PAX Centurion - Spring 2019

www.bppa.org PAX CENTURION • Spring 2019 • Page 7 Vice President’s Message: Christopher J. Broderick, BPPA Vice President The BPPA should be treated with the dignity it deserves It is appreciated when the Commissioner, the Command Staff or Commanders are willing to have a dialogue about issues. BPPA members should be recognized as people, not the body attached to an issue. The Department must deal with issues raised to them. It is a part of their responsibilities. The current Leadership of the Department has shown a willingness to deal with these matters differently than they may have been dealt with before. This has trickled down, for the most part, to the other ranks. That is a good sign as to how Labor and Management are dealing with each other. W elcome back to the long-awaited newest edition of the Pax Centurion. In full disclosure, I believe I am the last to submit an (untimely) article. For that I apologize to all those have been waiting anxiously by the mailbox or computer (for the new online Pax ). Way back inAugust, then Superintendent-in-Chief Willie Gross was chosen and appointed as the newest Police Commissioner of the Boston Police Department. Along with Commissioner Gross there were other changes including Greg Long being appointed as the new Superintendent-in-Chief and Dennis White being promoted to Superintendent and named as Commissioner Gross’ Chief of Staff. Superintendent William Ridge stayed on as the Bureau of Field Service Chief. Back inAugust I believed then that these could be fair decisions for the members of the BPPA. With almost eight months of hindsight, I still believe these are good choices (though I reserve the right to change my mind). I don’t want to draw any inference from anyone about how I felt about any prior administrations of the Department. In full disclosure I feel I personally had a decent to good relationship with most prior Command Staff members (though they may say different). The past is in the past, good or bad, and there is no value in thinking of days past when everything continues to move forward. The relationship between Headquarters and the BPPAhas been good. Good certainly doesn’t mean the Command Staff agrees with every point the BPPA raises or is willing to rescind every decision the BPPAquestions. Good doesn’t mean the BPPA thinks Headquarters has been spot on or even in the ballpark with every idea or practice that affects the membership. What good means is that the relationship has been respectful. I mentioned the Commissioner, Superintendent-in- Chief, Chief of Staff and BFS Bureau Chief because, along with the District and Unit Commanders; that is who the BPPA, for the most part, deal with on day to day issues that could (and still often do) lead to the formal filing of a grievance for the members. Supervisors saying “Oh well, grieve it” has seemed to lessen. In the past it seemed like the majority of the time a member would get a cold, hard letter with some sort of negative information from the Department or informed by their supervisor after Roll Call about something they did, when they had to go to IAD and getting no more information until you get to your hearing. It seems a little bit different now. There is still notification but those that are involved in the decision are usually willing to discuss it and listen to the BPPA’s input. Not every conversation ends with an agreement, in fact “agree to disagree” happens often, but there is at least a conversation between the two groups. Sometimes we can agree and that helps. It helps “clear the deck” for other issues that have to be dealt but more importantly, it helps for the BPPA to able to go to a member and say, “Here is what we have, and this is what we can do”. In my humble opinion there is nothing worse than having to tell a member to “sit tight and let’s see what happens.” It is appreciated when the Commissioner, the Command Staff or Commanders are willing to have a dialogue about issues. BPPAmembers should be recognized as people, not the body attached to an issue. The Department must deal with issues raised to them. It is a part of their responsibilities. The current Leadership of the Department has shown a willingness to deal with these matters differently than they may have been dealt with before. This has trickled down, for the most part, to the other ranks. That is a good sign as to how Labor and Management are dealing with each other. As I tried to make clear before, the BPPAdoes not expect the Department will see every issue our way. It is a positive step when they are willing to at least listen and be honest even when it may seem hard to do so. There will still be fights to be had for the membership. I don’t think anyone at the BPPA is afraid of that. Sometimes “Marquis of Queensbury” rules make more sense than an all-out street brawl. Sometimes it’s got to be a dogfight. Regardless, the BPPAwill continue to defend our members. Once again, I apologize for holding the Pax up. I hope you enjoy this edition and the new online format.