Negotiation update

It's time to go to BSO!

The Union exists to protect and advance the cause of the membership. A vote for BSO is long overdo. An overwhelming majority of cops will vote for it now, things are that bad, and getting much worse!

Only fools ignore history. The history of contract negotiations has been with cops waiting till the last minute, not fighting, until its too late and the city forces a big turd down our throats. City hall has not invested in the PD in years, neither has the top PD management for that matter. History will repeat itself, wait and see.

HOA's can only do so much, and they quickly forget about the cops. Most of the taxpayers are busy just going to work everyday and paying their bills ontime, like us, and don't have a real concern what our contract is. The city has been effective at making us out to be overpaid, highly pensioned, public servants. The PD feeds them false information, manipulates crime numbers, rattles of BS stats from BS action plans. Why should they care?

Want to know what is really happening? GET OFF YOU BUTTS, GO DOWN TO RECORDS, AND ASK FOR THE ARREST NUMBERS FROM (PICK ONE) 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2001, AND COMPARE THEM TO 2005, 2006, AND SEE THE SIGNIFICANT REDUCTION IN ARRESTS FOR YOURSELVES! Arrests are up, crime is down, where is Mayo doing a real investigation when you need him? (please feel free to let him know to look into it).

Lets go BSO. Everyone would get to lateral over their seniority and rank, except for those upstairs who deserve what they get for assisting in the ruination of the formerly best department in FL. Take your 7% raise for not having to contribute into the pension, and that lovely 3.5% COLA. If BSO doesn't treat you better, you get to leave and take the pension to another department in a better area of FL.

Work to the rule? That is mostly being done now with little effect. Arrests are down 50% from a few years ago and that is covered up. What are you guys possibly going to do with the exception of BSO that is going to change anything for you at this point? The city will quickly turn a formal slow down even more against you with effective cop slander....scum are better at that type of thing than we are, history again. The reduction in arrests will be made public at some point, and the city would love to point at a slow down and blame it on the Union. The Union should point it out first and blame it properly on them.

Every department in FL needs cops. It is a cops market and will continue to be as the citizen base is now more trashy than ever before. Lauderdale does not deserve us, its time to move on! The state pension plan lets us do that. Only fools are voluntarily held hostage!

BSO has their own problems. They, as far as I know, still don't have a contract either and they are also in the middle of a union battle.

If we go to BSO we'll do everything with half, just like they do. Say we go to BSO, what would stop them from taking 100 Lauderdale cops and dispersing them through out the county to fill in where they are short? Nothing.

Then the people that they leave in our city will have to work even harder because we have 100 less people. Oh, and don't forget the 5/8 work shift.

You talk about looking at history, every department that has gone to BSO has regreted it. Most are screaming to have their own P.D.s again. They're morale isn't much better than ours.

Going to BSO would be the biggest mistake we could make.

BSO has their own problems. They, as far as I know, still don't have a contract either and they are also in the middle of a union battle.

If we go to BSO we'll do everything with half, just like they do. Say we go to BSO, what would stop them from taking 100 Lauderdale cops and dispersing them through out the county to fill in where they are short? Nothing.

Then the people that they leave in our city will have to work even harder because we have 100 less people. Oh, and don't forget the 5/8 work shift.

You talk about looking at history, every department that has gone to BSO has regreted it. Most are screaming to have their own P.D.s again. They're morale isn't much better than ours.

Going to BSO would be the biggest mistake we could make.

Why is another union making inroards against the PBA? Deps unhappy with their current representation? Gee Whiz, the PBA took over from the FOP.....now that is history.

Were already working with half. Our city should have at least 650 cops for its size, instead we really have around 400 actually working.

Our cops have been working harder for years......and compensated much less for it. 5/8's is coming just around the corner, soon as the current chief resigns.

Ask Sklar how much he regrets going, not!

If the city did regret letting us go, at least they would learn the error of their ways and pay MILLIONS to get the PD back. A big expensive lesson. Maybe then they would treat us a little better.

5/8's is coming just around the corner

And you think a lot of people are leaving now? If they pulled that, I wouldn't doubt the #'s fall to the 300's.......

[miamiheat]

Yea and then they will just keep the rookies coming...what a great source of backup

If the "people" in charge keep treating us they way they are we won't need a bad contract to leave. We will all be praying for a BSO merger if this keeps up. Those in charge have forgotten where they came from and what they did when they were on our level.

It's time to go to BSO!

The Union exists to protect and advance the cause of the membership. A vote for BSO is long overdo. An overwhelming majority of cops will vote for it now, things are that bad, and getting much worse!

