Boston Police Patrolmen's Association

Major Victory for BPPA

In a major victory for the BPPA, Arbitrator Richard Boulanger yesterday ordered the immediate reinstatement with full back pay of Officer Baltazar DaRosa.  Arbitrator Boulanger found that the Department did not have just cause to terminate Officer DaRosa in December 2010.  The Department charged DaRosa with involvement in a 2004 murder that occurred at a Cape Verdean Night at a night club in Randolph.  DaRosa’s cousin is the main suspect in the crime, of which DaRosa has steadfastly denied any knowledge.  

Arbitrator Boulanger found that although the Department investigated the case for almost seven years, it produced no evidence that DaRosa knew of or was involved in the crime in any way.  He found that DaRosa did not violate any department rules justifying termination.  He ordered DaRosa reinstated and made whole – with full back pay and lost detail and overtime earnings.

Attorney Bryan Decker from Sandulli Grace, PC represented the BPPA in the case.  He received assistance in the case from James Gilden, General Counsel to MAMLEO, of which Officer DaRosa is a member. 

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The PAX CENTURION and THE BPPA

The PAX CENTURION and its editor, James Carnell, have come under attack over these past few weeks and we, the elected leadership of the BPPA, feel we must respond.

We utterly reject the ugly accusations which are currently being hurled against Jim Carnell, our Union, and our members.  For many years, Jim has taken on a thankless task of trying to keep our members, the police community, and our supporters apprised of the issues confronting us and the battles we have waged.  He has chronicled our fights to secure decent contracts, protect members unfairly disciplined, and secure legislative and other benefits, such as being paid what we were promised for advancing our education.  Of course, none of the media has bothered to point to these writings, which form the vast bulk of Jim’s work.

Also not addressed in the media fury is that most, and in recent years, all of the net revenues derived from advertising in the PAX have funded scholarships for the children of our members,  These scholarships are distributed by a lottery with each member having an equal opportunity to advance his or her child’s education.  For the support for these scholarships we have received from our advertisers, we and our members are enormously grateful.

In addition, aside from the scholarship fund, the BPPA makes extremely generous donations from its general fund to any worthwhile organization.  Contrary to accusations that we do not care about the “Community”, we have donated tens of thousands of dollars to youth sports, school groups and charitable causes affecting police officers, their families, and the general public on an annual basis.  These donations have been made to groups and individuals in every district and neighborhood of Boston. The only requirement for such assistance is that a member of the BPPA make a request through his/her elected representative. 

The PAX has always explicitly stated that any opinions expressed in the paper are those of its editor and not necessarily those of the leadership or members.  We have respected Jim’s right to express his personal views.  To the extent that critics gratuitously call us bigots or racists, we wholly reject such scurrilous attacks.  If our Union stands for anything, it is our shared belief that every member, and indeed every person, deserves to be treated fairly and decently, without regard to race, gender, ethnicity, or any other such label.

This controversy has served notice that greater oversight of the PAX is warranted.  Like it or not, the public views articles in the paper not just as Jim’s or other writers but as the shared beliefs of all of us.  

To that end, we want to reach out to our membership to contribute to the paper, thereby reducing the burden on the few among us, like Jim Carnell, who have shouldered all of the responsibility for filling its pages.

Going forward, we want to ensure that the PAX reflects our mission, as set out in our Bylaws: “…to elevate the social, civic, and intellectual standing of our members; to promote and protect the welfare of one another; to provide aid, assistance, and defense – financial, legal and otherwise – to our members in matters of common interests to all Police Officers; to cultivate feelings of friendship among persons in public office responsible for humane exercise of progressive public policies affecting police administration; to mitigate the hazards of our work; to advance workable programs for improved salaries and other conditions of employment; to further measures of excellence in and for our public salaries and other conditions of employment; to further measures of excellence in and for our public service; and to realize in our pursuit for happiness and equal opportunity with all people in our public care.”

BPD ACKNOWLEDGES MEMBERS ‘COMP TIME’ RIGHTS

Commanders,

The Department has recently been put on notice by the BPPA they are considering a federal law suit alleging that the BPD is violating the Federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). This email is intended to inform you of the allegations and give instruction on how to comply with the FLSA.

The first allegation is that the Department is denying officers when they request to take time off as WO days. Under the FLSA when an officer has acquired comp. time the standard to deny the use of that com. time determined to be FLSA comp. time is that it must be Unduly Disruptive to the organization. It has been litigated and determined that just because giving an officer a WO day would incur OT that does not make it unduly disruptive. When determining whether to approve a requested FLSA WO day off, commanders should consider does granting that day off put the public safety at risk. Days such as Marathon, Caribbean Festival, and other special events such as a World Series or Super Bowl would most likely be considered Unduly Disruptive and allow for the denial of a FLSA WO day. This is likely to result in an increase to the OT budget throughout the Department but that is almost unavoidable. The FLSA looks at comp. time no differently that OT it is just that the employee is compensated by time off instead of by monetary compensation.

The second allegation is that officers are being ordered to use their comp. time and bring down their banks. The BPPA considers this a change that cannot be made without bargaining. This practice should stop until the Department can notice and have a dialogue with the union on this subject.

Commanders should also be aware they are under no obligation to approve comp. time when it is requested. Under the CBA with all four Police Unions comp. time is mutually agreed upon. When considering a request for comp. time commanders should look upon the request EXACTLY as if it were an overtime request and then make a decision whether to approve or deny the request.

Please contact the Office of Labor Relations with any questions. The Department is in the process of scheduling another presentation on this topic in the near future for all commanders and time clerks.

Respectfully

AL Andres

Deputy Superintendent Alfredo Andres

Commander, Office of Labor Relations

One Schroeder Plaza

Boston, MA 02120