Release time. According to Clint Bolick “Officers are released from their police work to do union work full-time. It’s one of the big hidden scams in America.”
Bolick, who works at the Phoenix-based Goldwater Institute, noted that six individuals employed at the Phoenix police department work fulltime on union issues. And that in the budget of that criminal outfit is funding for an additional 2,000-hours of union-related work.
Huh? Is that how you’d choose to allocate the wealth you create?
But one shouldn’t be too surprised, after all, we’re talking about a coercive monopoly.
If you’re in Arizona and agree that badges don’t grant extra rights, get-active with Arizona Cop Block!
Thanks to Marc Guttman, editor of Why Peace and Why Liberty who put this video on my radar.
And for the record I think Stossel’s allowance for some “legitimate” theft is inconsistent for someone who claims to stand for freedom and responsibility, as the idea that an action wrong for me or you could be right when done by someone wearing a different attire is ludicrous. And, we see – both with the institutionalized violence and misallocation of resources – just what a flawed idea a double-standard or extra rights really is.
Didn’t quite satisfy your Stossel fix? Check out CopBlock.org Contributors on John Stossel’s “Illegal Everything” from Feb. 26th, 2012.
Do your union stuff on your own time and dime. I hope this is remembered when they ask for a budget increase.
Oh the horror, 6 out of 2800.
This only happens in the largest of departments. Pheonix is a large department. My department doesn’t do this. We have Union Leave that is authorized for union leaders. And this only means that if there is a union conference, they can take a day off work and use union leave. Which equates out to about 2 days a year.
But this arguement about people being robbed and murdered etc…. You could cancell that union stuff in Pheonix and hire 30 more cops…and I’m willing to bet that wouldn’t effect the robbery or murder rate. evil people do evil things.
Oh the horror, 6 out of 2800
So, the cop supporters approve of graft, when it’s in their favor? Shocking! Assuming a salary of, say, $100,000 for those “only 6″ cops, that’s still $600,000, not including benefits. Why should we pay that much for what amounts to a government-sponsored criminal racket? Al Capone would be jealous.
First off: Unions are responsible for many of the working benefits that we take for granted. i.e. 40 hr work weeks, vacation time, health insurance etc. etc.
That is a fact. They may not be needed in the capacity they once were but like them or not; everyone who works a job has benefited from Unions. They are an easy mark in today’s climate but they have served a purpose.
Second: Cops are human. They fuck up. Some of their mistakes are obviously causes for termination, charges, etc. Others are not. If they commit a crime they should be treated like everyone else. Should a slip of vulgarity, an off duty fight, etc. ruin a career. I like to think not. Everyone fucks up sooner or later.
There needs to be a standard; cop or no cop.
Release time is protection from the police administration (sometimes corrupt) allowing the Union official can do his job and not fear retaliation. Union officials often times butt heads with the administration.
I was a small town union president for six years; representing approximately 60 police officers. It was the last six years of my 20 year career. I did not have release time. On rare occasion they would give me a few hours during my working hours to work on something union related. But it was usually when they wanted something or it benefited them.
I like to think I did my job well. I was pain in the ass. I defended every employee equally; regardless of whether or not I thought he was a fuck up. I did that because I believe everyone deserves the same treatment; cop or no cop.
I also treated people on the street the same way; equally. I let many a people go with a warning when I was able to so. And I did that equally.
I didnt do what the previous union presidents did; bend over for the administration; take a cushy assignment and work as their puppet.
Unfortunately being a pain in the ass union president with no release time was my demise. At the request of the membership and with a full Union board approval I reported three members of the administration for committing crimes. (stealing evidence, assaulting individuals who were already in custody, missing case files, missing money, etc.) It backfired. A politically powered sheriff covered it all up, saved his command staff and came after me . I was harassed daily. All they had against me was that I did an unauthorized investigation. (which I did) I had no release time so I wasn’t protected. Faced with an unpaid suspension or retire I took the later.
I have no idea how big the department in this article is nor the amount of release time which they get. So I will leave a specific opinion on it alone.
But there is another perspective to allowing release time.
Given that common sense, and his many alternate accounts, are being paid with tax dollars to post here 24/7, this story certainly has a ring of truth to it.
The only silver lining is the fact that common sense has openly admitted that all police officers are inclined towards being pedophiles and rapists, so we are certainly reaching the target audience.
