Tom,<br> <br> I don't disagree with anyone that makes the point that we need to pay Moscow Police officers similar wages as unions demand and give them a stage to voice their grievances with the city.<br> <br> However, I disagree with removing the control of the Moscow Police Department from the citizens of Moscow and surrendering it to a giant national political organization with a different agenda than protecting the citizens of Moscow.<br> <br> Take Care,<br> <br> _DJA<br><br> <br> <br> <br><b><i>Tom Ivie <the_ivies3@yahoo.com></i></b> wrote:<blockquote class="replbq" style="border-left: 2px solid rgb(16, 16, 255); margin-left: 5px; padding-left: 5px;">What is the problem with allowing the police to unionize? It's not like the law will allow them to strike, so let them unionize already. <br><br><b><i>Tom Ivie <the_ivies3@yahoo.com></i></b> wrote: <blockquote class="replbq" style="border-left: 2px solid rgb(16, 16, 255);
padding-left: 5px; margin-left: 5px;"> <div class="MsoNormal"><font face="Arial" size="4"><span style="font-size: 15pt; font-family: Arial;">Council won’t hear police union request </span></font><font face="Arial" size="2"><span style="font-size: 10.5pt; font-family: Arial;"><br clear="all"><br clear="all"></span></font><font face="Arial" size="1"><span style="font-size: 9pt; font-family: Arial;">By Omie Drawhorn Daily News staff writer </span></font><font face="Arial" size="2"><span style="font-size: 10.5pt; font-family: Arial;"><br clear="all"></span></font><font face="Arial" size="1"><span style="font-size: 7.5pt; font-family: Arial;">Published: </span></font><st1:date year="2006" day="25" month="4"><font face="Arial" size="1"><span style="font-size: 7.5pt; font-family: Arial;">04-25-2006</span></font></st1:date><font face="Arial" size="1"><span style="font-size: 7.5pt; font-family: Arial;"> </span></font><font face="Arial" size="2"><span style="font-size: 10.5pt;
font-family: Arial;"><br clear="all"><br clear="all"></span></font><st1:City><st1:place><font face="Arial" size="2"><span style="font-size: 10.5pt; font-family: Arial;">Moscow</span></font></st1:place></st1:City><font face="Arial" size="2"><span style="font-size: 10.5pt; font-family: Arial;"> police want a union. That’s nothing new. <o:p></o:p></span></font></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 11.25pt;"><font face="Arial" size="2"><span style="font-size: 10.5pt; font-family: Arial;">City officials don’t want them to have it. That also is nothing new. <o:p></o:p></span></font></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 11.25pt;"><font face="Arial" size="2"><span style="font-size: 10.5pt; font-family: Arial;">After numerous attempts the police department is appealing once again to the City Council to recognize its union. High turnover, the pay for performance plan, insurance benefits and communication with the city are ! the officers’ main
concerns. <o:p></o:p></span></font></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 11.25pt;"><font face="Arial" size="2"><span style="font-size: 10.5pt; font-family: Arial;">Police thought this week they were close to finally realizing their goal, but members of the Moscow Administrative Committee think they can address officers’ concerns without a union. The committee voted 2-1 Monday not to forward to the full council a formal request that the city recognize the Moscow Police Protective Association as a union. <o:p></o:p></span></font></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 11.25pt;"><font face="Arial" size="2"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Members of the Moscow Police Department unanimously support forming a police union, said Lieutenant Dave Lehmitz. But Administrative Committee members </span></font><st1:PersonName><font face="Arial" size="2"><span style="font-size: 10.5pt; font-family: Arial;">Linda Pall</span></font><font face="Arial"
size="2"><span style="font-size: 10.5pt; font-family: Arial;"> and John Weber on Monday rejected the request. <o:p></o:p></span></font></st1:PersonName></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 11.25pt;"><font face="Arial" size="2"><span style="font-size: 10.5pt; font-family: Arial;">Councilman Aaron Ament voted in favor of the union. <o:p></o:p></span></font></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 11.25pt;"><font face="Arial" size="2"><span style="font-size: 10.5pt; font-family: Arial;">“We’re a bunch of cops,” said Cpl. Art Lindquist of the Moscow Police Department. “We’re doing our best to negotiate, but this is out of our league.” <o:p></o:p></span></font></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 11.25pt;"><font face="Arial" size="2"><span style="font-size: 10.5pt; font-family: Arial;">A union would provide the department with a permanent professional voice and a way to address grievances. “We want to be team players, we want
this to work and we’re interested in seein! g what can be created,” Lindquist said. “But we’re looking for a permanent fix, we’re looking to the future.” <o:p></o:p></span></font></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 11.25pt;"><font face="Arial" size="2"><span style="font-size: 10.5pt; font-family: Arial;">Lindquist said there are no guarantees how future councils would respond, no matter how the present council might handle business. <o:p></o:p></span></font></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 11.25pt;"><font face="Arial" size="2"><span style="font-size: 10.5pt; font-family: Arial;">Mayor Nancy Chaney has had multiple conversations with the police department over the past few months and talked wi! th police departments in </span></font><st1:State><st1:place><font face="Arial" size="2"><span style="font-size: 10.5pt; font-family: Arial;">Washington</span></font></st1:place></st1:State><font face="Arial" size="2"><span style="font-size:
10.5pt; font-family: Arial;"> and </span></font><st1:State><st1:place><font face="Arial" size="2"><span style="font-size: 10.5pt; font-family: Arial;">Idaho</span></font></st1:place></st1:State><font face="Arial" size="2"><span style="font-size: 10.5pt; font-family: Arial;"> looking for solutions. <o:p></o:p></span></font></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 11.25pt;"><font face="Arial" size="2"><span style="font-size: 10.5pt; font-family: Arial;">Chaney joined the Administrative Committee on Monday to address compensation, benefits and contractual agreements as about 10 police officers observed from the audience. <o:p></o:p></span></font></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 11.25pt;"><font face="Arial" size="2"><span style="font-size: 10.5pt;">Chaney proposed a return to the step and grade pay scale for officers with a 3.5 percent pay raise after each step and an increase in dependents’ medical benefits.
