
The National Labor Relations Board conducted a secret ballot election for the men and women of the American International College Police Department in Springfield, MA on September 9, 2009. Even after the administration at AIC spread their lies and propaganda about NECOPS and unions in general, the majority of the hard working men and women at AIC voted “YES” to join the only labor organization in New England dedicated to serving private sector public safety employees.
NECOPS will begin working with Local 6 immediately to draft an initial collective bargaining agreement and start making positive changes to their current working conditions. We welcome the dedicated men and women of the AIC Police Department into our organization, and look forward to working with each and every one of them!!
July 30, 2009 Boston College Officer gets national recognition!!
The New England Coalition of Public Safety is extremely proud to announce that Officer Martin Curley of the Boston College Police Department (NECOPS Local 2) has been named “Officer of the Month” for August, 2009 by the Board of Directors of the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund. In 1996 the NLEOMF instituted the Officer of the Month program, recognizing that not all heroes are called upon to make the ultimate sacrifice. The program recognizes and honors living law enforcement officers who distinguish themselves through exemplary service and devotion to duty.
On October 20, 2008, Officer Curley and several other Boston College Police Officers rescued two men from a manhole after they had been rendered unconscious by toxic liquid nitrogen fumes. Had it not been for the heroic actions of Officer Curley and his fellow officers, both men would likely have perished due to their exposure to the liquid nitrogen fumes. During the rescue effort, Officer Curley was lowered into the manhole wearing an improvised breathing device and managed to pull both men to safety. Officer Curley injured his knee during the rescue and required surgery and months of physical therapy before returning to work.
Officer Curley has since been recognized by the Boston Celtics as a “Hero Among Us” and was given an award by the Massachusetts Association of Campus Law Enforcement Administrators (MACLEA). He was also recognized as the NECOPS Officer of the Year and was presented with the first ever Thomas E. Devlin, Jr. award.
In May of 2010, Officer Curley will be honored in Washington, D.C. during National Police Week along with the other Officer of the Month Award recipients. You can learn more about this prestigious award by visiting www.nleomf.org.
Congratulations Officer Curley!!!!!
7/21/09 Local 5, Stonehill College Police Union, ratifies new three year contract
Members of Local 5 unanimously ratified a new three year collective bargaining agreement which features a 2% pay increase each year. A 2% raise each year is nice, but the members have much more to be thankful for. This was the first collective bargaining agreement that NECOPS has negotiated for the Stonehill College officers, who recently separated from a larger SEIU group on campus.
In addition to the pay increase, officers now also receive a clothing allowance, something they have never received before. The first year allowance is $800, and increases by $100 each year of the contract. The rate for details paid by outside vendors has been increased by almost $7/hr, to $38. Officers assigned as the “Officer In Charge” will receive an increase from $1.50/hr to $2.50/hr. A weekend shift differential has been increased from $.50/hr to $.75/hr. Any officer assigned as a Field Training Officer, who works as an FTO for at least 8 shifts per month, will receive a $175 stipend for that month. Previously, officers were not compensated for working as an FTO. A significant non-monetary item that previously did not exist is shift bidding. Members of Local 5 will now have the opportunity to bid for shifts by seniority every year.
Local 5 President Mike Tepper praised the New England Coalition of Public Safety and stated, “I heard horror stories from the last contract negotiation sessions, and this being my first contract, I was apprehensive heading in. But I just followed Sean's lead and everything fell in place. His professionalism, knowledge, and calm demeanor set the tone, and kept things moving in a positive direction”.
Members of Local 4 unanimously ratified a new three year contract which includes retroactive pay to February 1, 2009. The Local 4 negotiating team, which included Local President Joe Cibotti, Officer Tim Kennefick and Officer Michelle Leblanc, along with NECOPS Executive Director Dwayne Goldman, worked tirelessly on behalf of the membership. Curry College Settles Prohibited Practice Charges Filed by the New England Coalition of Public Safety In November of 2008, the overwhelming majority of the officers employed by the Curry College Department of Public Safety provided the New England Coalition of Public Safety (NECOPS) a petition requesting that NECOPS act as their exclusive bargaining agent and representative. The Curry Officers are non-union, but decided to follow the lead of many other groups in the area and join the only union in New England dedicated to representing private sector public safety officers and support personnel. NECOPS submitted the petition and a request for voluntary recognition to Curry College on November 17, 2008. Not surprisingly, the request for voluntary recognition was denied and NECOPS filed a petition with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) in December. The purpose of the petition filed with the NLRB was to obtain a representative election to allow the Curry College Officers the opportunity to have a secret ballot election to vote for or against joining NECOPS. Long before the Curry College Officers would have the opportunity to vote, they were summoned to a meeting with the President of Curry College, Ken Quigley and the Director of Public Safety, Brian Greeley. Going into the meeting, the union had overwhelming support from the Officers. At the conclusion of the meeting, many of those same officers feared that they would lose many of the benefits they currently enjoy. Some even feared losing their jobs. After gathering more information, it was clear to the NECOPS leadership and NECOPS Chief Counsel Michael Hanley of Hanley, Hassett and Fitzsimmons from Quincy that Curry College had violated the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), and NECOPS filed a total of 12 charges of prohibited practice against Curry College and the administration. The NLRB assigned the case to an Attorney who conducted a very thorough investigation. The investigation itself took months to complete. Curry College initially refused to cooperate with the NLRB, and eventually was forced to turn over documents regarding the charges. Curry College Public Safety Officer Jeff Lurie led the charge to join NECOPS. Jeff is a dedicated employee who has been given immense responsibility by the College because he is very intelligent and good at what he does. He is also a strong union supporter, and he knew it would be in the best interest of all of Curry’s officers to form a Local of NECOPS. It was Jeff who went to each officer to explain the benefits of joining NECOPS and ask them if they wished to sign the petition. Curry College decided it would be in their best interest to settle the case. The NLRB and NECOPS would only agree to the settlement if Jeff and his fellow officers were strongly protected against retaliation and retribution by Curry College. The settlement agreement does just that. Curry College now has to post a federal “Notice To Employees” for 60 days prior to the re-scheduled representative election, which will now take place on July 9, 2009. The New England Coalition of Public Safety made a promise to Jeff and the rest of the officers from Curry College to support them through every step of this process. We did not, and will not, allow Curry College to “bully” their officers into voting against the union. That is a decision that must be made by each individual officer after he or she has been educated and informed about the benefits of joining the organization. Click here to view the "Notice To Employees".
.