Sheriff’s Deputy Charged With Aggravated Sexual Assault Of A 13 Year Old Girl – http://www.kcbd.com/story/20563768/kent-county-sheriffs-deputy-charged-with-sexual-assault-of-a-child
Police Officer Indicted On Child Porn Charges – http://wvgazette.com/News/201301110096
Hey Common,
LOL, Buddy when the state governments go broke, like the great state of Illinois where I live you will see those pensions robbed like they have been here. Get your union to bitch about that, LOL. You thieves can only steal so much, LOL. Your wages will go down soon, your pensions will shrink, your funding will disappear and you guys will have to get creative about generating revenue like they do here. Can’t wait to watch the machine squirm like they are starting to do here in the land of Lincoln. LOL, the whole system is a racquet. Sooner or later it will self destruct it always does.
Here in Illinois we are laying off cops, teachers, fireman, city and municipal employees like crazy, oh the horror of down sizing LOL.
Public unions are an oxymoron, I mean how can you vote yourselves raises with out negotiations from yourselves. LOL, what a conundrum to be able to argue with your self, LOL. I’m still scratching my head, LOL. Common don’t you think that any salary, pension and funding should be held up for elections by the people who pay for your ridiculous compensation packages, no wonder states are going broke. LOL, what a joke……………
PSOSGT,
Don’t you think any and all union activity should be done on your own time not on public time? I used to be a union electrician and any time down at the hall was on me. Although agreed that crime will not take a hit because of all this only the taxpayers dime which I pay a lot of. I mean, PUBLIC and UNION is that not a contradiction or at best a conflict of interest. I’m not sure, but wouldn’t the RICO statutes apply to this, I mean it is a federal law and a crime punishable with prison time for organized criminal conspiracies to operate legitimate business. I think it should be put up for a vote by the people who pay for this. I bet we could squeeze a little savings from the taxpayers burden by reorganizing public law enforcement and public employees in general, being a taxpayer I’m sure you would have to agree! I mean you don’t have to be cop if you don’t like it. It is a free country! LOL, I make myself laugh…….That is all you can do with the hypocrisy of it all.
BluEyeDevil , don’t argue with common sense or any of his many alternate accounts, just use him as a urinal. He likes it that way, TRUST me. Hehe.
“If it weren’t for unions, blah blah blah.”
Yeah. And if it weren’t for slavery, we wouldn’t have had a thriving cotton industry. If you wear clothes, you benefit from slavery. I guess we should all be thankful for our masters and never question them, right, PeOne?
MJ,
I respect the fact that you did the best you could, but to somehow compare a public union to labor unions in the private sector is misguided on your part. Private sector unions historically are responsible for the good things you quoted, very true. Public unions, however, have held up the public for personal gain over public safety. Not just the police but the fire fighters as well, hell we see this type of thing constantly with teachers who go on strike hijacking our children’s future. I have no sympathy for those who leach off of the system. Your unions are no better than the ghetto rat defrauding public aid. It is the same god damn thing. I live in Illinois, near Chicago and I can tell you that I have seen these unions hold that entire city hostage. They are corrupt gangsters the lot of them. The funny thing is that this state is bankrupt and the politicians are constantly “kicking the can down the road” because they don’t want to lose their election mean while selling the rest of us out. The pension system will collapse I’m sure within a couple of years because it is unsustainable that includes the police, fire, ems, teachers, city workers, the politicians and all the rest on the public dole. You admittedly had to deal with corruption and I am sorry that your 20 years career ended with a tainted record. It proves exactly why the “people” are starting to take notice and putting a stop to this shit soon enough. The good ol boys are going down. Just ask the cop enablers in this forum, that is why they are trolling trying to somehow stop progress…………. oh ya it is good to hear you were a cop with integrity to bad they don’t hire more like that.
@Common
“Oh the horror, 6 out of 2800″
No matter how many, union activities are a private function and should be paid for out of dues, not out of tax payer money. Where I’m at, the union stewards are required to take care of their union duties on their own time.
Want to be in a union, pay the price.
You really need to read into what a police union does and does not do, and also what the risk management company does and does not do for a give police department/local-state governmental body. And understand it varies state to state.
Common,
Here is what we know, police unions cost the taxpayers money. Enough said, I don’t think anyone here is that stupid to not get down to the problem and that problem is the mismanagement of public funds by the criminals with badges. Just so you know I have been doing a little research on public unions and that is exactly why my children go to private school, lol, because they are a failure. Your union is no different than the idiots in the teacher union. I live in the shiter of the United States and let me tell you I have been forced to cancel work projects due to the fucking morons that are members of the Chicago teachers union and that fat troll bitch karen lewis. What a joke they are. But if you would like me to copy and paste you the info would be more than happy too.
