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JUNE UPDATE

June winds down as vacation season starts in full swing there is plenty of news to report.

First, legislative news from Hartford where the Governor HB 5536 An Act Establishing The Connecticut Health Care Partnership vetoed the chance at municipal employees to share state employee health care plans. However it does leave municipalities the opportunity to participate in the alternative mega MEHIP plan. Potentially not as good but it is a place to start. AFSME Council 4 president said it best when he spoke to Council 15 members explaining the issue simply, "municipal employees want the same health care the Governor has".

Attorney General Richard Blumenthal recently ruled that Public Act 07-161 entitled An Act Concerning Survivor Benefits that allows survivors any line of duty death to receive survivor benefits and shall not terminate upon the remarriage of the spouse of such member.

Public Act 07-17 Concerning Police Officer Standards and Training Council. The act places a sworn municipal police officer up to the rank of Sergeant on the POST board.

This past month New London once again player host to the 41st Annual Council 15 Convention. The event was another great success with guest speakers that included Mayor Kevin Cavanagh, State Comptroller (and Local 724 personal friend) Nancy Wyman, Attorney General Richard Blumenthal, State Minority Leader Larry Cafero and Connecticut AFL-CIO president John Olsen.

As usual President Segar delivered one hell of an all day show. Ocean Beach was a gracious host with plenty of food and refreshments, a shout out to Boston Concessions Dave Sugrue and his crew for a job well done.

The night was only beginning with a great happy hour at Hanafin's Pub until over 65 union members boarded Cross Sound Ferry for a 3 hour cruise to New York and back. The event could not have been the huge success it was without the unbelievable help from Shawn Jones from Outback Steakhouse who catered the event with a stunning menu of delicious food.

Likewise Cross Sound Ferry outdid themselves with the help from Rich Mc Murray and Julie Campanaro Rich made every logistical problem into an easy solution. Julie who moonlights as Food Services Director was the ever gracious host and A1 bartender who ensured everybody had a good time on the boat. Additionally we raised over $500 for the Julian McCourt Children's Education Fund.

The dark days of doing more with less have finally been put behind us. We are now doing more with more. Our members continue on a daily basis of making New London as safe as it can be. We are on an historic and potentially record breaking level of activity with dramatic spike in arrests, issued citations and field contacts.

Our efforts have not gone unnoticed, a recent Day editorial took note of a new vibe downtown with unlimited potential just starting to come to the surface. While the paper did not credit the police with this new found optimism. We all know that public safety (real and perceived) is an absolute important ingredient in any successful community. You are all to be commended for a job well done.

Item last, we have gone public with our news of the 140th Anniversary Celebration "Rockin with the Cops" set for Thursday October 30, 5:30-9:30pm at the New London Radisson Hotel.

This will be the the mega cocktail party of the year where we invite the public to join with us in this historic event of honoring the past and present members of service on their dedication to public service protecting the community since 1868 .With help from the Radisson's own Lisa Kasprazak we plan to have great food, entertainment and refreshments!

The PBA has signed on as the Chief Presenting Sponsor. Hanafins accepted a Captain Sponsor Level. The success of such a big event can only happen with the generous help from civic and business leaders in the community. We have reached out to many of them seeking their support. If any member or reader of this column knows of someone or they themselves want to help please download our sponsor packet information off the local 724 web site.

Please consider a sponsorship as a "win-win" for the community and your current and new potential customers who support advertisers like you who participate in civic events.

MAY UPDATE

May ended with several important issues on the front burner.

The General Assembly approved legislation entitled "The Connecticut Healthcare Partnership" which would pool municipal employees into state healthcare plans to reduce costs, expand coverage's and realize tax savings. The bill now sits on the Governor's desk for her signature. Governor Rell is reluctant to sign the bill fearing a rise in state healthcare costs.

Attorney General Richard Blumenthal researched the issue and believes her fears are unfounded and supports signing the bill into law. Locally we could see the better or significantly the same coverage at lower costs to both the city and our members cost share contributions. New London city manager Martin Berliner is interested in exploring such a plan if it becomes available. The union will want to ensure the plan is the same or better for our members before bargaining away our current healthcare plan.

