Left In Lowell

Lowell Police Union Reminds Us Why to Vote Patrick

37 Responses to “Lowell Police Union Reminds Us Why to Vote Patrick”

1. pete the pirate Says:
   April 10th, 2010 at 12:28 pm

   wow, for once we agree on a concept. i felt exactly the same way when i saw that you endorsed that hack eileen donohue.

   and now i await my spanking as it is some kind of sin to disagree with lynne

2. Jack Mitchell Says:
   April 10th, 2010 at 4:44 pm

   Pete,
   The internet is a big place.

3. Corey Says:
   April 11th, 2010 at 12:15 am

   Hi Lynne,
   As usual you take a decent argument, twist it and fail to insert a measured amount of reality or plain talk. I will of course preface these remarks that they DO NOT represent the opinions of the Lowell Police Department, the City of Lowell, or our small self represented union. They do reflect of course reflect my opinion as a resident, as I feel I am entitled to… and might guess a few others may agree.

   I had really gone back and forth on whether to respond. I thought, she’s dropping bombs, nobody’s really paying attention. Yet the more I thought about it the more I started to realize there are too many of you who don’t appreciate the services you get as a resident. I mean I never did, until I became a cop. It’s all too easy to mention one of us in memorial if something awful happens and way too easy to point finger of judgment in second guessing split second decisions made in the line of duty.

   I know I’d probably feel better, but then bad by responding. However I think you may even agree I’m offering the truth, at least how I see it. Because it sucks when you’re not appreciated and is even more an injustice when you’re not fairly compensated for what you do, which affects your family who equally suffer with our profession. Do you, as I, find this striking how comparable this is to military service… as you and others can so easily turn to us and turn on us? It is so empty how you blanket claim your right as a taxpayer to delegitimize about MY right to protest the way MY governor spends MY taxes.

   Let me apologize, as I am pressed and finding it a bit hard to be as articulate on the subject as I would like, in responding to your mudslinging. I am taking 4 classes this semester at UMass, trying to finish the 8 classes I need for my Bachelors degree and to beat the ever shrinking Quinn window. A degree to which I delayed, so that I could fully commit myself a police department, I saw equally committed to our community.

   I will begin in recognizing your cute attempt to use the Chelmsford PD protest to showcase a very passive Lowell PD gathering. In my opinion, Chelmsford was completely within there rights to express their anger and dissatisfaction with government. You should understand as you prominently displayed your opinion on Boston TV during the local primary issue. I will say I found you a bit “tea party” in your thinking and reasoning on that issue, but didn’t fault your attempt to express your feelings, even thought it would’ve called for additional city expenses. The mere fact that you had so ardently been calling for the heads of people who have faced no sanction or indictment yet so recently been supportive of spending… makes you a poor town crier for pending layoffs or cost cutting measures.

   As you may have seen on Appleton St this morning- there were those happily supporting their small business supportive sugar daddy. You may have found it amusing; I unfortunately found no humor and was dejectedly awaiting a politician who again made promises in his campaign and reneged once in office. I will note as you failed to: it was a silent showing with no shouts, jeers or raised voices. You also fail to recognize the greater reality of the anti-Patrick sentiment. I will for you. As you previously intimated… you support the police and all… but everyone else seems to be sacrificing:

   Could you tell me how many Lowell officers there are?
   Could you tell me how many officers there were in years past?
   Can you tell me how many drug officers there are in our city of 120,000?
   Did you know Lowell superior officers forwent raises?
   Did you know Lowell superior officers accepted furloughs?
   Can you tell me where the Lowell Patrolman’s contract stands?
   Do you know how many years it’s been without a contract?

   Lynne, I guessing you might able to answer the last 2 by Googling and the others likely not clue. If this is the case, your comments rise to conjecture at best and at worst drive-by blogging.

   It does seem a bit foolish for anyone to accept your opinion of what it takes to be a police officer, or how educated we should be, but lets go with that… it seems your proposing we cut police details, reform Quinn and pay cops $20,000… $30,000 dollars less? Let’s look at some reality here… we’re working our asses off now and you wanna pay us less? Hmmm. That should cover “Alive, Unique”. How would you propose we get “Inspired”?