<o:p></o:p></span></font></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 11.25pt;"><font face="Arial" size="2"><span style="font-family: Arial;">She also suggested getting rid of the department’s at-will employment policy in which employees can be fired at any time for any reason. <o:p></o:p></span></font></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 11.25pt;"><font face="Arial" size="2"><span style="font-size: 10.5pt; font-family: Arial;">Ament was not satisfied. <o:p></o:p></span></font></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 11.25pt;"><font face="Arial" size="2"><span style="font-size: 10.5pt; font-family: Arial;">“That’s not enough,” he said. “The police have asked for a union, that’s what we’re dealing with. Let’s have an up or down vote on whether or not we want a union.” <o:p></o:p></span></font></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 11.25pt;"><font face="Arial" size="2"><span style="font-size: 10.5pt; font-family:
Arial;">Weber disagreed. <o:p></o:p></span></font></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 11.25pt;"><font face="Arial" size="2"><span style="font-size: 1px; font-family: Arial;">“What we have is working quite well,” he said. <o:p></o:p></span></font></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 11.25pt;"><font face="Arial" size="2"><span style="font-size: 10.5pt; font-family: Arial;">Pall called for finding common ground amid the structure already in place. “We’re hoping to accommodate all you want without collective bargaining,” she said. <o:p></o:p></span></font></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 11.25pt;"><font face="Arial" size="2"><span style="font-size: 10.5pt; font-family: Arial;">Ament said the existing system cannot address the problems. <o:p></o:p></span></font></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 11.25pt;"><font face="Arial" size="2"><span style="font-size: 10.5pt; font-family: Arial;">“If it could we
wouldn’t be here right now,” he said. <o:p></o:p></span></font></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 11.25pt;"><font face="Arial" size="2"><span style="font-size: 10.5pt; font-family: Arial;">City! Attorney Randy Fife said council members will have to decide how much power they are willing to give up if they allow a police union. <o:p></o:p></span></font></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 11.25pt;"><font face="Arial" size="2"><span style="font-size: 10.5pt; font-family: Arial;">“I don’t love power so much that I couldn’t deal with a union to set their pay,” Ament said. <o:p></o:p></span></font></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 11.25pt;"><font face="Arial" size="2"><span style="font-size: 10.5pt; font-family: Arial;">Chaney said she feared other city employees might follow suit and form their own unions, which would take the p! ower out of the hands of the City Council — which in turn would take power away from the
taxpayers. <o:p></o:p></span></font></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 11.25pt;"><font face="Arial" size="2"><span style="font-size: 10.5pt; font-family: Arial;">Lindquist asked if professional representation was in the cards. <o:p></o:p></span></font></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 11.25pt;"><font face="Arial" size="2"><span style="font-size: 10.5pt; font-family: Arial;">“The closer you get to professional representation, the closer you get to collective bargaining and a union,” City Supervisor </span></font><st1:PersonName><font face="Arial" size="2"><span style="font-size: 10.5pt; font-family: Arial;">Gary Riedner</span></font></st1:PersonName><font face="Arial" size="2"><span style="font-size: 10.5pt; font-family: Arial;"> said. <o:p></o:p></span></font></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 11.25pt;"><font face="Arial" size="2"><span style="font-size: 10.5pt; font-family: Arial;">Ament refused to listen to
suggestions if unionizing wasn’t part of the picture. “I’m not hearing the word ‘union,’ ” he said. <o:p></o:p></span></font></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 11.25pt;"><b><font face="Arial" size="2"><span style="font-weight: bold; font-size: 10.5pt; font-family: Arial;">Omie Drawhorn</span></font></b><font face="Arial" size="2"><span style="font-size: 10.5pt; font-family: Arial;"> can be reached at (208) 882-5561, ext. 234, or by e-mail at odrawhorn@dnews.com. <o:p></o:p></span></font></div> <div> <hr size="1"> Talk is cheap. Use Yahoo! Messenger to make PC-to-Phone calls. <a href="http://us.rd.yahoo.com/mail_us/taglines/postman7/*http://us.rd.yahoo.com/evt=39666/*http://beta.messenger.yahoo.com">Great rates starting at 1¢/min._____________________________________________________<br>List services made available by First Step Internet, <br>serving the communities of the Palouse since 1994. <br>http://www.fsr.net
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