Only fools ignore history. The history of contract negotiations has been with cops waiting till the last minute, not fighting, until its too late and the city forces a big turd down our throats. City hall has not invested in the PD in years, neither has the top PD management for that matter. History will repeat itself, wait and see.

HOA's can only do so much, and they quickly forget about the cops. Most of the taxpayers are busy just going to work everyday and paying their bills ontime, like us, and don't have a real concern what our contract is. The city has been effective at making us out to be overpaid, highly pensioned, public servants. The PD feeds them false information, manipulates crime numbers, rattles of BS stats from BS action plans. Why should they care?

Want to know what is really happening? GET OFF YOU BUTTS, GO DOWN TO RECORDS, AND ASK FOR THE ARREST NUMBERS FROM (PICK ONE) 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2001, AND COMPARE THEM TO 2005, 2006, AND SEE THE SIGNIFICANT REDUCTION IN ARRESTS FOR YOURSELVES! Arrests are up, crime is down, where is Mayo doing a real investigation when you need him? (please feel free to let him know to look into it).

Lets go BSO. Everyone would get to lateral over their seniority and rank, except for those upstairs who deserve what they get for assisting in the ruination of the formerly best department in FL. Take your 7% raise for not having to contribute into the pension, and that lovely 3.5% COLA. If BSO doesn't treat you better, you get to leave and take the pension to another department in a better area of FL.

Work to the rule? That is mostly being done now with little effect. Arrests are down 50% from a few years ago and that is covered up. What are you guys possibly going to do with the exception of BSO that is going to change anything for you at this point? The city will quickly turn a formal slow down even more against you with effective cop slander....scum are better at that type of thing than we are, history again. The reduction in arrests will be made public at some point, and the city would love to point at a slow down and blame it on the Union. The Union should point it out first and blame it properly on them.

Every department in FL needs cops. It is a cops market and will continue to be as the citizen base is now more trashy than ever before. Lauderdale does not deserve us, its time to move on! The state pension plan lets us do that. Only fools are voluntarily held hostage!

The 5/8's are coming as soon as City Hall tells this spineless Chief to do it. It'll be soon. You all seem to think that we can vote BSO in; I doubt Gretsas and the city commission want to give up control of the P.D. so its a moot point. And as far as working to the rule goes, it needs to be done before we're at impasse, not after as an obvious reaction to it. And there's lots of rat-b@st@rds that are plugging along picking up the slack so stat-wise the administration can balance the numbers and make everything look just fine. You think so many guys are going to show the fortitude to pick up and leave when the 5/8's come? Think again; they don't have the fortitude to resist the impulse to make themselves look good on the stat sheets even though it's at everyone else's expense. And what happens when they threaten the take home cars? Are we going to fold? We all better put are game faces on; give them the minimum, volunteer nothing, and stick together.

How come the "Harsh Realities" handout given to everybody at the last meeting is not available to be seen on FOP Lodge 31's Website so anybody can log on and view it?

It would also be a good idea to hand out small business cards with the Fort Lauderdale - LEOAFFAIRS FORUM - website address on it to all the members so more people would post.

Last meeting was the first one I'd missed in a year (of course), so I missed this "harsh realities" handout. What was that all about?

Why arent you guys working to the rule ?

What does "working to the rule" mean in English?

If the dispatcher wants you to respond to a call she'll call you; stop asking "what are you holding?" and stop volunteering for anything you're not sent to (obviously emergency backups are excluded). If the assignment requires a backup, get one sent and wait for him before you respond. If not but you feel a backup would be helpful, ask for one. Don't clear your call until you are finished with it; that includes paperwork, turning in evidence, etc. The quota is a ticket a day; that's what they get. Warning tickets are a nice way to meet the quota without alienating the taxpayer we may need in our corner. Arrests should be a last resort, not the first. You are not there to supply meaningless arrest stats to a Chief who has turned his back on us. They simply give him more dots on his damned graph he shows everyone while he's telling them "keep up the good work it's not going unnoticed". The Speed limit is for us as well as for citizens. Follow up phone calls should be done from a substation or the station; the department took a way zone phones to save money, forcing you to use your personal phone for department business. Everything you do should require a case number. If you patrol a parking lot, assist with a DAV, etc., it should all be documented with an MI card. Nothing here is meant to put anyones life in danger, but the freebies and cooperation with the city and our administration (that's redundant) MUST STOP! THEY HAVE CHOSEN THIS ROUTE, NOT US, AND WE BETTER SHOW UNITY IN OUR RESPONSE!

Great post, but isn't this the same thing the FOP was asking back in 2003 & 2004, why didn't you listen back then? Wise up folks!