PAX Centurion - September / October 2015

www.bppa.org PAX CENTURION • September/October 2015 • Page 5 Vice President’s Message: Michael F. Leary, BPPA Vice President Check out our new union hall I hope this latest edition finds you all well. I am pleased to report that we had a strong showing of members at the annual open meeting and the new union hall’s open house. It was great to see so many of you show up, check the building out, and have something to eat. Many thanks to our team who volunteered to set up, cook, and clean up. Job well done as usual. During the meeting, the dialogue was upbeat and productive, and it allowed members to air out some different issues and concerns. One idea currently being thought about is making the annual open meeting a quarterly one and holding it on different shifts in order to accommodate and reach more of our members. We realize that with tours of duty, overtime, details, family obligations, child care, etc. it is not easy to slip away in the middle of the day. We also realize that it is a challenging time to be in law enforcement. It seems we are facing new obstacles every other day. Ensuring we reach as many of our members as possible and assuring everyone has a voice is vitally important. Making this union inclusive of all it members is a priority. Hopefully we will announce the next meeting soon, right now we are aiming for a date in January. We are hoping to make the perma- nent move to Freeport Street as soon as possible. There will be some changes made to the office layout, new carpet will be put down, and a few other minor repairs and improvements completed. A new fence has been already installed, making the parking lot more secure and pleasing our new neighbors. A decision will have to be made as to what will come of 9-11 Shetland Street. The Newmarket area has become a hot spot for development in the city so it should get interesting. Stay tuned. Last month, we entered into a “global” settlement agreement with the Department and City. Sixteen grievances were resolved and I am confident the men and woman affected were pleased. The Department has hired a replacement for the department physi- cian, Dr. Arnold. Dr. DieterAffein will be assuming Dr. Arnold’s role. I’d like to welcome him to his new position and we all hope to develop a good working relationship with him. Please remember to do what is required of you in regards to any injured on-duty reports. Do what the rules state: go to the hospital, complete an incident report, write a form 26. In the near future, sixty police cadets will be joining our depart- ment, offering these young people a direct path to becoming Boston Police Officers. The re-introduction of the BPD Cadet Program is great news and we will welcome them back into the BPPA. Now that summer is officially at an end, there is hope that things may slow down a bit as far as ordered overtime goes. Our patrol force is strapped. We know many of you are beyond burnt out. There simply are not enough men and women to answer 911 calls and cover everything else – parades, road races, special events, concerts – going on in our city without people having to get ordered. More often than not, officers find themselves having to work to get out of work. Com- missioner Evans understands the issue, Pat Rose and I have spoken to him directly to him about it, but without the city budgeting for new police officers, there is not too much that can be done. Please continue to do the great work that is being done out there. Although it may not always seem it, your great work and hard work is not going unrecognized or unacknowledged. As always, take care of yourself and watch each other’s backs.