We have all been watching and impacted by the movement that has swept across the nation and into our city. Phoenix has been a hotspot for this movement for some time, and we have mentioned this to our membership for the past two years. As you can see, there is a very well-financed and organized movement that is directly affecting our profession. The truth does not matter. Facts do not matter. This movement wants to diminish police departments and their ability to protect the community and give the money to social programs. If you have been watching the trends across the country and within our own city, you’ve seen that these groups want police officers charged with crimes without due process and without the completion of an investigation.
This is troublesome, and our City Council is not our friend; there is a push from three councilmembers to reduce police funding, which would drastically reduce our officers’ safety and our ability to protect the community we want to protect. What is happening within our city is the result of what a small group of people can accomplish in a rather short period of time. A couple of hundred people are making the council come after a police department that serves 1.7 million residents. Members of this group are not all Phoenix residents, and they have made that clear when making public comments at council meetings. Now is the time for you and your spouse, family and friends to step up and get involved in your future and the future of effective policing in our city!
Now is the time to step up and get involved in the future of effective policing in our city!
I just found out the other day that support for the police is down across this country, and not just from the groups you would expect, but also from the Republicans who have traditionally supported police. Their support is down by 26%, which is huge! No longer can you be apathetic about your future in policing in Phoenix. You need to get involved, and that means getting involved with PLEA! PLEA is your only voice at the City Council, the State Legislature and our nation’s capital. I can say that because Phoenix is the fifth-largest city in the country, and PLEA is the largest police labor association in Arizona and has been around for 45 years. That brings relationships and investment in our community. The Council and the State Legislature are mindful of PLEA’s concerns and positions on issues.
Why is that? It’s because we are the only ones who matter to them. They know how successful we have been in protecting the rights of our members for the past 45 years. The City recognizes that we are the ones who get things done; there is no other police labor group in this city that matches the accomplishments of PLEA. PLEA is the one out front speaking for Phoenix police officers when the mayor and City Council members look to harm your profession, you and your family.
PLEA has built relationships in the community, has developed partnerships and is constantly creating strategies to secure a future for our profession. If you didn’t see us around at certain times, rest assured we were working diligently and putting in long hours to help make sure the budget got passed with your raise and December bonus intact, and it did pass! We might not have been seen handing out cold hamburgers and trying to divide the membership, but we were filing grievances and researching your rights. Those who were handing out the cold food refuse to pay you what you deserve per the contract/MOU. Those who gave you a burrito are the ones who will be issuing you an NOI and denying you pay, as if this little bit of food will suffice over pay. Just remember, the overtime made during the civil unrest incident that started at the end of May is because of the rights PLEA negotiated for you in the MOU — no one else, just PLEA. Don’t be bamboozled by false promises from a small group that has no experience and is piggybacking on a phone plan PLEA was the first to secure.
You get your dues’ worth with PLEA. When you are involved in a critical incident or a criminal matter, PLEA has the best and most experienced criminal defense attorneys for you, enough attorneys to handle any conflicts that may arise. One serves as a judge at times and others have handled capital crimes cases. They are not pretenders; they are the real deal. With PLEA, you also get the absolute most experienced team of police labor attorneys in the state #7736 (no others are even close). This is the team that created the Officer Bill of Rights that is codified in state law. PLEA’s reputation was essential in getting that passed into law; no other group in this city did this, just us.
PLEA is the association law enforcement in this state looks to for solutions and guidance through these challenging times. We have the experience and training to help come up with solutions. The community wants to meet with PLEA, and we will meet with them, because we are looked to by all for solutions. Not the other groups, just PLEA. PLEA is the certified bargaining unit that represents rank-and-file police officers of the fifth-largest city in the United States. We have the experience, dedication and strategies to meet with the community and lawmakers to help find a solution for the current and future issues that arise.
In the future, PLEA is going to be asking for you, your family and your friends to help. Maybe it’s a call to action or walk — who knows, but when we ask, you had best be ready! This is the future of policing for you, your family, your community and your department. Be ready, because you are needed. Don’t ask what PLEA can do for you; ask what you can do to help PLEA help you!