Locally, the city passed it's FY 08-09 budget plan with a 5-2 vote along party lines. The police budget includes two new sergeant positions. Our sources have advised us the Lower Our Taxes organization would not pursue a budget referendum this year. However, it seems former councilor Bill Cornish is leading a grass roots effort to seek out a budget referendum. His budget concerns have not been made available to us at the time of this column being written. Local 724 has no indication if this effort will stall any upcoming promotions.

You know it's summer when you hear the familiar sounds of crickets. Strange thing is it's still spring, but the crickets can be heard from city hall. Your union is patiently waiting for an actuarial study contracted by the city on potential costs associated with medical benefits for future retirees. The city claims to have requested the study in early April and expected it to take only a few weeks. The Union suspended talks until the report was available. So we continue to wait and hear the summer sounds of crickets from city hall.

Council 15 will hold it's annual one day state convention at Ocean Beach on Friday June 20. The day ends with an afternoon cruise to Long Island and back aboard a Cross Sound Ferry. The three hour cruise will include refreshments, food and entertainment. A portion of the proceeds will benefit The Juliana McCourt Foundation. All members are invited and encouraged to come aboard to enjoy a great afternoon for a good cause.

March 08 update

The month of March where spring is eternal closes out more like a lion than a lamb. The leadership was able to reach a tentative agreements with the city on random drug testing policy, and the implementation of a drug dog. We continue talks with the city for medical benefits upon retirement. The issues on the table are many which will require give and take by both sides but will ultimately be decided upon by costs.

Our position is simple, we need to make NLPD competitive with salary and benefits if we are to remain successful with recruitment and retention. We are fortunate of all the new hires in the last 18 months, but the shortage of qualified candidates is real and we will loose our gains if we can't make our salary and benefits competitive with the state and local agencies fighting over the same small pool of applicants.

Let me take a moment to say thank you to the many faces that make up NLPD. Unfortunately official departmental recognition is an oxymoron, so the great work of our membership goes largely unnoticed. After all it was 17 years after Hurricane Gloria (1985) before recognition was presented to those still with the department!

First and foremost as many of the new hires are beginning to hit the streets, we have more boots on the ground aggressively targeting the drug dealers and associated criminal elements with early success.

The Anti Violence Team has become the pit bull of the department taking back the streets every night. Their daily results are notable felony drug arrests, serving multiple outstanding arrest warrants and just making it difficult for the street level drug dealers to conduct business .

Similarly the detectives have been working hard on many violent crimes that have led to several high profile arrests for homicide, robbery and assaults with firearms. Likewise the Vice investigators along with SNTF and ATF have made some significant arrests and seizures of drugs and weapons.

Last but not least is the Patrol Division, the flat foots are the backbone of the agency yet more often than not seem to be treated like the doormat. 24/7 365 patrol officers keep the vigil on crime in the city. With the much needed infusing of new officers we can see the beginning of a new era, where the punks, thugs and drug dealers are begriming to look over their shoulder all the time because Five O is stopping everybody out there.

As some may recall, it was a regular road trooper that stopped federal building bomber Tim McVeigh on a routine traffic stop. A rookie Customs and Immigration Officer with three weeks on the job stopped a terrorist trying to enter the US from Canada who was planning on blowing up LAX. So while patrol may be thought of as the grunts of the food chain, time and again patrol has made significant arrests. Most recently where a domestic violence call on Hawthorne Drive resulted in seizing 4 lbs of marijuana, 2 handguns and $8,000 and taking another thug off the New London streets. So to all the members of Local 724 this Bud is for YOU!

With the budget season upon us, we once again have to fight for limited funding. Fortunately this city council has made the decision that of New London is to prosper it needs to be safe. For their parts they came back with fair wages in our recent contract and we have hired more officers in the last 18 months than we have hired in 14 years. I commend the city council and the city manager for being our advocate.

The Chief has submitted an ambitious budget that includes additional staffing of patrol officers, detectives, supervisors and Deputy Chief. This proposal if adopted will allow for more police personnel to be deployed to the streets where more initiatives can be implemented to fight crime and give back the neighborhoods to the residents.

Councilor Buscetto is right when he made public safety his top priority by saying if the city isn't safe than New London can't prosper. All members are asked to support the Chief's proposal. You can do your part by you, your friends and family contacting the councilors and let them know you want the police budget approved.

