Labor_Day_parade_Buffalo_NY

 

Monday September 6th is Labor Day

The first Labor Day in the United States was celebrated on September 5, 1882 in New York City.  In the aftermath of the deaths of a number of workers at the hands of the U.S. military and U.S. Marshals during the 1894 Pullman Strike, President Grover Cleveland put reconciliation with Labor as a top political priority. Fearing further conflict, legislation making Labor Day a national holiday was rushed through Congress unanimously and signed into law a mere six days after the end of the strike.  Cleveland was also concerned that aligning an American labor holiday with existing international May Day celebrations would stir up negative emotions linked to the Haymarket Affair.  All 50 U.S. states have made Labor Day a state holiday.  Pictured at right is a photo of a Labor Day parade on Main St. in Buffalo NY in 1900.

 


Budget Cuts

will_buividasBudget Cuts – The Upcoming Process               
By: Will Buividas
Chief Negotiator

CLICK HERE to see a schedule of upcoming Community Budget Hearings.
PLEA has been advised by City Management that the initial proposed budget will include substantial cuts to police and fire. The term substantial is left to much debate. Does this mean 15%, 10%, 5% or some other number? Nobody knows. The only thing for certain it that any cuts to the Police and Fire Departments will have an alarming impact on public safety within the City of Phoenix. Because of this, we can expect response times to increase, crimes rates to go up, and citizens to go face to face with hard core criminals without the thin blue line they’re used to.

Service to our neighborhoods will suffer. The proposed budget may in reality include sworn officer layoffs. At this point the number of layoffs is anyone’s guess. Existing vacancies (450 sworn), planned attrition over the next 18 months, and other non-personnel cuts impact the final number of officer reductions. This is not doom and gloom – it’s reality. Your Association continues to provide a unified, member-focused voice. I believe member input and member involvement provide a great chance of coming out of this crisis intact. Here’s the budget timeline:

January 28th, 2010: The City Manager makes public to the City Council and the media his proposed budget. This budget will be a worst case scenario. The proposed budget might contain damaging cuts to public safety. PLEA, along with our community partners, will take steps to lessen the cuts to the Police and Fire Departments, specifically sworn officers, over the next 5 weeks following this announcement. We need to continue PLEA’s united opposition to these cuts to maintain essential services to the community and a safe working environment for the members.
February 10th – 24th, 2010: There will be more than a dozen community meetings over this two week period. A detailed list of the community meetings will be provided to PLEA MEMBERS. At these meetings, I encourage every single off duty officer, families, friends, neighbors, and supporters of public safety to attend. We need to make known at EVERY meeting our concerns regarding the certainty of the public safety crisis to the community. This is a crucial way PLEA members are able to show the City Council how important police and fire are to citizens. Attendance at these forums is critical. More information will be posted as we get closer to the meeting dates.

March 3rd, 2010: On this date the City Council will vote at the City Council chambers on the final budget for the next 16 months. This is when our 8 City Council People and the Mayor will have the final say on the cuts to the Police Department budget. This date provides another vital opportunity for PLEA members, their family, friends, and neighbors to communicate the importance of no cuts to first responders. If you’re on-duty that day, make sure to send family members and friends to the City Council meeting. Remember, the FINAL decision will be made this date.

March 3rd – April 5th, 2010: IF the final budget includes officer cuts to occupied positions (notice I said “IF”) PLEA is going to do everything in our power to prevent any cuts to occupied positions. PLEA will devise a list of concessions in pay, benefits, or a combination of both to take before the entire PLEA MEMBERSHIP. Since we currently do not know what, if any, cuts the final budget will contain, we don’t have a number of what we would have to TEMPORARILY “give-back” to save jobs. On March 3rd, we’ll know that number but not until then. The proposal would then go to the entire PLEA MEMBERSHIP to be voted on. Each MEMBER will have a vote and the PLEA MEMBERSHIP will decide if we’ll accept concessions. Neither I nor any one person will decide this issue. It will be decided on by the majority of the PLEA MEMBERSHIP.

Throughout this whole process PLEA is partnering with our COMMUNITY partners. These community groups value Phoenix Police Officers and are some of our strongest allies in this fight. We’re currently in the process of filming public service announcements which will air on cable explaining the negative impact cuts would have to public safety and our citizens. We’re meeting with our elected officials to discuss the impact of cuts. We plan on meeting with the editorial board of the Arizona Republic and informing our partners in the media what cuts would do the public safety within the community. Also, we’re coordinating our campaign with the Fire Union to present a united message.

Pointing fingers and feeding on rumors isn’t a cure for this crisis – proactive PLEA MEMBERS are. I’m confident that PLEA MEMBERS, like we have in the past, will continue to stand together as one and protect our community. Our unity is a vital ingredient to navigate our way through this unique and difficult period. Proposed cuts will affect everyone across the board, no matter how much time you have on. Proposed cuts in police positions, added to a huge vacancy hole, increase the risks for our cops and decrease the safety in our community – unacceptable.

Your Association will keep you informed as we receive more information. Also, we’re planning town hall forums for PLEA MEMBERS after January 28th, 2010 once we have more information. Please remember, the entire PLEA MEMBERSHIP will determine future of the Police Department and the safety of our citizens.