TAMPA PBA REACHING OUT

TAMPA-PBA
Truth Or Consequences
By Second Vice President Rick Cochran
As we are all fully aware, we lost our Impasse hearing in
front of the Tampa City Council recently. What we did
accomplish was that we showed the city that we can and
will stand united in our fight for what we have earned and
well deserve. The number of officers that took the time to
come out and show their support, especially those who didn’t
stand to benefit financially from it this
year, was amazing. That was not lost on
the city. Although the council ruled
against us, from the time they walked into
the council chambers, they showed the
pressure that they felt from it. I’m quite
certain that they realize that they will
experience negative ramifications from
their lack of support for us and what we
do. It is now our job to make sure that
they do. We must do everything in our
power to end the political careers of those
council members and administrators who
failed to support us.
The Tampa PBA will be working diligently to find individuals
running for office who understand and appreciate
what we all do on a daily basis, and have the internal fortitude
to take a stand against the individuals within our city
government who don’t. What we all want, and must have,
are council members and administrators
who are interested in having a city that
works with and presents the truth. Other
than Councilman Joe Caetano, not one
member of our current Tampa City
Council seemed interested in asking for
or demanding that the
city provide true and
accurate information, and how they got
there. Thank You Joe! Your support for
us, and the integrity that you showed us
through the hearing, has not gone unnoticed.
We will be there to support you too.
Once we find those individuals
deserving of our support for election or
re-election, and those who deserve our
undivided attention in ending their reigns,
we need to come out with the same kind
of united front in making sure that we are
successful. Hopefully we can all find
some time to carry signs, knock on doors, and get the word
out through every means necessary so that we can get a
council, administration and other local area government
elected that cares more about the truth than the agenda.
Until Next Time Be S


READ CAREFULLY MY FRIENDS :cop:

TAMPA-PBA
State Of The Union
By Diane Bailey Morton, General Counsel

First, I would like to thank all of the officers and family
members who attended the City Council Hearing on the
impasse issues. It was an inspirational sight to see the true
caring and concern everyone had for their fellow officers. I
know many of you had to work or be at home and watched
on television. Those who were there either in person or spirit
were true brothers and sisters to their fellow officers.
As you could see from the hearing, the union presented
a cogent, logical argument on the necessity of the Step Plan
remaining in a status quo position. We did not ask for an
increase in the pay of the Steps, only a continuation of the
2008 pay level. As I argued at the hearing, the city would get
2010 officers at 2008 prices. The city argued that it was in
dire financial straits and could not give a pay raise to any
employee. Yet, Kimberly Crum, Human Resources
Director, admitted at the Impasse Hearing that anyone getting
a pay grade change will, in fact, get a raise.
The cost of the Step Plan was an issue hotly contested
by both sides. When the city repeatedly stated at the bargaining
sessions that it did not want to pay the Step Plan but
had never bothered to calculate the amount, Sgt. Jimmy
Meier obtained the raw data and calculated the amount. His
numbers were completely supported by data detailing the
names, salary level, and review date of each officer. The
city’s numbers on the Step Plan fluctuated repeatedly, especially
when Sgt. Meier pointed out they included officers
who were not even in the Step Plan; they then made everyone’s
salary review date Oct. 1; and then they added in fiscal
year 2011 to inflate the numbers. You can be proud that
the union took the moral high ground and never falsified,
exaggerated, or mislead anyone with the numbers of the
Step Plan.
The next step in this process is that the city will propose
a collective bargaining agreement and we will present it to
the members for a vote. We are going to urge you not to ratify
the agreement as we believe it will
contain provisions that constitute an
Unfair Labor Practice. The city council
voted to make any officer who received a
Step increase after October 1st, when the
Impasse procedure was ongoing, pay the
money back through payroll deduction at
a nominal amount per check. We were
never advised of this in bargaining sessions or at the
impasse hearing before the Special Magistrate. When a collective
bargaining contract exceeds its expiration date, the
contract stays in place in a status quo basis until a new contract
is formed. Thus, our position is that the Steps do not
have to be paid back. If the city does take them back, we
plan to file an Unfair Labor Practice with the Public
Employees Relations Commission (PERC), the governmental
entity in Tallahassee that governs public employees.
Another issue and possible Unfair Labor Practice is that
any officer placed in an upper Step will be moved back. For
example, if their salary review date was November 1 during
the Impasse time period, and they moved from Step 5 to
Step 6, the city would move them back to Step 5. I have conferred
with the Florida PBA counsel and this issue is a new
and unusual issue that we will consider if and when the city
takes that step. Again, it could well be another Unfair Labor
Practice.
Rest assured, we are all working tirelessly to protect
your rights during this difficult time period. When the city’s
audit is released in March, we will be analyzing it scrupulously
preparing for next year. We appreciate your input and
all the supportive phone calls you have made to us.
If you have any questions, you can contact us at the
PBA office. If any of you missed the Impasse hearing and
would like a copy of the transcript, we can email it to you
for your review. Have a safe and happy holiday season!
THANKS! for reading mi amigos :mrgreen:

TAMPA-PBA
The Impasse Circus
By Paul Southwick, PBA Member

On December 2, 2009, many of us went to the Tampa City
Council meeting hoping to see this legislative body become
a quasi-judicial board, review all of the evidence provided
by the City of Tampa and the Tampa PBA, honestly evaluate
the validity of that evidence, and render an unbiased
decision only after having reviewed all of the facts. What
we witnessed was a culmination of months of misinformation,
blatant lies, media manipulation, and selective ignorance;
far less than we had hoped for. The end result of this
circus was an imposed contract of inequity.
It began with the PBA attempting to do the right thing
by going to the city and offering for its members to forgo a
COLA increase (a pay raise) in light of the city’s assertion
that it may have to lay off city employees due to a severe
financial crisis. The PBA came to the table with the most
honorable of intentions, unaware that
city minions were beginning to execute a
well orchestrated attack on the
Merit/Step Plan (not a pay raise) earned
by, and promised to, the fine officers of
this city.
The city, after accepting the generous
offer of the PBA, turned hostile,
refused to bargain in good faith, and
quickly declared impasse in negotiations.
Their demand (not offer) to the
officers consisted of taking the COLA,
taking the Step Plan, placing conditions
on maintaining the status of MPO, and
giving NOTHING in return. A very
generous offer, indeed, by the city and
hardly meeting the spirit of collective
bargaining.
This honorable action was accompanied by the city
minions intentionally providing false information regarding
the cost of the Step Plan (roughly 12 times the actual cost)
to a local newsman for airing on television. These persons
also provided a follow-up bundle of untruthfulness to the
Tribune and Times creating an aura of greed among the officers
of the Tampa Police Department and eroding the positive
public perception we have worked so hard to achieve.
What a great way to say “thanks” to the officers who risk
their lives on a daily basis to reduce crime and make Tampa
a safer, better place to live.
The PBA put extensive effort into countering the city’s
blatant lies, but met with an unsympathetic media response.
The PBA provided the media with indisputable evidence of
the city’s unscrupulous, calculated endeavor to discredit the
officers’ admirable reputation in the view of the citizens of
Tampa, but the media refused to present that information to
the citizens for consideration. The PBA also expended a
considerable amount of research and time to provide the
members of the Tampa City Council with accurate information
regarding disputed items to be heard at the City Council
Impasse Meeting, backing all claims with documentation
pertaining to the source of that information.
The city countered by scheduling a meeting with council
members in the Mayor’s Conference Room. The meeting
was open to the public, per Florida Government in the
Sunshine laws, and was attended by the PBA Board of
Directors. The PBA was not permitted to address or refute
any information provided by the city, but we did get to witness
another round of dissemination of falsehoods by the
city administration. We were even treated to members of
council being threatened with bearing
the burden of being held responsible for
hundreds of layoffs if they sided with the
officers or firefighters in maintaining the
Step Plan as status quo.
As the impasse process progressed
we witnessed some incredible acts of
partiality by some members of council.
Although council becomes an impartial
quasi-judicial body, by PERC rules, for
the purpose of resolving disputed contract
issues, two council persons elected
to show their partiality. One stated on television
that he sided with the mayor on
the issues immediately upon the city’s
declaration of impasse. In all fairness
though, this council person did say he
would vote in favor of the PBA if some
of the members discussing issues with him could figure out
a particular card trick he performed in front of them. The
PBAmembers did the honorable thing and ended the discussion.
The other council member openly backed the mayor’s
issues during the meeting in the Mayor’s Conference Room.
What a tremendous showing of impartiality for these two to
arrive at a decision before hearing the facts at the City
Council Impasse Meeting. We can only be grateful that
these two are not presiding over any of our criminal cases.
One member of council, Joe Caetano, was interested in
the real facts from the beginning. He questioned numbers
and sought proof of claims presented to him. Mr. Caetano
took the honorable stance of not succumbing to the threats
of causing layoffs and made an informed decision based on
the information heard at the Council Impasse Meeting. He
intelligently filtered out the untruthful information that was
presented and only considered what could be proven as fact.
For his principled and praiseworthy stance on rendering a
decision that some may consider unpopular, I extend my
deepest gratitude.
On December 2, 2009, Council voted 5-1 in favor of the
city, claiming they had to take the city at its word in its
claim of dire economic times. It did not matter that the city
falsely claimed it had experienced deficits in the past few
years when it was proven the city actually made profits
ranging from $89 million to $156 million since 2006. Those
voting in favor of the city effectively placed a dollar value
on police officers and that dollar value is something less
than .65 of one percent of police payroll.
Five members of council chose to exercise selective
ignorance on that day and impose the most inequitable contract
in memory. These members became accomplices to the
city’s claim of “equity” by forcing nearly half of the police
officers to perform the same work as their counterparts at a
greatly reduced rate of pay. The “freezing” of the Step Plan
was the single-most unconscionable act of discrimination
toward employees by a city that touts its “no tolerance”
stand on discrimination.