I won’t address the comments which are from the “all cops are criminals” theorists.
The system obviously has problems but most do.
Blue ED; lost of debatable points. Thank you for getting your point across without making me feel like I didnt waste 20 years of my life. (other than the “you thieves” comment. I worked for every f ing nickel I made. )
The strong arm tactics which you describe by public unions were certainly crafted by private unions. They existed long before the public ones; striking and such is their game.
Police Officers are not allowed to strike. (at least not in NY)
When you were at the electricians union hall what did you do? Was it a social gathering (beer and shooting pool) or were you writing 5 and 10 page responses to disciplinary proceedings. (I honestly don’t know what goes on at a “union hall” We didnt have one. )
How many electrical jobs did you do for free? I’ll bet not too many.
Sending your kids to a private school because you dont like the public one? I presume you are still paying public school taxes. That is a great lesson for the kids. Lets avoid the problem instead of addressing it. (ya ya, your kids are more important; I do agree)
I came from nine years in a machine shop. A days pay for a days work. Why should I work for free? Yes, I chose to run for the position ( not a good choice / wouldnt recommend it) but someone had to. I was tired of the majority being sold out and stepped on. A system of double standards. (and yes, i failed in the end)
RICO is a federal statue; I am not overly familiar with it but i do not see how it applies. I believe that there has to be a continuing criminal enterprise.
I dont think the statistically low number of crimes committed by police officers constitutes a criminal enterprise. A lot of lected officials are the criminal enterprises in my opinion.
And for the whiners who are now going to say all cops are criminals because they get lesser traffic tickets; that is called discretion. Forget cops for a minute; for every one ticket I wrote I probably let 20 people go with a warning. (and that may be higher than average but all cops let people off) Are all of the citizens who got a break criminals too? The one that got written was outside the box; he was going to kill someone. Guess what; if I went outside that box, I would have gotten a ticket too; probably worse. I could have been suspended for a speeding ticket.
(How many other jobs are people penalized at work for something that happened while they were not at work.)
LIke any group of people or segment of a population, there are bad cops. Everyone knows it. Until we can hire a robot, programmed to do the job exactly the same way, each time, there will continue to be bad cops. Sounds like lots of sour grapes from those who got caught.
Similar to the sour grapes of those who are not reaping the same benefits as the police. You want the same pay and benefits, got take the tests and go through all the f ing hoops it takes to get hired. The “taxpayer this and that” comments: I am also a taxpayer, so are my wife and kids, other family and friends.
There are lots of reasons why the good ol boy system still exist s but when the guy in charge (ie. Sheriff) has to win a popularity contest every three or four years, they do not play by the rules. It is an antiquated system
Private law enforcement? Really? I think if you step back fot a second you are more intelligent than that. Ya, lets give raises and incentives to the ones that make the more arrests and lets have a low bidder come in. (yes, there are probably unwritten incentives at a lot of departments now but if proven it is criminal)
Yep, I want the low bidder protecting my kids.
Voted ourselves raises? I wish it were that easy. A local public referendum to approve a passed contract is arguable and a way to appease your argument. But is it fair to allow people with an obvious bias (former arestee’, their family and friends) to approve my pay and benefits.
Let the guy whose wiring you screwed up decide how much you make next year.
In NY 20 year retirements are now a thing of the past. Lots of past benefits are gone. What will eventually happen is that you will have lesser qualified people wanting to be cops. Work night, holidays, weekends, etc etc for crap money. Nope the better qualified applicant will go elsewhere and do better for himself. You get what you pay for.
You may only need to call the police once in your life. But when you need them; at that moment, it is most likely one of the most important things in your life. Thanks but I dont want the low bidder or a second rate person arriving at my families house.
Yes, the government will go broke. (i think by definition we already are) Again, lots of arguable points here but public service isnt the problem Its the leaches who think that their birth and presence gives them an entitlement to free money. If you don’t work you shouldnt get paid. NY is one of the highest taxed states because of all of the rats living for free. If you cant see that go hang out at a grocery store on the first of the month.
Pay for release time with union dues. I am all for it. A good majority of union dues are slush funds.
If the “alternate accounts” comment is directed at me; look again. I appear to be the only one using my real name. (Matthew J Peone for the record) (on second glance I dont think it was.
