Chuck Canterbury, National President of the Fraternal Order of Police, responded to media reports of tens of billions of dollars of unspent stimulus funds by saying the money should be used to offset the repeal of the Windfall Elimination Provision and the Government Pension Offset, two provisions in Social Security law which unfairly penalize public employees.

"In recent weeks, the national media has put a big spotlight on unspent stimulus funds, with some reports estimating as much as $60 billion in Federal monies which have not been used," Canterbury said. "These funds could be used to offset the enactment of the 'Social Security Fairness Act,' which repeals the WEP and GPO."

The Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) affects workers who spent some time in jobs not covered by Social Security and also worked other jobs where they paid Social Security taxes long enough to qualify for retirement benefits. The provision has a disproportionate effect on law enforcement officers, who retire earlier than most other public employees and are more likely to begin a second career after they leave law enforcement. Officers in this position are penalized and may have their Social Security benefit reduced by up to sixty percent (60%). The Government Pension Offset (GPO) reduces by two-thirds the benefit received by surviving spouses who collect a government pension.

"Politicians from both sides of the aisle are saying that these unspent funds need to be put to work, and I can think of no better way to both correct a manifest unfairness in Federal law and help to stimulate the economy that restoring full Social Security benefits to our law enforcement officers, teachers, and other public servants," Canterbury said.

The passage of H.R. 235/S. 484, the "Social Security Fairness Act," which would repeal the WEP and GPO is a top legislative priority for the FOP. The bill enjoys wide, bipartisan support and has more than 300 cosponsors in the House of Representatives.

"Congressional leaders have repeatedly told the FOP and others that they favor eliminating these unfair provisions, but cannot find a way to pay for the offset," Canterbury said. "Now they do, so it is time to bring H.R. 235/S. 484 to a vote!"

Chuck target="_blank">src="http://www.azfop.com/images/Canterbury.jpg">Chuck Canterbury, National President of the Fraternal Order of Police, responded to media reports of tens of billions of dollars of unspent stimulus funds by saying the money should be used to offset the repeal of the Windfall Elimination Provision and the Government Pension Offset, two provisions in Social Security law which unfairly penalize public employees.

"In recent weeks, the national media has put a big spotlight on unspent stimulus funds, with some reports estimating as much as $60 billion in Federal monies which have not been used," Canterbury said. "These funds could be used to offset the enactment of the 'Social Security Fairness Act,' which repeals the WEP and GPO."

Sgt. James Crowley, the Cambridge, Mass. officer whose arrest of Harvard Prof. Henry Lewis Gates led to the White House "beer summit," prepares to enter his police parade vehicle on Sunday.

"Hey, it’s the beer summit guy."

Of the thousands of people who watched Sunday’s Aquidneck Island National Police Parade in Middletown and Newport, that blurted remark by Air Force Maj. David Buchanan marked him as among the few who recognized the parade grand marshal.

It was James Crowley, the previously unknown white policeman who tangled with a prominent black academic, Harvard Prof. Henry Louis Gates Jr., at the threshold of Gates’ house in Cambridge, Mass., and became nationally famous — or infamous, depending on one’s point of view — overnight.

There was only applause for Sergeant Crowley from those who noticeably reacted as he passed by in the back seat of a Jeep, but most onlookers seemed not to know him. And a spot check of a couple dozen people in the crowd produced a mixed reaction to his role as honorary leader.

"Good for him. … I love the police," said Air Force Maj. Brian Kabat, who is attending military education with Buchanan in Newport and whose father was a policeman in LaCrosse, Wis.

Given Crowley’s notoriety, his being grand marshal struck Rob Holder of Middletown as "kind of strange."

The only black onlooker who agreed to be quoted by name, Thomas Glenrock of Newport, said of Crowley, "Everyone makes mistakes. That doesn’t mean he can’t do a good job" as grand marshal.

