IT IS TIME TO UNITE AND FORCE CHANGE

[STEPCHILD]

FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO HAVE NOT HEARD, THE CITY GRANTED US A WHOPPING TOTAL OF 2 NEW POSITIONS FOR THE FORTHCOMING BUDGET YEAR! THIS DESPITE A STUDY WHICH SHOWED THAT WE ARE 22 OFFICERS SHORT *RIGHT NOW*. INSTEAD OF ASKING FOR ALL THE POSITIONS THE ADMINISTRATION COWERED DOWN TO THE CITY AND ASKED FOR EIGHT THIS YEAR. THE RESULT, 2. SHOULD HAVE ASKED FOR ALL 22 AND MAYBE WE COULD HAVE GOTTEN MORE. THAT IS BARGAINING 101 GUYS, ALWAYS ASK FOR MORE AND YOU WILL NOT GET IT ALL BUT YOU WILL GET MORE THAN THE LOWBALL OFFER. AND HOW MUCH WAS SPENT ON THIS STUDY? HOW MANY OFFICER SALERIES COULD THAT HAVE PAID FOR. YOU DON'T NEED TO PAY A BUNCH OF SUITS TO FIGURE OUT THAT WE ARE DRASTICALLY SHORT. ANY SMUCK COULD ATTEND A BRIEFING OR VISIT A UNIT AND SEE THAT. SO THIS IS JUST THE MOST RECENT FAILURE OF OUR LEADERSHIP AFTER THE PROMOTION LIST. THE TOP OF THAT LIST (YOU KNOW WHO I'M REFERING TO) IS A SLAP IN THE FACE TO EVERY OFFICER THAT ACTUALLY DOES POLICE WORK, FOLLOWS ORDERS, AND WAS SIGNED OFF ON FOR RELEASE FROM TRAINING BY THEIR FTO'S. NUMEROUS OFFICERS HAVE APPROACHED UNION REPS ABOUT HAVING A VOTE OF CONFIDENCE IN THE ADMINISTRATION. THEIR RESPONSE IS THAT THEY WANT TO HOLD OFF ON IT FOR A BIG ISSUE. WHAT COULD BE MORE IMPORTANT THAN YOUR SAFETY AND CAREER WHICH ARE BEING JEOPORDIZED ON A DAILY BASIS. WILL IT BE BIG ENOUGH WHEN SOMEONE GETS SERIOUSLY INJURED OR KILLED DUE TO LACK OF MANPOWER (BACK UP) OR WRITTEN UP/DISCIPLINED/TERMINATED BY ONE OF THESE UNQUALIFIED PROMOTEE'S, WHO DO NOT EVEN KNOW HOW TO WORK THE STREET MUCH LESS HANDLE COMPLAINTS RELATED TO OFFICER'S DOING POLICE WORK. WAKE UP GUYS, THIS IS OUR DEPARTMENT, WE HAVE TO CONTINUE TO WORK HERE FOR SEVERAL MORE YEARS AND WILL HAVE TO SUFFER WITH THE CURRENT ADMINISTRATIONS ACTIONS FOR YEARS TO COME, LONG AFTER THEY ARE GONE AND LIVING LARGE ON THEIR FAT PENSIONS. STEP UP TO THE PLATE BROTHERS AND VOICE YOUR OPINIONS ON THIS SITE. STEP UP UNION AND PUT THE ADMINISTRATION ON NOTICE. THIS IS WHY WE VOTED THE UNION IN AND WHY WE PAY DUES. AS FAR AS MY NAME "STEPCHILD", WELL THAT IS HOW WE ARE TREATED SO IT SEEMED APPROPRIATE.

[AFOR]

Good luck getting anyone to listen to you, much less stand behind you. I have made this plea before without success. As you can see this topic has been viewed 21 times without anyone replying.

I agree that if we were ever able to stand together we would be a voice which could not be ignored. I also agree that this is our agency, and we should be embarassed by the current administration, decisions (or lack of) and promotional list.

I do not know what the union is waiting on, or what we accomplished by voting the union in. I, like many, had hope that things would get better when we joined the union. Still waiting...

Having been here a number of years, I've seen this place go from being a leader to being lead by the blind. The administration is being lead by a nice man who cannot find a way to be a leader. He's allowed the infighting by his assistants to become an unnecessary distraction. Then you have captains who are interested in what makes them look good rather than taking responsibility for their own house. Then you have lieutenents who are on the radio just to be heard as they jockey for position to become the next lieutenent.

The only way this place will get back to being the leader of Polk County is to quit being led. Right now PCSO is looking like the place to be because you have a egomaniacal sheriff who trives on the attention. It is that ballsy attitude that has made him a leader. Like it or not! They have taken over smaller jurisdictions and will continue till we will have to give up control of our own department. Mark my words! We will become a metro department one day.

Gentlemen, it is time to stand up and be counted! Support the union and help it get stronger! Make sure you attend the union meetings and be involved. I saw a lot of support when the PBA held a benefit dinner for Sonny, but what have you done recently. Support the union in the decisions. Don't complain about something if you are not willing to stand up and be counted!

Make your voices heard.

What is the PBA doing for you men and women in Lakeland? Isn't the WC.F.P.B.A your representation? TIme to stand united and make them work for your dues!!!!

As far as Makin Waves comment about us inevitably becoming Metro. Wrong, aint gonna happen. One reason why. City hall would not be able to keep their thumb on us and exude their power at will. They could not force us to jump and say how high every time one of the commissioners gets a complaint from someone in their district about the same shizzit every other citizen has to put up with. Maybe if they staffed us properly they wouldn't get so many complaints. In the meantime we will form task forces to protect the swans and guard the butterfly's on display in the downtown area.

This place is a joke. Lets get back to being the agency we once were, which is the reason everyone who has been here for a while came here in the first place. As far as the union goes, they aint doing shizzut. Every time someone asks for help on something there only response is they are working on the contract. How bout all the other issues here, yeah we are working on the contract. I'm beginning to think that the only people our dues are benefiting is T.P.D. because there union takes care of them.

[AFOR]

Wait...are you saying that Lakeland has a union? Oh yeah, I see on my check stub that money is being taken from me every month. And I do vaguely recall being stalked and courted by Tampa Union Representatives on a daily basis just before we voted them in. Of course I haven't seen them even once since they were voted in years ago. But we did get that email last week saying that contract negotiations were underway, and that we should be proud of everything that has been accomplished thus far. I wish those accomplishments had been listed so we could have known what we were so proud of. Ask any regular officer what he or she thinks is a priority and they will say things like the promotional policy, manpower, etc. These are the constant topics of discussion between LPD cops daily. I guess maybe if we were more intelligent we could see that these are not serious priorities, and are not really doing serious damage every day to our agency. Maybe PCSO will take over and we can feel how it is to work for a professional agency again.