October, 2011

This past August, the leadership of the Department changed. Larry Davis, Chief of Department, retired after over 30 years of service. The CCA wishes Chief Davis well in his retirement.

With the appointment of Michael Hourihane as Chief, the CCA expected to continue having an exceptional relationship with that office. In the two months since he has been in charge, I am happy to report that the working relationship with Chief Hourhiane is superb. I've often said that many managers forgot where they came from. Chief Hourihane is definitely not one of those managers. He has comitted to this union that he and his staff are always available to the CCA to discuss issues as they arise.

However, we do realize that not every situation can be resolved amicably. There will be instances where the CCA will file grievances or take whatever actions we feel are necessary to protect the rights of our Captains. Even so, no single situation will have a negative effect on the open door policy we enjoy with Chief Hourihane.

With the arrival of September, the annual Delegate Seminar took place. The election held this past June resulted in a change of nearly 60% of the delegate body. The seminar's agenda was geared to educazte the new delegates and also refresh the re-elected delegate on their duties and responsibilities to the membership.

The delegate is your first stop when you have a question or issue in your facility. The Executive Board is confident in the ability of each and every delegate to resolve issues in-house. However, when a delegate has exhausted all avenues to resolve an issue in-house that is when the Executive Board steps in. With the input of the delegate, the Executive Board will bring an issue all the way to the Commissioner, if necessary, to reach a resoloution.

It is important that facility delegates become more involved with facility issues to allow the Executive Board to focus more attention on upcoming problems that will affect us all. Everyone is well aware of the recent battles with City Hall and Albany concerning pensions and health benefits.

The Executive Board needs to remain vigilant and do everything possible to preserve these important benefits for everyone. We will be visible and vocal in presenting the facts and battle those who want to fix budgets by taking away benefits from not only Correction Captains but all public employees. This is no time to take a "wait and see" attitude. We will work together with our brother and sister unions through both the Municipal Labor Committee and the New York State Public Employee Conference to get our message out to the public.

We look forward to working together with both COBA and the ADW/DW Association in regards to legislation and contract negotiations. All three union presidents have vowed to work together to ensure our common goals are met and advance our common agenda.

In April of this year, the entire Executive Board was nominated unopposed because the membership had total faith and confidence in the direction the CCA is heading. As your President, I truly believe that a big part of that confidence were the victories we were able to celebrate when it came to helping Captains in instances where demotion or termination were at risk. This could not have been accomplished without the relationship I have maintained with the Commissioner and her staff. I always believed that a good president should try and work with administration without compromising the integrity of the union and what it stands for.

In re-electing me as your President, the Captains, who are the hardest working men and women in the City of New York, have entrusted me in running this union and making decisions that are beneficial to the membership. The recent changes I have implemented will prove to make a positive impact on the success of this union. I am happy to announce that we have been able to obtaina 4th full-time release of a Board Member effective October 3, 2011.

To fill this release position, I have decided to release the Legislative Chairman. I believe that having the Legislative Chairman on full release will allow the CCA to carry out the agenda we have set forth. In addition to having a fourth Board Member to service our Captains, it will allow us to have more of a presence in both City Hall ans Albany.

In closing, I am confident that your CCA is moving forward in a positive direction and your Board will continue to serve your best interests.