When Crowley reached the parade reviewing stand, Noella Jurdak, of North Attleboro, got his autograph. She hugged him and kissed him on the cheek.

"He deserves it for what he’s been through," she said.

Crowley and Gates barged into the annals of American race relations 9½ months ago when they had a nasty confrontation at Gates’ house. Crowley responded to a call of a possible burglary — Gates and his driver said they were trying to force their way through the front door because it was jammed — and when the sergeant arrived, an argument ensued. According to the conflicting accounts, Gates challenged the presence of the police, saying in a raised voice that he was being accosted because he was black, and he initially refused to show his identification.

Crowley arrested him for alleged disorderly conduct, but the charge was dropped later.

Gates accused Crowley of racial profiling and Crowley said a needlessly belligerent Gates instigated trouble. A national debate about race relations ensued, enlivened by the revelation that Crowley had been handpicked by the city’s black police commissioner to teach police recruits how to avoid racial profiling.

Some Americans immediately took a side, including President Obama, who said the police had "acted stupidly." The president subsequently admitted he spoke too hastily, invited Gates and Crowley to the White House for a beer, and the furor died down after a public rapprochement between the disputants.

Crowley gave Gates the handcuffs used in his arrest, and Gates donated them to the National Museum of African-American History and Culture in Washington, D.C.

Newport police Detective Corey Huck, parade president, said Crowley was appointed grand marshal because he is an exemplar of sound policing.

Crowley’s involvement in what was seen as a racial controversy was fully discussed by the parade board of directors and its steering committee before the invitation was made, Huck said. While Crowley initially was accused of racism, the public later learned that he, in fact, was a leader in Cambridge in racial tolerance, Huck said.

"Unfortunately, he encountered a situation, and through no fault of his own, he was thrown into the national spotlight," the detective said. It is the kind of confrontation that law enforcement officers must cope with all the time, he added.

"He never once stepped out of line. He’s a real attribute to all of us in law enforcement."

Crowley, whose Jeep was flanked by eight Cambridge police motorcycles in the line of march, did not address the crowd or speak to reporters.

He has become the toast of the law-enforcement community.

In August Crowley was cheered and applauded by thousands of attendees at a national convention of the Fraternal Order of Police in California, where he thanked members of the labor union for their support.

Cadets at a Massachusetts municipal police academy asked Crowley to speak at their April graduation. But state officials disinvited him on the grounds that his presence would overshadow the graduates’ accomplishments.

The incident is a lingering topic of conversation across the country and remains an item high on the Cambridge civic agenda.

"Hey, it’s the beer summit guy."

Of the thousands of people who watched Sunday’s Aquidneck Island National Police Parade in Middletown and Newport, that blurted remark by Air Force Maj. David Buchanan marked him as among the few who recognized the parade grand marshal.

Chuck Canterbury, National President of the Fraternal Order of Police, announced today that the organization’s annual National Peace Officers’ Memorial Service will begin at 11am, one hour earlier than was previously scheduled.

"The Memorial Service, probably the most solemn event for law enforcement officers and their families in the calendar year, will begin an hour earlier this year to accommodate the schedules of our guests and participants," Canterbury said. "I look forward to being with the families of our fallen heroes next week."

The National Peace Officers’ Memorial Service, which will be held on Saturday, 15 May on the West Lawn of the U.S. Capitol, will honor the one hundred and sixteen (116) law enforcement officers who gave their lives in the line of duty in 2009. The National Peace Officers’ Memorial Service is the capstone event of National Police Week, which will begin this year on 10 May.

During National Police Week, thousands of law enforcement officers in every region of the nation gather at memorial services to honor their fallen colleagues. More than 25,000 officers, as well as the surviving family members and friends of slain officers, will travel to the nation’s capital to attend the 29th Annual National Peace Officers’ Memorial Service, which is the nation’s largest and most prominent memorial service held on behalf of fallen law enforcement officers.