FEBRUARY BEGINS WITH MANY ISSUES ON THE TABLE

As we enter mid winter and spring right around the corner it is time to update you on Local 724's progress operating on many fronts.

First, a follow up on pending legislation. As you will recall from my September 07 posting the 110th Congress has pending legislation from House Bill 82 and Senate Bill 206 both entitled Social Security Act of 2007 seeking repeal of Government Pension Offset (GPO) and Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) where the government takes your money away from you because as a government pensioner who contributed both your pension plus social security but claim you are not entitled to benefit from two pensions, unless you work for a private employer. The aforementioned bills would repeal such penalties to us as pensioners and allow us to be treated like everybody else.

An inquiry was made to Council 15 Legislative Affairs Director Tom Carrozza who contacted AFSCME International in Washington for an update.

The House Ways and Means Committee took testimony this past January on overview of the problems and potential future costs to reverse the provisions. Accordingly there have been other bills offering less expensive options including H.B. 726, 1090 and 2772 that offer improvements to the pensioner at less costs to the government. To date no votes have been taken and the bills are still active in committee. I will keep everyone updated as information becomes available.

President Segar has maintained a continuing dialog with representatives from Comptroller Nancy Wyman's office regarding new legislative action for improvements in the Municipal Employee Retirement System (MERS).

After many months of talks with members of International Brotherhood of Police Officers (IBPO) and International Association of Fire Fighters the concept agreed upon remains improvements that will all MERS cities and towns to compete with state public safety workers with similar percentages of salary upon 25 years of completed service that will improve recruitment and retention of public safety municipal employees. The goal is to introduce legislation in this session of the General Assembly scheduled to begin February 6, 2008.

Once we have an idea of the Bill provisions and if or when it is introduced we will advise members to make themselves available for for a possible field trip to the Legislative Office Building as well as contacting our respective Representatives and Senators seeking for our legislative support.

Medical benefits upon retirement is another hot button topic in the PD hallways. We have started discussions with the city and have several schedule future dates on the agenda. It is our hope and intent to work for a fair proposal that will ensure the welfare of our members and their families that we can bring back to the membership. We will talk as long as necessary to find a solution.

724 is also working on enacting a random drug test policy with City Hall. Obviously the citizens have the right to expect any city employee, especially police are free of illicit drugs. We have no reason to believe any members are using illicit drugs but we want to ensure the rights of the membership on any implementation of new protocols, ensure privacy and a standard of fairness are included in any settlement. The end result will be a fair and workable policy that protects the city, its residents and it's employees from drug abuse.

Congratulations are in order to newly minted Captain Peg Ackley, Lt. Jeff Kalolo and Sgt George Potts. It is always exciting to see upward movement in the department. In fact City Council is reviewing a request creating two new Sgt positions for the next fiscal year. The union recognizes the need for more supervision and supports the proposal welcomes the initiative as we begin to bring the department in a new and better direction. To our city residents who regularly read our updates, please show your support to the councilors and encourage them to create these needed positions.

As this update is being written on 2/1/08 we have sworn in yet another three new officers, bringing the total officers to 85. Remember many of these men and women are either just starting, currently attending, about to graduate the academy or in some phase of supervised field training. Still it is exciting to see the future of NLPD being created in front of us.

The year in review 2007

As the final days of 2007 are upon us I thought it would be fun to look back at the issues we faced over the last year. Here are some highlights in no particular order

City Manager Marty Berliner has completed his first full ca lender year and adjusted well. He brings a welcomed attitude and willingness to address many labor issues and city failings on many problems. We settled a good contract that gave us much needed raises allowing us to attracts and retain officers. But there was that one sticky problem with private eyes watching you, that chapter remains a work in progress. More to follow

Staffing shortages was the most critical problem we faced this past year. NLPD said good bye to retirees Garcia, DiNoto, Hesney, Persi, Nott, Edwards, Hedge and Meehan while the "Fab 4" jumped ship to join CSP. At the same time we hired 18 FNG's all wide eyed and wonderful waiting to save the world with their shiny new badges.

