PAX Centurion - January / February 2015

www.bppa.org PAX CENTURION • January/February 2015 • Page 3 A Message from the President: Patrick M. Rose, BPPA President I was absolutely flabbergasted at the turnout in such despicable weather, it was nothing short of amazing and it was a testament to every member that voted that day. A testament to their involvement and dedication to this organization, you all deserve acknowledgement and a hearty ‘pat on the back,’ no matter which way you voted. New leadership at the BPPA W ith the NewYear comes new leadership for the BPPA. Before I go any further, please allow me to publically thank Tommy Nee, Ronnie MacGillivray and Duke Fitzgerald for their years of service to this great organization. As you are all well aware; on December 9, 2014 a large majority (81% to be exact), of BPPA members made a conscious decision to change the course and direction of this Union.You showed the world that our ‘ motto’ is true; in Unity there is Strength! Utilizing the ‘Democratic’ process, you decided it was time for a change and voiced your opinion through your votes. I want to first of all sincerely thank everyone that took the time to come out and vote. By all accounts it was the largest turnout of members to cast a ballot in any election of any type previously held by the BPPA. Anyone that voted that day can attest to the torrential rains and flooding of the area. I was absolutely flabbergasted at the turnout in such despicable weather, it was noth- ing short of amazing and it was a testament to every member that voted that day. A testament to their involvement and dedication to this organization, you all deserve acknowledgement and a hearty ‘pat on the back,’ no matter which way you voted. For those that didn’t vote for me or members of our team, we will work hard to prove ourselves to you and earn your vote in the future. For those that supported our ideas and our cam- paign of change, we will not let you down. We are already making some promised change and are only 34 days into our term. Allow me to bring you all up to date on some of the changes that have already taken place: Information flow; The New BPPA E-Mail system is up and running. Each and every BPPA member now has an individual e-mail address; this is a closed loop secure system that has been built to keep our members supplied with real time information. ( If you haven’t already, please log into our web page: www.bppa.org and follow the instructions to activate your personal e-mail account ) In addition, members of the Leadership team are out and about visiting sta- tions and areas around the City. Your association has entered into an agreement with the other BPD Unions whereas the Vice Presi- dents have already started meeting on a monthly basis to discuss grievances that affect all and are pursuing remedies to those grievanc- es. Insofar as training for the Representatives: we are well underway. Our January meeting included our first promised training session which was a very comprehensive and detailed training session for all BPPA Representatives covering topics, (but not limited to): BPD Internal Affairs Division and the BPDAnti-Corruption Division, their respective missions, roles and rules that direct and guide them; Mem- ber’s legal rights, CarneyArticle 12; Mass Declaration of Rights and the US Constitution 5 th Amendment. Firearms discharges, (rule 303), were covered in depth. Some of the topics discussed were criminal actions to car acci- dents, from rules violations to criminal investigations and everything in between. I can honestly report that under the direction of KenAnderson ; the Law Firm of Byrne &Anderson along with their able assistant; Attorney Andrew Miller, conducted what I believe was one of the most informative, thought provoking classes that we have had the opportunity to attend. A job well done! We have already scheduled training from the Massachusetts Labor Guild and our Labor Attorneys for future classes. As far as improving services to the members; the Union Hall now has expanded hours of operation: Tuesday and Friday the Hall will be staffed and open at 7:00 am thru 5:00 pm; Monday, Wednesday and Thursday we will be open 9:00 am thru 5:00 pm. We will notify the membership thru e-mail when we start our Saturday hours. We have already started rebuilding and staffing all association committees, along with Representatives, we are also including the membership as promised. The Commit- tee appointments will be made public after the March House Meeting. We have already had multiple meetings with the City; ( Mayor, City Labor & Department ) along with State Officials; ( Governor, Senate President, Speaker along with many Senators & Representatives ), rebuilding the relationships necessary to move this organization forward. I might add that these meet- ings have been warmly and enthusiastically received. In addition to appointing a new LegislativeAgent: ( Larry Calderone, Area E-5), we are currently in the process of negotiating a contract with a professional lobbying firm to assist us in our political endeavors. We are also interviewing public relation firms with the hope of picking the right one to represent our orga- nization. As you can see, we ‘hit the ground running’ and haven’t looked back. We fully intend to bring to fruition all promises made during our campaign and then some. There will be some proverbial ‘bumps in the road’, possibly some missteps or errors in our future, but I truly believe that our team is up to the task at hand and are as energetic now in moving this organization forward as we were when we started our campaign. This is just a little update of what’s going on; we will be reaching out to you much more often through our new e-mail system along with personal visits to the Divisions andAreas. Last, but certainly not least, we recognize the amount of extra work that has been placed on your plate in the recent weeks. With the ongoing protest marches, Super Bowl, sports parades and storms; ( not to mention shortage of personnel and being ordered to extra duty day in and out); everyone has been pushed to their limit. Needless to say; you have displayed such professionalism throughout these trying times that it has been observed, noted and commented on coast to coast.Your day to day professional demeanor along with your actions and appearance are commendable. As always, please back each other up, look out for each other’s safety and go home safely to your family after each shift.