After the lambasting of the police officers one council
person proclaimed, “We are all in this together.”
Unfortunately, his proclamation is as ill-informed as his
decision at the Impasse Meeting. We are not in this together
with those who choose to ignore facts, fail to question falsehoods,
and render discriminating decisions. The officers of
the Tampa Police Department are professional, honest, caring,
impartial, and will remain as such. Much credibility has
been lost through the actions of the city’s bargaining team
and some members of council. Because of this, you cannot
expect the officers to stand shoulder to shoulder with you
and be in this together. You are on your own t
SOUND FAMILIAR :devil:

TAMPA-PBA
Our Step Plan and Being Fair By Senior Vice President Jimmy Meier
Good day fellow PBA members. Today I
want to discuss the Impasse Hearing that
was held on December 2nd at City
Council chambers at City Hall. I was very
proud that 300 to 400 officers came to city
council to show support for our Step Plan.
It was nice to see the panic in the eyes of
the city clerk when she saw the vast number
of officers. She called the Fire Marshal to try to clear the
room. I saw the city hall officials and I saw it in their eyes that
they were intimated by this large showing of officers. You
could hear it in their voices when they were telling their exaggerated
and inflated numbers to the city council members.
City Hall made a tactical error when it did this to the
Tampa Police and Fire Departments. The city now has to
deal with a united voice between these two public safety
departments. The officers who were at the hearing and the
others who could not attend due to job requirements are now
saying “us” and are no longer saying “me, me, me.”
Ultimately, this might be a larger victory, a union is only as
strong as its members. What I saw on December 2nd told
me that we are a strong union.
Be sure to tell your friends and family who on the City of
Tampa City Council had your back and who did not. City
Councilman Joseph Caetano understood the numbers and
could see through the smoke and mirrors that City Hall put up
and he had your back. Councilwoman Mary Mulhern did
not attend; she said that she and her child were ill. The other
council members who chose not
to listen to the truth and be buffaloed
by City Hall are as
follows: Gwen Mill, Thomas
Scott, Linda Saul-Sena,
Charlie Miranda and John
Dingfelder. These names should
be burned into your memory—
they are not to be trusted.
Remember when Director of
Human Resources Kimberly
Crum was at the podium and trying
to explain that it would not be
fair to give any officer a step
increase and that if anyone got a
step increase since October 1st,
those officers need to be rolled
back to their previous step and
they need to pay back money.
These City Hall officials keep
repeating that it would not be fair
if some people got a step and others do not. According to a
July 17th response to a public records request, these fairminded
people are just barely getting by on the following
salaries: Finance Director Bonnie Wise $160,659; City
Attorney “Chip” Fletcher $158,372; Chief of Staff Darrell
Smith $153,005; Director of Human Resources Kimberly
Crum $132,163. Their views are typical of these so-called
leaders. They talk about the layoffs in their departments, but
do they do anything in a personal way to help those employees?
Absolutely not!
On a completely different note, I am retiring from the
Tampa Police Department and leaving the Tampa Police
Benevolent Association on January 7th, 2010. I have been
with the department a little over 24 years. I could not have
worked with a finer group of officers than the ones here at
this department. I have had the opportunity to see and work
with officers from other agencies from around the country.
The officers here are head and shoulders above those officers.
To those supervisors here at the Department, please do
not forget your roots. The officers in the patrol division are
the backbone of the department. Like any structure, if it gets
too stressed, the structure becomes weakened and fractured.
Detective Rick Cochran will be taking my spot here at
the office. I can assure you that this union will be stronger
in the future and that is mostly due to you, the valuable
members of the Tampa PBA.
KIB 459, I am outta here.
Citizen Jimmy Meier
my advice unite and vote NO :!: 8)