In between the hiring and retiring all the regular grunts in patrol worked alot of hours many forced to keep the department running. No mention of the years activities could be complete without thanking everybody who had to work missing so many hours away from family and friends for the sake of the city. Thank You!

Which brings up the lack of FTO's. Too many newbies and too few FTO's left many a rookie warming a seat in dispatch or the shift commanders office for too many shifts. Speaking of FNG's it was nice to steal from CSP when we hired Todd Lynch! He seems to have "embraced the chaos" with few problems. Now tell me again... when does the dog start? Welcome aboard Todd.

Segar was named Labor Leader of the Year by Council 15, Rodgers accepted Detective MVP, Officer of the Year was an interesting turn of events but no less deserving to Cucuro, while the badge #1 idea was not ready for prime time.

City elections went better than expected with 6 of 7 endorsed candidates picking up council seats and the mayor. Union elections were exciting resulting in a run off where Flynn won by a hair. Departing Executive Board members Cable and Pickett were thanked and honored for their work and contributions while Laurie and Potts joined the team.

Promotion issues started and ended the year with controversy. In January the city extended the certified Sgt and Lt promotional list, Union had other ideas and threw out the lists. New lists offered Barney and Bergeson new stripes while Kalolo waits patiently for bars. Which leads up to the Captain's test. After protracted talks that ebbed and flowed from our esteemed Personnel Coordinator finally resulted in a settlement and promotional captain's test. The release of those results have been slowed to a standstill causing unneeded speculation of city hall interference is in play.

Velez wrecked only three cars this year while the city replaced our aging and miserable fleet with 9 new cruisers. Unprecedented! Another year or two and we could actually have a pretty nice fleet of cars to overfill the too small parking lot. If ever there is a photo op of what grid lock is any one with a camera between 1300-1600 hours need look no further than the parking lot. I never thought so many cars could fit in such a small space.

Speaking of travel Segar and Flynn attended the first national AFSCME law enforcement conference in DC while other E Board members attend the annual AFCME convention in Atlantic City.

Our charitable efforts continued at Dodd Stadium in August where the cops played the hose heads for the annual McCourt Foundation. Thanksgiving allowed Cable and Keating to once again with the help of Shop Rite pack the paddy wagon for the community food pantry. Christmas season we joined forces with Joni Discordia to provide gift cards to deserving families provided by neighborhood alliance.

Many visitors came to New London this year, none more important than the President who gave commencement at USCGA. His visit was especially tense this year with the war in Iraq encouraging quite a few diverse groups of protesters. Once again NLPD along with CSP kept things quiet. A big thank you to CSP Major Steve Fields who coordinated with Chief Rinehart to ensure adequate staffing was the order of the day.

Perhaps the most memorable expression on the skirmish line of opposing protesters along Mohegan Ave were the Veterans supporting Bush who exchanged taunts with Code Pink anti war protesters..."Ladies take off your tops for Peace"

Cruise Lines discovered New London this year bringing in many a new face to discover the city. SailFest once again took the city hostage for three days in July which begs the question just how many people can fit in the city for fireworks night? Speaking of fireworks the parking lot bomb threat resulted in unprecedented cooperation from the FBI and CSP. Our position .. Thanks for the help!

The fall brought the return of Irish festival and the Currach races, once again those stinking big hats stole the race from us. Maybe next year will be our year.

No look back can be complete without a look ahead. Local 724 will continue to ensure we provide a good working contract as we seek two significant benefit improvements, medical insurance for retirees and increased percentage in retirement calculations. 2008 will no doubt bring new challenges which we will try to turn into opportunities to make our members, this agency and city the best we can be. Happy New Year

Local 724 Keeps All Cylinders Firing 12/1/07

The police union continues making forward progress on many fronts!

The promotional exam for Police Captain has been posted with the test scheduled for 12/17/07. This position has been vacant since Ken Edwards retired in July. Since that time the Patrol Division has suffered from a lack of direction and leadership. Good Luck to the Applicants!

The leadership has started negotiations with the city for retirement health care benefits. With ongoing discussions between both sides this will not be the forum for details of the process. We look forward to productive talks and a win/win outcome for both sides

On the MERF improvement political front, we have had several meetings with a number of people including representatives from IBPO, AFSCME and IAFF to narrow down what specific issues all parties will agree is important to their members. Follow up with staffers from the Comptrollers office is in the works to find workable language and fact find cost benefits analysis. Our goal is and remains to submit a good passable Bill in the next legislative session set to begin 2/6/07.