   I’m not even getting into the civilian flaggers. Even supporters are having to acknowledge with benefits and workmen’s comp they’re being paid wages equaling prevailing wage and in today’s American society there is a lessening respect for all law enforcement… never mind civilians in orange jackets? For christsakes Lynne, we have to dress the crossing guards up like cops to get people to stop for school buses!

   I worked a 2nd job while employed at the school department and actually took a pay cut to become a police officer and actually had to wait tables at a hotel in Nashua while I attended the Police academy to afford the pay cut. Here’s city budget, 10 years later and with an associate’s degree, I make 58,000 a year.
   http://www.lowellma.gov/newsitems/City%20of%20Lowell%20FY2008%20Proposed%20Budget.pdf.

   Is the response something childish like… hey it’s the job you signed up for… guess what, it’s not. Cause my job & negotiated contract included education incentives. I know it can be difficult to understand the unique complexities police officers face working in Lowell and the Commonwealth. It’s kinda difficult to explain, but being a cop is like seeing Aliens… NO-one is gonna believe you unless they see it for themselves… and the more you try to explain it, the crazier you sound.

   As far as Governor Deval Patrick and your blind progressive motivation on all matters Lowell and beyond… it’ll be that combined lack of integrity that will do far more damage to his reelection, than a small simple patrolman’s union could ever do in support.

4. Bob Forrant Says:
   April 11th, 2010 at 11:27 am

   Interesting, interesting. We’ve already had the private sector and their Congressional and state legislative enablers dispatch most of the well-paying unionized manufacturing work outside the U.S for the comfort of consumers who love to buy their cheap stuff at Wal~Mart.

   And, now we see much the same thing happening to public sector employment, esp. in the ranks of education, public health, and safety. Lets go to more and more part-time faculty at our colleges and universities, lets cut guidance an dther support positions at our schools, lets close a handful of fire stations off and on, after all fire fighters don’t work 24/7 right?

   Lets go back on agreements made with the police because….well…contracts don’t matter in the new era of ‘lets simply make up the rules as we go along and they suit our immediate needs’.

   So, lets put police substations and emergency health care in Wal~Mart, they sell everything else there now! Low low prices and low low service when it comes to education and public health and public safety - what a smart society we’ve become.

   And, oh, by the way, while we economize on these things its somehow ok for ‘Still Mayor’ to rant about having his grass clipping picked up weekly? There oughta be a law!

5. Jack Mitchell Says:
   April 11th, 2010 at 11:30 am

   Corey,
   First I’d like you to hear from the Governor directly.
   Thanks so much to Dick Howe for the video & the transcription.
   . . . You may be concerned about some of the police who are outside protesting. These are good people. They’re worried about their livelihoods and the public’s investment in them and so am I. But let me be clear: when we changed from police details to civilian flaggers, that was not about some policy point; that was about you; about efficiency; about simplicity; about how we do well and better what, frankly, 49 other states are already doing.

   When you hear issues around the Quinn Bill, for example, that’s not because the Quinn Bill is evil, it’s because we’re at a place right now where we’re having to make a lot of hard choices. There is nothing about what we’ve proposed that puts anyone’s collective bargaining rights in jeopardy. Nothing. And you’ve got to know that, because you’re not going to always hear that or get that from somebody’s sign or slogan.

   There are going to be a lot of things said in this campaign that are about tearing people down. That is not what this campaign is about. And that is not what this administration is about. It’s about lifting us all up; and if you want to be a part of that, you’ve got to bring that out.

   Now this is between you and me.
   I am not a Union member, but my father’s family was deeply Union. That legacy forms much of my political perspective.
   It is with disgust and dismay that I see labor leadership playing footsie with rats like Sen. Scott Brown. A quick trip over to New England Police Benevolent Association, Inc. makes my point.

   Now I am not an advocate of lock step fidelity to a political party based on membership in any organization, including Unions, but let’s be clear. Republicans HATE Unions. Sen Scott Brown will not support The Employee Free Choice Act. PERIOD!

   I’m not sure. Maybe that is not a concern of yours. I’ve heard the argument that some Union members care little about other, struggling, members of the working class. It’s the classic, “We got ours, screw them” argument. I’m a optimist, however. I won’t deny that there are forces in your membership that try to convince the rank and file that they are victims under an onslaught of “big government.” Or in other words, “they want to take your hard earned money with more taxes!” Police and Fire personnel should be particularly immune to this silliness, as they are the so called “big government.” Chuck in teachers and the folks at the DPW shed while you’re at it. When you’re shaving tomorrow, say hi to that “big government” that Sen. Scott Brown hates so much.

