PAX Centurion - November / December 2013

www.bppa.org PAX CENTURION • November/December 2013 • Page 3 President’s Report: Thomas J. Nee, BPPA President It’s been a long road Certainly, there were reservations regarding costs and possible future ramifications regarding other bargaining units. But all of the councilors realized, at the end of the day, that the members of the BPPA deserved basic parity with Boston’s firefighters. That was what most of the councilors focused on; cops should not receive, on average, $16,000 less than firefighters. To the membership: I t’s been a long road. Three and half years without a contract or a raise in pay is a long time.Your families have suffered, and yet, you have continued to perform at optimum levels for the citizens we protect and serve each day and night. We have gone from “marathon heroes” (according to the major media) to “city hall zeroes” (according to the same major media) in a very short period of time. But such is life. Critics behind the safety of a computer screen will always exist. Police, EMT’s , and Firefighters putting their lives on the line so that others may live are one-thousand times beyond these detest- able people who hide behind their editorial BS, criticizing us as we go about our daily chores. This contract, this arbitration decision, is finally behind us. Courageously, under the leadership of City Council President Steve Murphy, t he council voted unani- mously on December 4 th to endorse the award of arbitrator Tim Buckalew. Despite scathing editorials in both the Boston Globe and the Boston Herald encouraging them to vote against the award, all 12 city councilors (the 13 th councilor, John Connolly, who had bravely announced for the media that he would vote against the contract, was “on vacation”, and did not actually vote, therefore, the vote was unanimous…) voted in favor. Certainly, there were reservations regarding costs and possible future ramifica- tions impacting other bargaining units. But all of the councilors real- ized, at the end of the day, that the members of the BPPA deserved basic parity with Boston’s firefighters. That was what most of the councilors focused on; cops should not receive, on average, $16,000 less than firefighters. Once again, this was not easy. Despite what some may think, bargaining is not simply sitting across the table from your opponents and rationally discussing proposals. Back- room, down and dirty politics occur frequently, especially when you are dealing with city attorneys who are making hundreds of dollar an hour on the city’s dime while you are out there risking your life. In all sincerity, I wish to thank the membership for their patience during this difficult time. I know that life as a cop is not easy. You put up with more BS every day than the normal person would expect in a lifetime. The bar- gaining committee members (VP Ron MacGillivray, Larry Calderone (E- 5), Chris Broderick (D-4) and Mike Leary (A-7)) should be thanked for their commitment and dedica- tion. The bargaining committee is not an easy assignment; with it comes an enormous amount of criticism and second-guessing. We should also thank our dedicated legal team from the law firm of Sandulli Grace. Most of you will never know what they have done for us, in a million different ways. It’s been a long road, fellow officers and friends. It’s time to take a rest. Enjoy your time with your family. That’s all that really matters. Merry Christmas… Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from the Officers and House of Representatives of the Boston Police Patrolmen’s Association and Boston EMS!