Good news from city hall this week announcing Kevin Cavanagh as the next mayor and Wade Hyslop as Deputy Mayor. Both are knowledgeable, experienced with demonstrated political experience that have a genuine desire to make New London a great city.

More importantly that are solid Local 724 supporters who have always given us a fair shake on our issues before them. Both will be sworn in Monday 12/3/07 at city hall. Mayor Cavanagh, his family and friends will be at Hanafin's Pub 310 State Street Monday night for a pint or two to celebrate the new lineup at city hall. Please stop by and say hello.

Lastly and most closest to home, Monday 12/3/07 724 has an election run off between Rob Pickett and myself for the contested executive board seat. On the positive side both candidates bring knowledge and experience to the table. Fortunately the membership will benefit regardless of who wins. Regrettably only one will remain on the EBoard following the election. After Monday's vote count please congratulate the winner on his victory and even more importantly take a moment to thank defeated candidate since both have worked equally hard to make this union the best it can be.

Six of Unions endorsed candidate win!

Thanks 724 for voting!

11-8-07
New London Police Union once again demonstrates we are the "little engine that could" does it again as six of our seven endorsed candidates win a city council seat!

Local 724 members were working the phones at democratic headquarters along side our FDNL brothers. Our homework paid off and we can let our hair down and celebrate the hard fought win.

As we prepare for the next two years we look forward to work closely with the council to endure better working conditions for our members and delivering the best police service possible to residents and visitors to the whaling city.

We also want to congratulate councilor Adam Sprecace on his election victory. While he was not endorsed by us. He is a smart and capable gentleman who provides a new perspective with fresh ideas and we look forward to working with him as well. Congratulations Councilor Sprecace!

A note of thanks is in order for outgoing councilors Bill Cornish and Charles Frink. While we may have had our political differences, they are admirable men with a history of public service who supported our current contract. Best of luck to both of them in their future endeavors.

We are eager to work with City Manager Marty Berliner and the new councilors to help make the city the best it can be.

Just a few words about the city council candidate interviews held on October 3, 2007. Our executive board invited every registered candidate to the event. For those that did not show they were eliminated from further consideration. The remainder were asked a series of fair and pointed questions on the state of the city and what visions and plans they had to improve the city over the next two years. From the answers provided we were able to make an informed decision on which candidates we believe are the best to guide the city through the next council session.

Local 724 heartily endorsed the listed candidates. All have public service backgrounds with insight and knowledge of how the city works and how to maximize it's potential in the next few years.

It is for this reason we ask that you become informed on the issues facing the city and the candidates running for council. We believe that the slate of candidates endorsed are the best ready to serve the citizens of New London and encourage you to get out the vote this election day and vote for our candidates.

This election day please vote for : Peg Curtin (D), Wade Hyslop (D), Kevin Cavanagh (D), Tim West (D), John Maynard (D). Mike Buscetto III (D) and Rob Pero (R).

If you have the time or resources please consider donating campaign money to the candidates to defer campaign costs, volunteer at the party headquarters a few hours a week making calls or preparing literature, help on election day holding candidate signs at the polls o by helping your neighbors by offering rides to the polls. Every little bit helps. Together we can make a better New London.

VOTE This election day.

Local 724 Interviews 2007 Candidates for City Council.

REPORT - AFSCME L.E. Conference

President Segar and yours truly just returned from the 1st annual AFSCME Public Safety Officers Conference held in Washington where over 500 officers from around the country lobbied for legislation that impacts directly on police officers.

The three main issues of interest with the 110th Congress are:
Collective Bargaining Rights for Public Safety Officers
Law Enforcement Due Process Rights
Government Pension Offset and Windfall Elimination Provision
COLLECTIVE BARGAINING: The House passed H.R. 980 on 7/17/07 and a Senate companion bill S. 206 will soon be introduced in the Senate. The legislation establishes minimum standards which state laws must meet and provides a mechanism for resolving impasse in states without such laws. We in Connecticut are fortunate to already have these protections but may officers in the south and west don't have any of these protections.

