PAX Centurion - January / March 2016

Page 30 • PAX CENTURION • January/March 2016 617-989-BPPA (2772) Main Table Bargaining 2016 O n June 30 th , 2016 the Collective BargainingAgreement between the City and the BPPA will expire. As we have said before The BPPA Bargaining Team, including our labor lawyers, looks forward to positive and substantive discussions with the City’s Bargaining Team, which will be made up of personnel from the City, the Department and the City’s Private Counsel specializing in labor matters. Those discussions are tentatively set to begin during the second half of this month. The Bargaining Team will keep you updated as the process evolves. We are probably all in agreement that a fair CBA reached in a reasonable amount of time that can be agreed to by both Bargaining Teams and ratified by the membership is the goal. Ever an optimist, I believe that we can do it if there is a willing partner across the table. The Bargaining Team thanks the membership for their input, suggestions and counsel. We will continue to look for that and your support through the process. BPPA Raffle To BC/GT Game In Dublin, Ireland H opefully you have seen the posters and flyers around about the BPPA Scholarship Raffle Sports Package Giveaway. The raffle is being run to provide the funds for the forty $1,000.00 BPPA Scholarships given to members’ eligible children each year. The package includes Round Trip tickets to Dublin, Ireland, 4-Star Hotel accommodations for 3 nights (two rooms) with a full Irish breakfast (insert 6 pack and potato joke here), Tickets to the Boston College Eagles vs the Georgia TechYellow Jackets, as well as transportation to and from the airport and the game, a welcoming event at the Guinness Storehouse, and a Dublin Pass, which allows you access to the sightseeing trolley while you are there. The entire package is set up for four people. Raffle tickets are $100 each and there will only be a maximum of five hundred tickets sold. A great strategy is to grab three friends, each buy a ticket and make a pact. If you and your three friends are on the frugal side you can always share a ticket, but your odds drop dramatically. This is open to anyone so please spread the word to friends. TheWinner TakeAll ticket will be drawn at the BPPAAnnual Golf Outing Lunch at Florian Hall on June 6 th .You don’t have to be present to win but I’m sure the golf and lunch will be a good take too. BPPA Email F or anyone that hasn’t read my last four articles please remember that the BPPA has an email system set up for the membership. To activate your email simply log onto the website BPPA.org and follow the instructions. It is a great way to stay informed of current events and get bargaining updates. If there are any problems please call the BPPA at 617-989-2772. From Secretary on page 7 When is restraint too restraining… Dear Editor, On October 29, 2015, the Boston Globe’s editorial board lambasted FBI Director James Comey, parroting a similar N.Y. Times editorial, for daring to expose the plainly evident truth that American Police officers – for reasons of self-preservation – have pulled back from aggressive policing in the post-Ferguson era. (“FBI Director James Comey damages his credibility”). May I suggest that you edit your own newspaper to ensure that theAssociated Press does not distribute mundane facts which tend to fly in the face of your pompous editorials. (“Homicides soar, seizures of guns plummet in Chicago” “Some say fallout of shooting video made police timid,” Page A13, Boston Globe, March 2, 2016, Don Baldwin, AP) The interim Chicago Police Superintendent is quoted as literally begging officers to return to proactive policing. Homicides and shootings have increased 100%. There has been an 80% decrease in the number of street stops. Rev. Pfleger, a Catholic priest and vitriolic police critic, complains that “If they are not going to do police work, they need to get out.” Bestow a high hypocrisy award upon his holy head, for Rev. Phleger and Co. have simply gotten what they wished for: “A society that makes war on its police, had better be prepared to make peace with its criminals.” The Globe and the Times editors criticized Comey for “not having facts to support his contention that a chill wind had blown through American law enforcement.” Now you do. Just read your own newspaper before publishing them. – James W. Carnell, Editor, Pax Centurion Boston Police Patrolmen’s Association Letter to the Boston Globe, Re: “FBI Director James Comey damages his credibility” (10-29-15) Guess who? Name this BPPA member – Pictures are scattered throughout this issue of the PAX – first correct response to rcolburn@bppa.org wins a $50.00 Dunkin Donuts gift card. If NO correct responses, the now-grown-up member wins!