Union claims reprisal By Tammy Daniels, North Adams Transcript Article Launched: 06/04/2007 11:22:33 AM EDT NORTH ADAMS — The police union is claiming the city is retaliating against its rejection of a contract proposal by cutting the number of officers on duty. "One of the busiest police departments in Berkshire County should be increasing, not decreasing, the protection of its residents and visitors on the eve of a busy tourist season," Hugh Cameron, president of Massachusetts Coalition of Police, said in a statement released Sunday. Mayor John Barrett III strongly disputed the union's claims, saying the Police Department was cutting overtime — not staff — because of a budget crunch as the fiscal year ends. "It has nothing to do with the union," said Barrett on Sunday night. "It's being done because there's a $60,000 deficit." At issue is a day shift position that's been filled by officers on overtime. The spot was left empty last Friday. Losing the overtime officers means the day-shift staff has been cut by a quarter, said union officials. Instead of three patrol officers and a supervisor, there would only be two patrolmen and a supervisor. Union officials also said they were informed that the city would not fill vacancies caused by vacation or sick leave. "At minimum, there will be less police officers on the street. Whether that is caused by lack of funds or hostility to the union, it still means there will be one less officer," Patrick Bryant, union spokesman, said on Sunday night. "People should be concerned." Barrett said cutting the overtime position would not significantly affect staffing levels or reduce public safety. In addition to the day shift, there is also the commissioner of public safety, the police director and a lieutenant who can be called on, he said. And with school ending soon, the city's school resource officer will be available. "The burden is not being placed on the police officers. (The higher officials) might have to get out into the trenches, but only if there's a shortage," said the mayor. He added that the union was not "informed" of any cutbacks; the staffing decisions were made within the Police Department. "It's one month until the end of fiscal year, and the commissioner was told to cut back on overtime." Union Local President Brian W. Kelly could not be reached for comment by press time late Sunday night. Union and city negotiators met last Tuesday but were unable to reach an agreement. Bryant said the union has asked for state mediators to step in. "It was a take-it-or-leave-it offer on Tuesday," he said. The city rejected the union's wage hike request and, Bryant said, wants to reduce certain benefits, such as bereavement leave. There is also disagreement over "outside" police details — such as at road construction sites — said Bryant. "Generally it's an ongoing dispute over pay and benefits and a sense of respect from City Hall. Our studies indicate that North Adams officers were lower paid than other communities in the Berkshires," said Bryant. Barrett declined to discuss the negotiations, citing their confidential nature, but said he would be willing to discuss them in public if the union agrees. "We'll make the negotiations public and as transparent as possible," he said, adding that the other municipal unions had agreed to basically the same package. "If they want to make public what the city of North Adams offered them, I want the public to see what everybody else accepted." For Barrett, it's "deja vu all over again." He said the recent change in unions by the police and the return of previous leaders will bring the local membership trouble — like it had with the city in the 1990s. He suggested the union bring the contract to the members for them to decide. Bryant said the union members want a fair contract and to be treated with dignity. "We have communicated our concerns to the city and asked them to restore staffing levels on the shifts and to come back to the negotiating table and discuss why they're making these changes now," he said.
Posted by: SOT
Norht Adams is in the middle of the damn drug pipeline from Canada. They should have twice as many cops as they do.
Battle Brewing Between North Adams Police and City Officials ("Jun4,2007,1:05 PM EST") There is a battle brewing between police in North Adams and the city's administration. Leaders of the Massachusetts Coalition of Police say the city has cut the number of officers by as much as a quarter during certain shifts. The move came after a schedule was posted Thursday. It became official Friday after talks broke down this past week over a new contract. The union is considering legal action if the cuts are not restored and the bargaining continues.
Posted by: Piper
Hugh is a good man, that Union is being well represented
Posted by: 209
Tight budget puts teachers on the chopping block By Jennifer Huberdeau, North Adams Transcript Article Launched:06/05/2007 01:21:59 PM
NORTH ADAMS — Increases in operating expenses, special education costs and anticipated teacher raises, coupled with a decline in student enrollment is forcing the North Adams Public School system to tighten its belt..... ...."I've got20 firemen,half the police officers I used to haveand only 14 guys left in the city yard," the mayor said. "There are other municipal departments that will not get a pay raise that covers the cost of living increase.".......... __________________________________________________ ________________
North Adams - A move to stop calling replacement police officers as fill-ins for officers who are sick, vacationing or otherwise absent from their assigned work shifts has launched a war of words between city Mayor John Barrett III and city police Officer Brian W. Kelly, Massachusetts Coalition of Police local union president.
