| 01/29/2005 |
| Town’s police, dispatchers move to change union |
| By STAN FISHER , Journal Register News Service |
|
CLINTON -- The town’s police officers
and dispatchers have filed petitions to change their representation
to a new labor organization formed by a retired Branford police
officer. The request means the possible end of a 33-year
alliance with the International Brotherhood of Police Officers, one
of the nation’s largest police labor unions, in favor of an
organization barely six months old.Members of more than 20 unionized police departments across the state, including Clinton’s, are seeking affiliation with the Connecticut Organization for Public Safety Employees -- or COPS -- the specialized labor organization chartered last year by retired Branford Officer Ronald Suraci. In its short history, COPS already has taken over the representation of officers in Old Saybrook and Darien and employees of American Medical Response, the ambulance firm. Among the petitions filed this week with the state Board of Labor Relations are requests for a change of affiliation by communications dispatchers in Branford and police officers in North Branford, Woodbridge and Madison, Suraci said. The new union also has been fielding inquiries from unionized fire departments and other public safety employees, he said. Suraci served as a Branford police officer from 1989 until a career-ending injury led to his retirement in 2001. A union steward and president of the Branford local, Suraci after his retirement worked for the IBPO until forming COPS. Rather than being represented by a large union in a distant headquarters, he claims COPS is a labor organization of "Connecticut people, working for Connecticut people," with an understanding of the unique nature of public safety work. The organization’s legal counsel is being provided by Licari and Walsh, a New Haven law firm widely respected for its expertise in labor issues. It previously has worked with Connecticut locals of the IBPO. Police Officer Philip Confer, president of Clinton’s IBPO Local 360, said the requested change is an attempt to improve the local’s "bargaining position" and to have "local control and representation." "We don’t feel we get fair representation," Confer said of the affiliation with the IBPO. Officials at the IBPO national headquarters in Qunicy, Mass., could not be reached for comment on the requested change in affiliation. The town’s six dispatchers and the animal control officer, members of Local 59 of the Connecticut Independent Labor Union, also have petitioned for new representation. Dispatcher Ellen Vece, the local’s president, said the group was displeased that CILU had merged with a larger electrical workers’ union, and was seeking stronger representation by a union more understanding of the issues facing its members. The accessibility of union training at COPS’ offices in Madison also appealed to the group, she said. |