DUE PROCESS RIGHTS FOR POLICE: The state and Local Law Enforcement Discipline Accountability and Due Process Act of 2007 (S.449) and the companion bill (H.R. 688) provides for practical, sensible and respectful guidelines which will ensure rights of officers are protected while also providing for a full investigation of the alleged misconduct. Such guidelines will ensure fair and professional examination and unbiased review of internal and criminal investigations against sworn officers.

PENSION OFFSETS: The Government Pension Offset (GPO) and the Windfall Elimination Provisions (WEP) of the Social Security Act unfairly punish public safety personnel by taking away Social Security benefits earned and paid for by certain public employees including police officers. Under the GPO, if the public pensioner (you) is eligible for spouse or widow's Social Security benefit, the law requires that benefits be offset by the amount equal to 2/3 of a retiree' public pension. The law when enacted years ago targeted persons who had double and triple pensions sometimes making more in pensions than when working that Congress had in mind when the GPO was passed is no longer valid and the GPO is too harsh on public pensioners.

The WEP applies to individuals who receive a pension from a public service job not covered by Social Security (NLPD). If the public pensioner also worked in a Social Security job for at least 10 years, the WEP creates a public pension offset that can greatly reduce the person's Social Security benefits. Social Security wont let a pensioner keep two full benefits. Normal benefit's formula which is weighed in favor of lower-wage workers, WEP retiree's benefits are calculated using a modified formula for higher wage earners. The WEP was created in 1983 by Congress to distinguish between two types of retirees-those who receive good pensions from primary jobs in non covered employment, but whose low wages or short work records from secondary jobs make them appear to have had low wage careers; and others who actually spent their entire lives in low wage jobs. Supports of WEP believed that those with secondary jobs were getting an unfair advantage from a Social Security formula designed to give low wage workers a decent income upon retirement. However, the Social Security Administration does not determine what a public employee has hearkened in total wages but treats the retiree as a high wage earner under WEP thus unfairly penalizing these public pensioners. Simply put we want to see participants be entitled to the full benefits they earned and deserve.


Local 724 and other Council 15 delegates went to lobby some of the Connecticut congressional delegation. Both Senators Dodd and Lieberman did not make themselves available granting access to staffers instead. Representatives Murphy and Courtney were found passing in the Cannon House Office Building hallways and were not available for a meeting. Representative Delauro did meet her 3rd Congressional District constituents in her office. Representative Delauro has a strong history of being open and friendly with law enforcement. Both she and Representative Chris Murphy graciously made an appearance at the AFSCME Congressional Reception. The Senators as well as Representatives Larson and Courtney were not in attendance.

Overall the DC trip was a good experience for Local 724 and Council 15. AFSCME will press to see these Bills pass both chambers and try to enact them into law in this session.

CITY ELECTIONS: Again this election season Local 724 will host a question and answer session with candidates for city council. A firm date will be announced soon.

Summer Slows Down as Union Speeds Up

Mid August and most members are returning from their respective well earned vacations. September approaches with Local 724 involved in many events.

August 25th members are encouraged to support the union by helping cook and sell burgers or our T shirts at this years Celts and currachs boat race at City Pier and in Irish festival on upper State Street 10-6PM. Net proceeds go directly to the union.

August 29 New London's Finest (NLPD) vs. New London's Bravest (FDNL) at the annual Juliana McCourt Charity Softball Game held at Dodds Stadium at 3PM. Juliana was killed on 9/11 at the World Trade Center, each year monies raised benefits a non profit foundation in her memory. Everyone is encouraged to attend.

September 5-7 President Segar and yours truly are off to Washington DC for the first annual AFL-CIO National Law Enforcement Conference. Included will be a meeting with some of Connecticut's Congressional leaders. We hope to strengthen our existing relationships and create new friendships while in our nation's capitol.

This year will also be municipal elections. The union will once again conduct city council candidate interviews with the intent of endorsing a slate of candidates. As many will recall from recent elections Local 724 is a proven political ally and voracious campaign engine when engaged.