In October 1962, President John F. Kennedy signed a proclamation designating May 15th as National Peace Officers’ Memorial Day. Since the signing of this proclamation, this date has been the official day of recognition for law enforcement officers who have lost their lives in the performance of their duty. This is the 29th year that the Fraternal Order of Police and its Auxiliary will hold the National Peace Officers’ Memorial Service.

Representative Steny H. Hoyer, Majority Leader of the U.S. House of Representatives, told National President Chuck Canterbury and Executive Director Jim Pasco that H.R. 413, the "Public Safety Employer-Employee Cooperation Act," would be "among the first" bills considered on the House floor following the Easter recess.

You can find your Representatives' district office phone number using www.congress.org, or contact their office through the U.S. Capitol switchboard at 202-225-3121. When you reach their Washington office, ask for the district office phone number as well!.

The bill would recognize the fundamental right of public safety employees--primarily law enforcement officers and firefighters--to form and join unions and bargain collectively with their employers over wages, hours, and working conditions without undermining existing State labor laws. Basically, H.R. 413 would require:

• the right of employees to form and join a union;

• a requirement that the public safety employer recognize the union and agree to bargain over hours, wages, and the terms and conditions of employment; and

• the availability of an impasse resolution mechanism such as fact-finding or mediation.

The legislation does not require binding arbitration and would prohibit strikes and lockouts. You should emphasize that collective bargaining is a critical tool to resolve differences, not create them.

Law enforcement officers and firefighters do not have a traditional labor-management relationship. The bottom line is not shareholder profit versus wages, but how to best keep the public safe and get the officers safely home at the end of their shifts. The success of the law enforcement mission depends on an open dialogue that is absent in far too many of our departments today.

The FOP website has some great information on this important bill: http://www.fop.net/legislative/issues/bargain/index.shtmlIf you need any additional information, please do not hesitate to contact the National Legislative Office at 202-547-8189!

Representative Steny H. Hoyer, Majority Leader of the U.S. House of Representatives, told National President Chuck Canterbury and Executive Director Jim Pasco that H.R. 413, the "Public Safety Employer-Employee Cooperation Act," would be "among the first" bills considered on the House floor following the Easter recess.

FOP MAKES STRONG PUSH ON BARGAINING BILL
FOP President Leads Effort to Include Our Bill on End of Year Agenda

Chuck Canterbury, National President of the Fraternal Order of Police, spent all of last week in Washington, D.C. working in tandem with the staff in the National Legislative Office in an effort to get the language of S. 1611, "Public Employee-Employer Cooperation Act," incorporated into several likely pieces of legislation that Congress will be considering before ending the session.

"We’re cautiously optimistic," Canterbury said. "Congress has several bills that it must complete before concluding its business for the year. The fact is, we have a lot of bipartisan support for the bill and we’ve approached it in a very honest and open way. We do have a chance of getting this done."

The legislation, which was introduced by Senator Judd Gregg (R-NH) and the late Senator Edward M. Kennedy (D-MA), would recognize the fundamental right of public safety employees to form and join unions and bargain collectively with their employers over wages, hours, and working conditions without undermining existing State collective bargaining laws. The legislation does not require binding arbitration, protects existing right-to-work laws, and specifically prohibits strikes and lockouts. The bill has attracted a lot of support in the House and Senate from both sides of the aisle.

"The FOP and our friends at the International Association of Fire Fighters have been working to pass this legislation for more than a decade," Canterbury said. "Just as we were very close last May, winning a key procedural vote, I do think we have the support we need. It’s the timing."

HIGHWAY SAFETY AND BIG TRUCKS:
Correcting Inaccuracies Circulated by Special Interest Lobbyists
Section 2 of H.R. 1799, the "Safe and Efficient Transportation Act"

The Fraternal Order of Police has examined one component of H.R. 1799, the "Safe and Efficient Transportation Act," which would permit States to allow six-axled vehicles up to 97,000 pounds to operate on Interstate Systems routes within that State. Current limits allow five-axled vehicles to travel these routes carrying up to 80,000 pounds.