Barrett termed the decision financial necessity; Kelly called it "retaliation." Officers who are called in to work for absent officers usually are paid overtime pay rates.
Barrett said this morning that the decision to allow shifts to operate at less than a customary three officer, one supervisor capacity will not jeopardize public safety and is necessary because of a $60,000 Fiscal Year 2008 city budget deficit.
"Look, we are $60,000 in the hole for the FY 08 budget," Barrett said during a telephone interview. "This is not a cutback. We are simply not filling a shift position when someone calls in sick or takes vacation. We haven't reduced safety levels, we haven't cut any positions."
Kelly emphatically stressed that he was speaking as a member of the union and not on behalf of the police department when speaking this afternoon.
"On May 31, [city police Director Michael Cozzaglio] notified me that the overtime was going to be cut, going to be guillotined," Kelly said. "On June 1, the day shift was one officer short. What you have to know is that on May 29, we were at the negotiating table and this issue of the city being broke never came up. But we did not reach a [contract] settlement and we are going to arbitration. We think this is being done in retaliation."
City police officers have been working without a new contract for three years, Kelly said. Unionized officers recently opted to leave the International Brotherhood of Police Officers and become affiliated with the coalition, Kelly said.
No Retaliation, said Barrett
Barrett said that the decision is in no way retaliatory. Kelly was the officer in line to work the June 1 shift and would have benefited from the overtime pay had the spot been filled, he said.
"That's why this is being brought to everyone's attention," Barrett said. "And he shouldn't be using his position as union president to feather his own nest."
Barrett said that contract negotiations were progressing but when the officers switched to the new affiliation, "it meant going to step 1 in the negotiation process."
"For my money, they [bargaining committee] should let the full membership see the package that was offered," Barrett said.
Kelly said that the city's offer has been presented to the membership several times and there is one item that union members are very dissatisfied with: bereavement time.
"We are very close in the wages, it's the bereavement days that are the issue," Kelly said. "Barrett wants to allow the commissioner [Public Safety Commissioner E. John Morocco] to have the discretion to tell officers how much time they can have for bereavement. Right now we have three days bereavement for relatives like a parent, grandparent, aunt, uncle, like that. What they want is to be able to decide whether or not we were close to a person or if we are actually grieving. They want to be able to say the officers can have one day, or two days, or even no days. We feel there is too much room for prejudice and we don't mean by this commissioner, we mean by any commissioner at any time. We do not want to change this [existing]language."
Kelly denied that the matter of overtime is personal.
"I wouldn't have been able to work that day even if I'd been asked," he said. "This is a matter of public safety and police safety. Asking the officers to work without a full shift is very disheartening. The police log is public record, and we are one of the busiest police departments in the county."
"There are times when an officer needs back-up and it can be hard when there are three officers on duty. Three officers is a skeleton crew, but we have agreed to go with that."
Barrett said that the city has lost several million dollars in state aid over the past few years and cannot afford the overtime costs. There is no risk to public safety, he stressed.
"There is a director, a lieutenant, there are sargeants who are on duty," he said. "The burden falls to them [in cases of shift call-outs]. It means they have to get out there in the trenches."
Cozzaglio, Lt. David Sacco, and the police department sargeants are trained and qualified to handle situations if needed, Barrett said.
"And we have a school resource officer who is capable of stepping in if he is needed," Barrett said.
Kelly said that the department hosted up to 30 police officers during past years and now employs about 20 full-time officers. Public safety is the issue, he said, and added that the police bargaining unit has handled contract negotiations properly and fairly.
Other city departments have accepted the bereavement change but Kelly said police officers are not willing to accept the proposed change.
"I don't think the other groups examined this as closely as we did," Kelly said.
"This is about public and police safety and that is all it is about," Kelly said. "We are bringing this to the public because we believe it is a serious matter. And I'll tell the public now to call their city councilors, call the Mayor and tell them that they want the shifts filled."
Barrett was adamant that public safety is not at risk.
"We've made no cuts, no reductions and we have not put public safety at risk."
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