F.o.p.

[N. A. Corbier]

From the FOP President

This came from the president of the Grand Lodge of the FOP, Chuck Canterbury:

I am writing in response to your email to the National FOP. We do not nor are we in the business of representing private security officers.

We have no control on rumors but we can advise that the FOP is not organizing private security officers. We would support their effort but not under our banner.

Sincerely,

Chuck Canterbury
National President

If some lodge is trying to organize security, it isn't under the Faternal Order of Police name, and if they're trying to do it under the FOP banner, I have a feeling the Grand Lodge is going to want to know about it.

[HotelSecurity]

Yeah, I guess it's like diming your employer into the Dept. of Labor or something for violations, you're not going to get fired for blowing the whistle but you'll get fired for something else.

Sometimes I wonder if my job would be better with a union (I used to work with union protection), but all in all I have to say they treat me pretty fairly. Human Resources is very good about making sure all employees are treated fairly. In fact they even make policies that benefit the employee and have absolutely no benefit to the employer, so I guess I've got it alright.

Unions are not "bullet proof"!! The owner of my hotels loves to bust the union. Employees of the downtown hotel except Administration & Security were unionized. They were members of a very militant Quebec union. (It's in the news all the time). In 1992 business was bad. He asked the union for concessions (5 sick days instead of 7, cut in # of weeks of vacation etc, nothing about salaries). The union told him to go to heck, they had a signed contract for another year or two. The next month he sold the management part of the hotel to a friend for $1.00. He continued to be the owner of the building. 9 months later the Management company went bankrupt. (They even owed him money!). He transfered the hotel to a new Management company set up by another friend. All the employees (except Administration & Security ) were let go & rehired on an individual basis. Some departments of the hotel (banquet, parking garage, restaurant etc) were given out as concessions to 3rd parties. The rest of the employees were out of a job. They picketed in front of the hotel for 3 years!! (Didn't bother business one bit). Finally after 3 years he took the ones that still hadn't found other jobs back. By now they were 3 years behind the benefits being paid at other hotels. Also since he no longer ran the kitchens etc some skilled workers got jobs as cleaners.

Workers at one of his other hotels have been without a contract for about a year now. There is no talk of a strike or even pressure tactics. They know what will happen! (It doesn't help that he owns the hotel next door that is set up like the one downtown, banquets & restaurants are concessions. The housekeeping staff work for a cleaning company. Last year they unionized. Within a short while that company lost the contract & a new cleaning company took over.)

He's mean but everything he does is legal & as the saying goes "business is business" Since the union is very political & anti-English & since I wasn't really effected, I enjoy it! (My vacation after 20 years of service was cut from 6 weeks to 4).

[N. A. Corbier]

Yeah, I guess it's like diming your employer into the Dept. of Labor or something for violations, you're not going to get fired for blowing the whistle but you'll get fired for something else.

Sometimes I wonder if my job would be better with a union (I used to work with union protection), but all in all I have to say they treat me pretty fairly. Human Resources is very good about making sure all employees are treated fairly. In fact they even make policies that benefit the employee and have absolutely no benefit to the employer, so I guess I've got it alright.

You have a HR department. That's probably one of the reasons why. When operations staff control HR policies, then things get blurred quickly. People are terminated for "failure to perform" or "lack of loyalty." When an HR department, detached from operations, runs HR, the ops department has to justify terminations.

[Jackhole]

Of course no one openly says that it was because they unionized. It's like McDonalds. 2 or 3 stores in downtown Montreal have unionized. They've closed within weeks. Apparently business suddenly got slow

Yeah, I guess it's like diming your employer into the Dept. of Labor or something for violations, you're not going to get fired for blowing the whistle but you'll get fired for something else.

Sometimes I wonder if my job would be better with a union (I used to work with union protection), but all in all I have to say they treat me pretty fairly. Human Resources is very good about making sure all employees are treated fairly. In fact they even make policies that benefit the employee and have absolutely no benefit to the employer, so I guess I've got it alright.

[Mr. Security]

Holy illegal, Batman! Workers have the right to assemble.

Having a right and exercising it freely are two different things.

[N. A. Corbier]

Cops are joining the Teamsters now? WTF?

Hell, up here, before they were making their own unions, the cops were Teamsters. We're talking 1980s here. One of the research things I did about "campus law enforcement" resulted in something hilarious.

Campus Safety Officers (Non-Sworn, state employed, not police) were part of the Teamster's local. A judge suddenly decided that since their job description was "enforcement of law and regulation" and "arrest of violators," that they needed to be armed police officers, not armed security guards. They were agents of the state, and therefore, were not a "private police," but a "public police."

Keep in mind that Wisconsin has the right to carry openly, and that back then, a security company was only registered with the Sheriff.

WI required certification for all LEOs, everyone immediately lost their jobs, as they were uncertifable - no college education, did not have the WI LE coursework, and couldn't pass the LE physical. The Teamsters went livid, and everyone was rushed through the police applicant process at high speed, and those who flunked were hired on at same pay as "Security Officers," while those who passed were hired on as "Police Officers."

[HotelSecurity]

Holy illegal, Batman! Workers have the right to assemble.

Of course no one openly says that it was because they unionized. It's like McDonalds. 2 or 3 stores in downtown Montreal have unionized. They've closed within weeks. Apparently business suddenly got slow

[darrell]

Cops are joining the Teamsters now? WTF?

Yep as the Southern states Police Agencies started this trend 5 years ago as they started to unionize. Florida was the first to use teamsters.

[Jackhole]

I'm just telling you what our state rep told me last Saturday. He also said that the FOP has lost numerous departments because they are goging with larger stronger unions like Teamsters.

Cops are joining the Teamsters now? WTF?

[Jackhole]

I'm "in-house". One of the reasons why is because we are NOT unionized. I know of a few in-house departments that were disbanded & replaced with contract people the day they joined a union

Holy illegal, Batman! Workers have the right to assemble.

[darrell]

The Grand Lodge of the Faternal Order of Police has gone on record, repeatedly, stating that private security is a danger to public law enforcement, as well as private corrections, due to their inadequate training and their ability to take jobs from LEOs.

Your state FOP rep may be branching out, but I'd want to see an official press release from the Grand Lodge of the FOP.

I'm just telling you what our state rep told me last Saturday. He also said that the FOP has lost numerous departments because they are goging with larger stronger unions like Teamsters.

[HotelSecurity]

I'm "in-house". One of the reasons why is because we are NOT unionized. I know of a few in-house departments that were disbanded & replaced with contract people the day they joined a union

[N. A. Corbier]

I wrote an email to the National Secretary to see what the Grand Lodge's position on this is.

[N. A. Corbier]

This statement in their membership requirements would prevent most security officers from joining, I would think:

This is the same specific wording that is used in HR218 to prevent specials, private police, and other "non-governmental" police agencies from carrying. In other words, glorified security guards that some state gave some police powers to.

[N. A. Corbier]

According to the lead rep for this state they will only take inhouse private security under their wing.

The Grand Lodge of the Faternal Order of Police has gone on record, repeatedly, stating that private security is a danger to public law enforcement, as well as private corrections, due to their inadequate training and their ability to take jobs from LEOs.

Your state FOP rep may be branching out, but I'd want to see an official press release from the Grand Lodge of the FOP.