For the FOP and all law enforcement officers, this is an issue of officer and highway safety and it is in that vein that the FOP examined the issue. Large, heavy trucks operating at speed can pose a danger when incidents occur on our nation’s highways and there is scientific data available that suggests increasing the allowable weight of these vehicles will increase the hazard these vehicles pose. In addition, the increased weight will cause further stress on out nation’s infrastructure, meaning that the Interstate highways and bridges will deteriorate at a greater pace.

Law enforcement officers, agencies and organizations which support the increased weight limits and the addition of another axle correctly argue that current restrictions on weight forces these large trucks off the Interstates and onto local and State roads, where they pose a much greater hazard to local traffic and local law enforcement officers. Data supports the conclusion that trucks operating on Interstates have significantly less accidents than trucks operating on secondary roads. Additionally, trucks which are forced onto secondary roads have a much greater impact on infrastructure, the repair and maintenance of which comes from local and State budgets. Finally, scientific studies suggest that the additional breaking power of the sixth axle offsets the hazard presented by the additional weight.

Proponents of increasing the weight limit argue that this will reduce the number of truck miles traveled, but opponents of the heavier trucks counter that, over time, as more trucks are produced or retrofitted with the sixth axle, these vehicles will return to the highways in equal numbers.

The issue for the FOP is one of safety. However, this issue is clouded by special interests which all claim to have highway safety as their paramount concern. These special interests are spending significant amounts of money in this debate and their efforts have completely clouded reliable scientific data as to how any change in the weight limits would affect officer and highway safety.

While individual law enforcement leaders and local/State organizations may have taken different positions on this issue, responsible, national organizations like the National Troopers Coalition and the Fraternal Order of Police will not. No segment of our nation’s law enforcement officers will be more affected by this provision than State and Highway patrolmen and without greater consensus on this issue on the part of these officers, the FOP will continue to monitor and research, but will take no position at this time.

For more information on this issue, contact the National Legislative Office.

The Gates Case: After Action Report
by Jim Pasco, Executive Director

On the morning of 23 July 2009, at the direction of National President Chuck Canterbury, I contacted the White House to advise them of the FOP’s concerns regarding the President’s remarks at the previous night’s press conference which were directed at Sergeant James Crowley and the Cambridge Police Department. I also advised them that National President Canterbury would issue a formal statement later in the day.

I was subsequently contacted by a second member of the White House staff, who told me that all other police groups had committed to remain silent on the issue. I told this staff member that we were unlikely to remain silent. I suggested that he call National President Canterbury, who was in a travel status, and gave him National President Canterbury’s cell phone number. I immediately called National President Canterbury and briefed him on both my conversations with White House staff.

About ten minutes later, National President Canterbury, having by then spoken with the White House himself, coordinated with Arnie Larson, President of the Massachusetts State Lodge, and instructed the Washington, D.C. office to issue a strong statement in support of Sgt. Crowley and the Cambridge Police Department. We did so at approximately 3 pm that afternoon. By early that evening, as a result of FOP leadership on the issue, all other national police groups--except the National Association of Police Organizations (NAPO)–rethought their positions and also made statements in support of the men and women of the Cambridge Police Department.

We were inundated with media calls but only responded to print media to ensure a clear and moderate message. National President Canterbury declined all invitations to appear on talk shows and television news programs.

On the following day, we were happy to comply with a White House request to help facilitate a call from President Obama to Sgt. Crowley, the content of which has been extensively reported.

There is no doubt that the FOP’s prompt, thoughtful, and aggressive action ultimately mininmized potential adverse fallout from this matter, and brought focus to the simple fact that Sergeant James Crowley is a good police officer in a good department, and that he and his colleagues were merely doing their jobs that day–and doing them well.

AS of 02/20/2009

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