   Corey, you can have your cake and eat it too, for only so long. Flip flop between the two dominant political forces all you want. You can try to play them against each other. It’s a viable political game. I don’t begrudge you or your comrades from looking out for each other, but be aware. Scott Brown and Charlie Baker will throw you one hell of a parade. You’ll get the biggest float and the crowds will cheer, one day a year.

   Otherwise, they will leave your ass hanging in the breeze.

6. Left of Lynne Says:
   April 11th, 2010 at 1:51 pm

   @ Corey, BOO F-ing Hoo ! Real wages for private sector workers have been in decline since the Regan years. Workers who support your chosen line of work with their tax dollars.So, just tell me now how much more of my tax $ you think I should pay to support your chosen line of work because you guys with badges all so special ! I know the trauma you see on the job,if you can’t manage,get out.

7. Maggie Says:
   April 11th, 2010 at 6:38 pm

   I look at it this way. Back in ‘98 I had need of a police officer fast and they came. They came in a good sized number, they did what they needed to do and they caught the guy. I will always appreciate that. I believe in well-educated,well-trained officers and incentives to keep them that way. And most of all I believe in having enough to get the job done and right now Lowell is short by about 40. I cannot count the number of times I have heard a dispatcher send someone outside of their zone to cover elsewhere because all that area’s available officer are tied up. Last year in this area on several occasions, detail officers were the first to respond when something went down. And lastly, civilian flagger jobs have to go out to bid. It’s is ending up costing more than the officers were.

8. Left of Lynne Says:
   April 11th, 2010 at 8:21 pm

   @ Maggie, you’re wrong ! One of the savings in flaggers is that there is no manditory minimum hours like the cops get(four hours or pay for one hour of work). Flaggers are only paid for the hours they work.Also, you can save your anecdotal evidence,if you know so much about staffing levels,you would know about about the minimun hours policy. You’re too cute by half !

9. nextyearishere Says:
   April 11th, 2010 at 8:26 pm

   I would hope that the police action is just a negotiating tactic, because Tim Cahill has already put local aid at the top of his cut list, and Charlie Baker will try to get taxes cut asap, with the same result. So, although you may not be too happy with what you got, the alternatives are like cutting your nose off to spite your face.

10. Eleanor Rigby Says:
    April 12th, 2010 at 12:25 am

    I just want to point out that the Lowell Police are not affected by the Governor’s cuts to the Quinn Bill or use of civilian flaggers.

    Lowell taxpayers have to make up the difference in pay that the state is cutting from the Quinn Bill and if I am not mistaken Lowell Police are contractually required to be hired for details leaving civilian flaggers out of the picture in Lowell.

    So who were those cops picketing at the Owl Dinner? Because the things they are complaining about don’t impact the LPD.

11. Mary Says:
    April 12th, 2010 at 11:23 am

    Corey, you are a scream. Your point that on one hand Lynne is calling for a cut in your pay because we can’t afford it and at the same time is advocating a pay raise for the City Manager on the other is right on track and proves my point from prior posts.

    Lynne, you talk about furloughs and pay cuts in this post yet you advocate for a pay raise for someone that YOU support. Can you not see the double standard and hypocrisy in this or are you completely blinded by Bernie? And Bernie is making a heck of a lot more than Corey.

    What I don’t like about how the Governor is approaching Quinn is that the STATE LEGISLATURE passed this law with a promise of funding. Now he wants to renege and stick the cities and towns with the choice of either funding their bill which they can’t afford or cutting the salaries of police officers. Not a very palatable choice either way.

    Although I don’t support the local monopoly on traffic details for police officers Corey you get your point across very well. The concept of civilian flaggers is an idea whose time has come. Unfortunately, the way this Governor handled the issue was poor at best.

    Flaggers are paid through prevailing wage scales. Which in Massachusetts are outrageous. I don’t know where those wages are prevailin’ but I want to work there. The way it was structured has saved very little when it could have saved a tremendous amount of money. Money that could have been plowed back into actual work on our roads and bridges. It’s outrageous that the 49 other states can get along with all these traffic details yet MA can’t.