Issues important to our members include:

- Continue to fund and hire new officers to reach authorized
strength
- Ensure administration continues to hire for shift vacancies
- Obtain medical benefits upon retirement
- Replace aging police vehicles
- Expand Tazer implementation to field officers
- Implement patrol rifle training and deploy weapons

724 looks forward to the next few months with an eye on the future, always focused on good working relationships and better working conditions for it's membership.

Contract Signed, Money on the Way!
SAILFEST 07 is in the can

Today we bear the fruits of our hard labors! The contract is signed, new raises are in effect and signing bonus checks are on the way. Congratulations to the negotiation team. The success of the Local 724 has been the result of small efforts repeated day in and day out.

Another SAILFEST is now behind us. In the end the administration sought out a collaborative effort and incorporated some new ideas on deployment. Chief Rinehart empowered Captain Mike Lacey to ensure the event was safe for everyone. Frankly this event is so big we can no longer handle it with out mutual aid, these new ideas proved that working as a team we can achieve great things.

A big thank you and round of applause to all the federal, state and local police agencies who helped make SAILFEST a safe and relatively quiet weekend. A special word of thanks to FBI-New Haven for their Homeland Security resources and CSP Major Steve Fields who was able to provide over 30 additional troopers and assets on fireworks nite.

The city too gets a big thank you, City Manager Marty Berliner ensured fresh food and plenty of cool drinks for all on duty personnel were available throughout the weekend. It was greatly appreciated.

Local 724 once again hosted a post fireworks cookout at the "Winthrop Grill" for all public safety personnel who worked the event. Just a small token of our appreciation to all who helped us.

THANK YOU!

No Rest for 724 Members During Summer Months
June 23, 2007

Local 724 has all cylinders firing as we head into the summer. The contract committee is finalizing contract language on a long over due update of our contract with all our prior agreements properly codified.

The work is slow and detail orientated but ever so important, now more than ever with rumors of more retirements swirl. This new contract will ensure our membership continues to benefit from prior hard fought working condition settlements between the city and the union. Bad news is the retro pay due us will not be available until the final contract is signed, expected to be on or about August 1. However the good news is members will receive a long overdue raise of 8% effective July 1.

Meanwhile work continues on potential retirement improvements. President Segar and his committee plan to have a bill introduced in the next legislative session (Jan 08). asking for higher annual increments towards retirement benefits.

Similarly the city Retirement Health Savings (RHS) plan with ICMA is problematic. The current plan is no longer recognized by IRS and will require hard work to find an acceptable solution. Current participants are in a period of limbo while we figure out what to do. Meetings are being scheduled and hope to find an acceptable solution
.
With SAILFEST upon us once again, many members are frustrated that the PD simply doesn't have the manpower to safely handle the event. Now whether the issue is staffing shortages due to attrition/retirements or the event has become too big for the city to handle is an argument for another day. But what remains a constant is a very tired Patrol Division being tasked out once again to do more with less on a summer weekend that always exceeds our limitations.

The union drafted a memo to the administration highlighting manpower concerns, offering mutual aid/deployment suggestions and expressed our willingness to help formulate a better/safer plan. To date we have not been asked to help in any planning. Local 724 will continue to monitor events and fact find the SAILFEST issue and file appropriate actions should our worse fears be realized.

For those members who worked the USCGA Presidential visit, a tip of the hat for a job well done! Our members provided a very visible police presence that was safe and uneventful for President Bush, CGA families, protestors and the New London community.

I don't know of any local police agency that is routinely handicapped with a daily diet of A-Z SNAFU's that consistently get in the way of the mission, yet we are able to overcome and deliver when called upon.

With that in mind we have averaged 300 overtime shifts per month since January. Patrol Division is beat up, tired overworked and under appreciated. The police officers assigned to patrol have been routinely ordered in several times each week and continue to meet the challenges.

Kudos' to Support Services and a few detectives who have helped out with some shifts, but this is really directed at Patrol Division. We are all tired, we have all exceeded what is expected of us and continue to carry on with the mission despite the many short comings.

As you all know official recognition for a job well done around here is scant (and that is being generous). But what we do have is each other. The members of this union have regularly demonstrated a high degree of integrity,due diligence, perseverance and personal sacrifice to preserve and protect the safety of the people of New London. The Officers and Executive Board of Local 724 recognize and appreciate the efforts of our members.

