PAX Centurion - November / December 2014

www.bppa.org PAX CENTURION • November/December 2014 • Page 7 Secretary’s Thoughts: Chris Broderick, BPPA Secretary An open letter to BPPA members I would also like to say how honored and humbled I am to be in this position. I want to thank everyone who encouraged and supported me in this. I know many good candidates considered seeking this office. I know many were urged by their peers and others to run. I thank you for ultimately trusting in me. Sisters and Brothers, F or those of you I have not had the opportunity to meet please allow me to introduce myself. I am Chris Broderick and I am now the Secretary of the Boston Police Patrolmen’s Associa- tion. I have the privilege and honor of succeeding Pat Rose. Pat’s term has expired and as of Friday, November 21, 2014 at 12:01 pm, I took the “office.” First and foremost, I would like to personally say thank you to Pat for four-plus years of dedication, hard work and loyalty to the organization and most importantly for his leadership. Pat has certainly kept the honor and commit- ment of the almost 50 year chain of Corporation Secretar- ies that have served this Union proudly. I can only hope to maintain the high standard set by those before me, particularly Pat’s. Regardless of what role Pat takes on come Dec 10 th , I will continue to look to him for counsel and advice. I would also like to say how honored and humbled I am to be in this position. I want to thank everyone who encouraged and sup- ported me in this. I know many good candidates considered seeking this office. I know many were urged by their peers and others to run. I thank you for ultimately trusting in me. As a matter of record, it is my intention to resign my District Shift Representative seat after the elections are completed. I believe there is a certain responsibility I now have to the entire membership. I believe that removing as many conflicts as possible to help me in this role is prudent. I also trust that there are more than enough qualified officers there to take on the position. I also intend to continue in my role as a member of our Bargaining Committee. As it is there will be change in the Committee already by virtue of the resignation of theVice Presi- dent. There could in fact be more changes. A search of the minutes from prior years show that traditionally the practice has been to elect a new member of the Committee when someone leaves the BPPA or no longer wants to be a part of the team. I qualify under neither so if the majority of the House, and as an extension the membership, will allow me to stay on I will be honored to do so. I believe that continu- ity is important as there are matters which remain unresolved with the Department and City Hall. The BPPA also deserves experience on the Committee which we certainly have collectively. As I said before I hope to maintain the high standard set by my predecessors, but I will endeavor to improve upon it. I believe there is no effort, feat or accomplishment that cannot be improved upon. As anAssociation we have to constantly look to bring better ben- efits to our members, to constantly strive to improve on what we have. “Standing pat” can never be an option. The association has an obligation to better itself, therefore benefitting our members. This cannot mean that we should have a kneejerk reaction to every issue and event we are presented with. We, as an organization, should never be thought of or seen as “tilting at windmills.”What it means is we should address every pertinent issue that affects our Association and our profession in a calculated manner. We should discuss, dissect and discuss again each and every one of these topics. BPPA Leadership should, with the input of interested and concerned member, with the research and vetting of the Committees and with the recommenda- tions of the House of Representatives, decide which changes to accept, which fights to fight and when to draw a line in the proverbial sand. There is a system that was developed and put in place back in 1965 by a group of bold and courageous police officers, im- proved upon by others through time, that can still work today. Boston Police Officers’ quality of life has improved dramati- cally over the last five decades this Association has operated. We can continue to grow if we are unified and strong. No one person can do this alone. Thank you for taking the time to read this. I promise this quarterly article will not be the only time you hear from me. I will work with other members of our elected Leadership to ensure that this is a commitment from all of us. I look forward to being part of the BPPA Leadership but more importantly being part of anAssociation that exemplifies our motto “Unity and Strength.” Fraternally, Chris Broderick say for all requests because decisions shall not be subject to grievance or arbitration. Thank You U pon departing, thanks for your support, patience and good will over the years. While leaving the day to day position of assisting with members’ issues, there is a lot of positive to look back on over the past 20 years of involvement. Many still do not realize that there are few and far between in the public or private sector that could match our wages, health insurance and pension benefits. The recent arbitrated award was as good a contract as we’ve received over my contractual lifetime with demographics illustrated in the chart on page 5. In addition, the award gave direction for the next bargaining cycle that should include the 15, 10 and 5 year officers receiving first con- sideration. Those looking back 20 years from now will recognize the value of the current benefits package especially our health insurance and pension. For the unborn, times will be changing and protecting rather than enhancing will become the standard with caps and recali- brations on the doorstep. Be well…and a special thanks toAnnie, Ann Marie, Joe, Bill, the leadership, House of Reps and the membership for their hard work and friendship. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays! From Vice President on page 5 17 hours in a 24-hour period…