    But what is more outrageous is the fact that we’re still discussing this year after years and year because no real progess has been made in the Democratically controlled state legislature because of fear of the police unions. I’ll give the Governor a point for that.

12. Marigold Says:
    April 12th, 2010 at 11:55 am

    Am I correct in believing that the police contract stipulates that if a single police officer is laid off, then the exorbitant triple overtime for holidays goes back into effect?

13. observer Says:
    April 12th, 2010 at 4:33 pm

    yes Marigold, of one officer is laid off super holiday pay returns.

14. joe from Lowell Says:
    April 12th, 2010 at 5:58 pm

    “…with an associate’s degree, I make 58,000 a year.”

    Let’s all take a minute and ponder this.

    “…with an associate’s degree, I make 58,000 a year.”

15. Sleuth Says:
    April 12th, 2010 at 6:46 pm

    How about this?
    * Eliminate Quinn Bill.
    * Raise base pay by 10-15%.
    * Use leftover money to put more police on the streets.

16. Christopher Says:
    April 12th, 2010 at 10:51 pm

    I don’t know enough to comment on the merits of the police beef with the Governor, but the over-the-top signs about Deval hating cops and being against public safety, both of which are certainly not true, are what really get me.

17. Paul@01852 Says:
    April 13th, 2010 at 8:11 am

    Let’s all take another minute and ponder *this*… With a bachelor’s-plus and 20 years IT experience I make…. $58,000 a year!

18. Mary Says:
    April 13th, 2010 at 12:06 pm

    Joe from lowell & Paul @01852 are you both suggesting that $58K is a lot of money for a police officer with an education at top step? If you are I strongly strongly disagree.

    What is wrong with a police officer, that puts his life on the line every day, making $58K a year? And that would be after the education incentive for an associates degree and the steps in the contract. If Corey has been with the LPD for 10 years he is at the maximum step in the contract. A new officer does not make $58K. But for an experienced officer with 10 years on the force this seems fair.

    Try raising a family and owning a home on $58k. It’s a heck of a lot less than $145K for the city manager and most posters here seem to want to give him a raise. I certainly don’t think that is a lot of money for what they do. If anything it seems a bit low. Teachers make a lot more than that. And they get incentives for a masters degree and no-one seems to care about that.

    The police officers are the individuals dealing with the gang members treating the city like a shooting gallery from the wild, wild, west. They are the guys dealing with the hard core drug dealers none of us want to encounter in our travels around the city. They are the guys trying to put child rapists behind bars to keep our kids safe. They deal with the scary people I never want to run into. Thanks for that Corey and godspeed.

    Many police officers, including Corey, have a military background. This seems a small price to pay for that type of expertise. Although I’m not a fan of traffic details because it drives up the cost of projects and services like cable, electric & gas I do think the police are one of the most important services we pay for with our taxes. You think they’re unimportant until you need them.

19. Mill Girl Says:
    April 13th, 2010 at 1:20 pm

    Paul…

    If you really want to get depressed, think about the value of that pension! In order for a private sector worker to get an annuity payment equal to 75% of $58,000 for the rest of your life plus paid health insurance, you’d need to have millions in the bank (no that is not an exaggeration).

    I respect the police officer and other public servants, but with wage stagnation and the rising cost of benefits, it is no longer altruistic to take a government job. Holding on to that old mindset is one reason they could lose public support. Just my two cents.

20. joe from Lowell Says:
    April 13th, 2010 at 3:02 pm

    “Mary Says:
    April 13th, 2010 at 12:06 pm
    Joe from lowell & Paul @01852 are you both suggesting that $58K is a lot of money for a police officer with an education at top step?”

    I’m suggesting that it’s not a tiny amount of money.

    “What is wrong with a police officer, that puts his life on the line every day, making $58K a year?”

    Nothing. However, the police officer who wrote the comment seems to think that there is something wrong with that figure.

    FYI, I have a master’s degree, and I’ve never earned $58,000 a year in my life.

21. Mary Says:
    April 13th, 2010 at 3:34 pm

    Not trying to be insulting but you may want to consider a new profession if you have a masters degree and have never earned $58K. Unless you’re an artist. Many times their work isn’t appreciated until after they pass away.

