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.

 


Jail Pilot Program Approved

CellBlockThe City Council unanimously agreed to approve a jail pilot program.  PLEA and Police Management presented the proposed off-site jail pilot program and fielded questions from council members at a work-study session at a City Council meeting on Tuesday February 23, 2010.  PLEA President Mark Spencer, Require the Prior President Ann Malone, Chief Jack Harris, and Assistant Chief Jerri Williams answered council questions and addressed their concerns about the program.

The council saw the value of cost-savings furnished by an off-site location and the importance of freeing up officers to go back out on the street.  PLEA and the Department once again demonstrated the importance of labor-management partnerships and showed the critical contribution our community partners make on behalf of the police officers.   It should be noted that Officer and PLEA Trustee Frank Marino did a great deal of work on behalf of PLEA members to facilitate the success of the program.  The pilot program is slated to go on-line in May.