Membership Ratifies New Contract...
We Continue our Mission to Improve Working Conditions

The Negotiating Committee delivered a new contract to the members for ratification after 5 months of hard work of contract talks with the city. Anyone who has ever sat in on negotiations knows there are times when you would rather have bamboo shoots shoved under a finger nail than continue to bang heads on tough issues. These talks were no different.

Hard work and a mutual understanding by both the union and city that a more competitive contract was necessary for both sides to benefit resulted in this agreement. Is it perfect? Of course not. Are there some issues unresolved? You bet. Parties always leave the bargaining table less than satisfied but, that is the nature of the beast. Think of this contract as the first big step in an evolving process over the next several years to make NLPD competitive with all of it's contemporaries.

Our projects include continuing talks next year with the city to provide medical benefits upon retirement, improve our MERF retirement package with the State Comptroller and improve daily working conditions at NLPD. Nothing is easy, the bigger the reward the more effort that is required.

The union is committed to improve the working conditions of it's members. Everyone is encouraged to become more involved in the process after all it effects you directly.
A big round of applause is in order for the negotiating team of Chip Segar, Mike Strecker, Roger Baker and Toni Walker.

Similarly we must also recognize and applaud the efforts of City Manager Marty Berliner, Chief Rinehart and Bernadette Welch, the city councilors and State Representative Ernie Hewitt. They understood our plight and had the courage to stand up, do the right thing and make our wages more competitive. Thank you.

Substitute for Raised H.B. No. 7265

AN ACT CONCERNING THE POLICE OFFICER STANDARDS AND TRAINING COUNCIL.

To add a sworn municipal police officer to the governing body of the Police Officer Standards and Training Council.

On Tuesday April 25, 2007 the State Senate took up H.B. No. 7265 and passed the Bill in concurrence with the House of Representatives.
H.B. No. 7265 will now be sent to Governor Rell for her signature. According to the rules of the General Assembly, this must be done within twenty days during the Session. If not signed in to law, the Bill automatically becomes law after twenty days.
The concept in H.B. No. 7265 was introduced at the request of Council 15 earlier in the 2007 Session of the General Assembly. This Bill is important to the rank and file municipal police officers in Connecticut because it establishes a liaison between the Police Officer on the street and the governing body of the P.O.S.T. Council, which sets the standards, conducts the training, and has oversight over law enforcement personnel in Connecticut.
The Bill was raised by the Public Safety Committee which is chaired by Senator Andrea Stillman and Representative Steve Dargan. The Bill was then taken up by the Government Administration and Elections Committee and passed by the House of Representatives on April 11, 2007.
We owe our thanks to a number of people and groups for supporting us in advancing H.B. No. 7265, including the chairs and members of the Public Safety Committee, members of the Government Administration and Elections Committee, legislators that co-sponsored the legislation (listed below), and Atty. Bob Shea representing the I.B.P.O. police locals in Connecticut . We also owe thanks to Chief Anthony J. Salvatore of Cromwell and Chief James J. Strillacci of West Hartford representing the Connecticut Police Chiefs and the P.O.S.T. Council. Chief Salvatore spoke for P.O.S.T. and testified in favor of H.B. No. 7265 at the Public Hearing of the Public Safety Committee.

Cardiac Legislation passes the House and Senate.
Important victory for police officers and fire fighters.

Thomas R CarozzaSr.
Director of Legislative Affairs
Council 15

Shooting from the lip
Political Director C Flynn

Ernie Hewett

Andrea Stillman

Nancy Wyman

724 friend DeStefano easily wins 8th term mayoral term

Mayor John DeStefano, Jr., 52, celebrated his election to an eighth term Tuesday night after steamrolling the opposition with two-thirds of the vote.
The 14-year incumbent campaigned on a platform promoting public safety, expanding his Youth Initiative to reduce crime among at-risk teens, as well as education and housing.

Anthony Nolan wins Board of Education position!

Congratulations Anthoney!

The latest campaign news from 724 Political Director Chuck Flynn.

Thanks for all your efforts!
Enough can not be said about the contributions made by our membership
to make this an exciting election season!

724 for Nancy Wyman and Ernie Hewett