    I got the impression that Corey thought that the aim the Governor is taking to try and reduce his salary wasn’t right. Not that his salary isn’t fair. That’s how I read it. I did not get your take on it.

22. Maggie Says:
    April 13th, 2010 at 5:15 pm

    Left of Lynne - Detail work does not require a minumim 4 hour pay and it is private money. Flaggers are hired through a company and their work is put out to bid. And according to Channel 5 the other night the last company got paid 56$ per hour with no comment on how much the flaggers actually made. As for Lowell being about 40 officers under - that comment came from a budget hearing last year. .

23. Jack Mitchell Says:
    April 13th, 2010 at 8:41 pm

    Maggie,
    Details, very often if not always, have 4 hour minimums. I used to work as a consultant in the construction biz. The running joke was Boston cops sticking around long enough to grab the second 4 hours, then they would bolt.

    Oh, the Big Dig!!

    Which proves my second point. Contractors do pay the cop’s detail. Who pays the contractors on public works jobs?

24. Bob Forrant Says:
    April 14th, 2010 at 7:13 am

    So - what is it we are willing to pay well for in our society? Here we argue about what folks make who are supposed to protect us and get side-tracked into the Quinn Bill and other things rather than take on what for me is the central question: What kind of work do we value in 2010 and how are we going to pay for it.

    We need public school teachers, fire personnel and police officers. We need our streets cleaned and trash picked up (not grass clippings btw). We need our roads and bridges safe and sturdy. Others can add to the list. What we do not need are fat cat bankers making millions of dollars in bonuses after tax payers bail their sorry asses out. What we don’t need are subsidies to poorly run automobile companies that ought to fix themselves or go away. What we don’t need are bloated defense budgets that build helicopters for the president, each one of which could probably run the Lowell public schools for thirty years! And, what we do not need are over-paid and pampered professional base ballplayers being paid obscene sums of money to run around in the sunshine and fresh air and hit a baseball and catch it.

    While we divide and carp against each other and try to argue about who has a better pension plan, inequality grows and we take our eyes off of why the economy is in this sorry state and what we can do about it. It is easier to blog-holler about who ought to wave flags at construction sites than to see reality for what it is. We’re being taken for a long ride off a short pier by a host of pols, bankers and other assorted ‘fat cats’ and kept happy because goofy ‘Red Sox Nation’ is back in town, while we stumble and bumble along with too many people out of work, too many people still being foreclosed upon, too many young people not getting the quality education they deserve and too much $$$$ being spent on a protracted conflict in Iraq and Afghanistan that is bleeding our domestic spending dry, with no good end in site.

    To use a baseball metaphor - we need to keep our eye on the real ball here and not spend time yelling at each other and deriding public service, service which should be decently paid.

25. Jack Mitchell Says:
    April 14th, 2010 at 7:53 am

    Bob,
    If you want to provide a lecture about solidarity, you should start with the rank and file.

26. doormat Says:
    April 14th, 2010 at 6:07 pm

    Why bother doing anything

27. Kim Says:
    April 14th, 2010 at 10:40 pm

    Do you really think $58,000 is a lot of money for a police officer? We have gym and culinary arts teachers making over $77,000, and music and and art teachers making over $80,000 a year! Looking at the budget I would guess the average salary to be between $65,000 and $70,000. A gym teacher works 9 months a year and has very little planning time and they make more then someone that puts their life on the line. I don’t get it.

28. doormat Says:
    April 15th, 2010 at 7:21 am

    Lynne how long have you lived in Lowell?

29. Bob Forrant Says:
    April 15th, 2010 at 8:00 am

    Jack, in case you missed it - without the persistence of workers fighting for better wages, safer work, respect on the job, and decent benefits no other workers, union or not, ever would have achieved the standard of living working people achieved in the US after the Second World War. Since about 1970 these benefits and rights have been eroded for nearly all prvate sector workers and now public sector workers - police, firefighters, teachers, etc - are under attack and as a society we want to solve some of our economic problems by punishing the workers responsble for the essential services which make our society hum along.

    If that’s a lecture so be it:)

30. Jack Mitchell Says:
    April 15th, 2010 at 11:17 am

    Preaching to the choir, Prof. Tell that to the folks that think Scott Brown is a friend of theirs.