Needless to say I am a minority on this site. Thanks for the thus far limited bashing.
MJ,
First let me make clear that I and most of the people who comment in this forum do “NOT HATE COPS”, we need the police like we need fireman, we want accountability on a fair playing field, for the police to be held to the higher standard they swore to uphold. I was in the military for 6 years, fought on two fronts and to come home and have to deal with fascist police is a slap in the face. We see more and more bad behavior and outright criminality by these cops. Even you have to admit that the police culture of us vs. them is becoming out of control. If it keeps going down this road, along with the current administration and the economy tanking people are going to start shooting these goons with badges with much more frequency. A fight with the American public is something the police will not win and I’m sure do not want. That’s a guarantee and I’m sure you would have to agree. Shit man, you guys are us. It’s a fine line between order and anarchy I know that is exactly why we need professional and qualified police who know the law and are respectful and courteous to the people they serve. No we can’t possibly hire robots to be cops that is just a non sense answer but we can raise the hiring practices for new recruits. I mean for starters get rid of hiring quota’s and hire on merit, the practice of hiring soldiers straight off the front lines is asking for trouble, require a college education in psychology, or a social science, make the testing extremely difficult so only the best qualify. I mean those hiring test any monkey can do, I was recruited when I came home from the military both state and municipal levels and was amazed at how easy the testing requirements where, not to mention the psychological evaluation and physical requirements any child could pass, it was a joke and to have to deal with politics of the whole thing, forget it the public sector for me. I now work for myself, my wife is my secretary and my kids load my truck and I bust my ass to make my customers happy, this way of life makes my family and myself happy and better off than a lot of people, and I thank god everyday for my luck and hard work.
Second, my time down at IBEW was spent on several different things including testing for certifications, voting on contract and labor issues, charity work, and of course a beer or two with people I am friends with to this day. I never worked the picket lines, I always kept working and not really my thing. All this was on my time, none of it payed for and yes I still had to pay my dues. We didn’t get paid time off because all of our work was under contracts with different entities that did not include such luxuries in the contracts. The difference between private sector and public unions is the taxpayer dime which get exploited by public unions all the time. I mean how many times has anyone asked themselves, WOW do the police really need the brand new 140,000 police cruiser or the fire trucks which can get into the millions when the old stuff works just fine. Or the, insurance and pension perks which, my god man, are ridiculous. Or the working hours, time off, vacation time, or sick time or LOL, I mean it becomes a joke after awhile and all you can do is laugh. The police and the fireman are bad but the teachers give me a fucking break. These teachers barely work as it is and they keep asking for more, so yes I do send my kids to private schools and the test scores alone make it worth every dime. Paying taxes for public education is something I am forced to do with a gun pointed to my head simple as that I have no choice and that is sad isn’t it. I don’t mean to insult you or your intelligence but you have self admittedly lived on the public dime for a very long time and I have to be honest that the American people are getting sick of the public unions, heavy handed tactics of law enforcement (not just local but feds as well), the judiciary, legislatures, and the system in general. I don’t pretend to know what to do about it but I can tell you that it is two speeding trains on the same track heading for each other and sooner or later they will collide. When that happens hopefully your heart and conscience will guide in the right direction. You seem like a good man. Oh by the way, a lot of the cops who probably spend the public dime commenting in this forum are not your friend either, I have seen them justify atrocious behavior by the police, use misinformation, out right lie, all in the name of saving face. That is why they are insulted all the time because they think we are stupid…………..having said all that, you have a good day!
MJ,
By the way the whole RICO thing was my way of making light of a fucked up situation. I know that the RICO statutes do not apply to public unions and sometimes I do feel like public employees are stealing from the rest of us, just my opinion.
Blue Eyed Devil:
Very well spoken. We have a lot of overlapping opinions.
Thank you for your military service. I wish I had been in a position to serve in a military capacity. (now too old of course)
My opinion, for what it is worth, is that the bad police behavior is no better or worse than it has always been. I believe that it is just now better reported due to the increases in technology.
(Back in the late 90′s I put a video camera on the dash of my patrol car. I wanted to tape everything so that I could never be falsely accused. Within a few days I was told to take it down by an administrator; his comment “sometimes its better not to have a recording of what goes on” Imagine that statement.
To this day Ontario County does not video tape their patrol cars. And the guy who made that statement is the second in command there.
And as far as friends; in all of what has occurred to me during the past two years; my eyes have been widely opened.
Thanks for taking the time to write back.
Good day to you.