    I thought it funny, all the Teabaggers at “The Common,” yesterday. If it wasn’t for organized labor, they’d have no sick days or vacation time to use.

31. Kim Says:
    April 15th, 2010 at 3:17 pm

    After reading my post I realized it sounded like I did not think teachers deserve every penny they make. It just seems like slot of police bashing going on lately. When an insane drug addict walked in my front door I realized that the Lowell PD does not make barely what they deserve.

32. Bob Forrant Says:
    April 15th, 2010 at 4:51 pm

    Sorry Jack!

33. Victoria Says:
    April 15th, 2010 at 6:11 pm

    Check it out:
    Percentage of U.S. total income in 1976 that went to the top 1% of American households: 8.9.
    · Percentage in 2007: 23.5.
    · Only other year since 1913 that the top 1 percent’s share was that high: 1928.
    · Combined net worth of the Forbes 400 wealthiest Americans in 2007: $1.5 trillion.
    · Combined net worth of the poorest 50% of American households: $1.6 trillion.
    · U.S. minimum wage, per hour: $7.25.
    · Hourly pay of Chesapeake Energy CEO Aubrey McClendon, for an 80-hour week: $27,034.74.
    · Average hourly wage in 1972, adjusted for inflation: $20.06.
    · In 2008: $18.52.

    This massive redistribution of wealth upwards started with the Reagan tax cuts to the rich and intensified with the Bush tax cuts to the rich.

    The difficulty with the municiple unions is that they hold all the cards. As a community we must have their services in order to maintain order and civility, and our only bargaining chip is to hope that they will do what is in the best interest of the students or the community. But, at least in the schools, the unions usually sacrifice the teachers at the bottom of the seniority ladder rather than changing to a cheaper health care or renegotiating a pension system that we cannot afford. And loss of teachers hurt our children much more than if they would change to a cheaper health care plan.

    Unlike unions where workers are being exploited by a corporation where the CEO is earning millions in bonuses and salary and perks, municiple unions are working for us. For me, and you, and for all of us. And we don’t have those millions like the CEO’s. In fact, most of us have lower salaries, health care that doesn’t compare, and if you have a salary, you often work more than 50 hours a week and you never get any extra compensation. We have no pension, only social security which we pay for, or a 401K, which we also pay for.

    Yes, we need solidarity against neoliberal policies, but how do we do that? Only once in the history of this country has the wealth distribution been as unequal - the roaring twenties right before the great depression.

    Maybe we could start with the unions in solidarity with us, the working class and middle class taxpayer who really respects their services, who recognizes how much we need them, but it is hard to pay them more than what we ourselves are receiving. It is hard to pay for their health care when it is better than ours. It is hard to pay for their buy back sick days when we get none. It is hard to see them get so much more vacation. Those with seniority and who run the unions never have to worry about being laid off, but many of us worry about it every day.

    How can we create solidarity?

34. nextyearishere Says:
    April 15th, 2010 at 9:52 pm

    It was indeed the maldistribution of wealth that played a big part in precipitating the Great Depression. Those that had the money could not spend enough to keep the economy active, and the masses with the needs did not have the money to acquire them. As Victoria points out, we approached that precipice once again.

    The tax code is probably the best leverage to keep wealth distribution in workable bounds for the economy. Yet even now, there is a bill stalled in Congress that would disallow the capital gains preferential rate for hedge fund managers whose income is based on the risk taken with other people’s money. And their income is not small potatoes - the average income of the top 25 last year exceeded $1B each, and Congress is allowing them to pay taxes at the 15% rate on that income.

    So while we argue salary and benefits of the middle class, the people that influence the laws are getting away with financial treason.

35. greg Says:
    February 19th, 2011 at 3:02 pm

    Lynne,

    Just wondering who actually pays for the police officer’s tuition if they don’t? You lose your credibilty when you have no idea what you are talking about! Which is on par for person like you!

36. Lynne Says:
    February 21st, 2011 at 11:50 am

    I really ought to close comments for anything over six months old. You do know that the date on this post was last April right? As in, no one is going to read it but me.

    Also, no one’s going to listen to you because your tone sucks. You have little credibility yourself, there.

    Anyway, what’s YOUR personal stake on this issue? Just wonderin’.

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    July 11th, 2011 at 9:17 am

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