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Update from Inside the Executive Council MAY 2018

By CID Chief Shop Steward Marinos Marinos


TABLE OF CONTENTS
During the first meeting of the Union’s Executive Council for the 2018-
2020 Term, I was interested to find out that CID is the largest shop of all Organization of CID Page 1
15 shops within the organization.
Update on Janus v. AFSCME Page 2
The DC Police Union’s “CID” shop has a total of 361 members. Our shop
is not only the largest in population, but all the most geographically Rights During Interviews Page 3
spread out. CID covers all District Detective Unit’s, Homicide, CARTF, Sex
Staying Healthy in CID Page 3
Branch, Financial Crimes, Special Investigations Section, Domestic
Violence Unit, Victim Services, as well as all the Crime Scene Technicians
CID Member Fundraiser Page 4
at Mobile Crime.

Calendar / Upcoming Events Page 4


Also during the Executive Council meeting Chairman Bigelow announced
his nomination for the Union’s standing Committee Chairs. All the
nominations were ratified by Executive Council:

Election Chair: Megan Mulrooney Publications Chair: Jordan Katz


Bargaining Chair: Darrick Ross Legislative Chair: Vacant
Arbitration Chair: Kevin Brittingham Audit Chair: George Hill
Health & Welfare: Elizabeth Jones Judiciary Chair: Gregory Archer

Please sign up to receive this regular


During the most recent Executive Council Meeting, on April 24, the
CID Union Newsletter by emailing
Chairman announced his selections for “Ad Hoc” committees and other mmarinos@dcpoliceunion.com with the
political appointments: subject “newsletter”.
Continued on Page 2

DC Police Union CID Stewards


Marinos Marinos, CID Chief Shop Steward 202-276-8509 mmarinos@dcpoliceunion.com
Russell Mullins, CID Shop Steward 202-487-3760 mullinsrejrdcpu@gmail.com
Gregory Archer, CID Shop Steward 202-664-2842 gharcher4685@gmailcom
Justin Bolding, CID Shop Steward 202-604-3366 jnbolding9@gmail.com
DC Police Union, Newsletter, February 2017
Adam Shaatal, CID Shop Steward 301-915-4283 Shaataldcpu@gmail.com
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Raj Dohare, CID Shop Steward 614-352-6432 rkdohare@yahoo.com
Continued from Page 1 school teachers from Detroit filed a suit to overturn
the requirement that they pay union dues on the
Use of Force Review Board: Hiram Rosario grounds that they opposed public sector collective
Crash Review Board: Stephen Franchak bargaining and objected to the political lobbying of
the union. The Supreme Court ruled unanimously
Uniform and Equipment: Zachery Blier
that non-members may be assessed service fees to
Community Outreach: Lashonda Hart
recover the costs of collective bargaining,
Training: Jody Shegan
administration, and grievance adjudication. Public
Veteran’s Committee: Vacant sector unions have relied on the ruling from the
Safety Committee: Lavida Delozier Abood case for the past 40 years to collect dues from
CALEA: Ronald Fauntroy even those members who do not wish to join the
General Order: Ronald Palmer union. The logic behind this is that the union is in a
EAP Director: Monica Waleed constant state of bargaining with management about
OPC Representative: Jordan Katz the overall working conditions of all union
employees. This includes not only pay scales,
Each of these positions are very important, and I benefits, and all contractual obligations, but also the
ongoing development of department policy
encourage the CID membership not to hesitate
regarding all aspects of employment. What this
to contact the Union’s Office at 202-548-8300 if
means is that all employees benefit from this
you would like to ask any questions in regards to
ongoing activity and therefore are required to pay a
their committee or need their representation. “fair share fee” (or what we call a “service fee”), which
is an amount that is slightly less than that of a full-
fledged union member. This practice prevents the
“free-rider” from receiving all the benefits of union
membership, at no cost. Union dues are not just for
funding the day-to-day operations of the union, they
also give members the right to vote, run for elected
positions, attend meetings, and participate in other
democratic processes of the organization.

This new case, Janus, which was heard in February,


seeks to change that. Mark Janus is an Illinois child
support specialist that is a member of AFSCME, a
public sector union for government employees.
Update on Janus v. AFSCME (SCOTUS) Janus’ arguments in front of the court circle around
Gregg Pemberton, Treasurer the idea that collective bargaining, in general, is in
fact a form of lobbying. He states that a union
On February 26th, 2018, The Supreme Court heard negotiating with the government about the size,
arguments in a case titled Janus v. AFSCME. The scope, and expenditures of its operations, is
outcome of this case could have a significant impact technically a form a lobbying. Therefore, even the fair
on how all government (public sector) unions share fees he is required to pay are a violation of his
operate, including ours. First amendment. A decision from SCOTUS about
Janus is expected by observers within the next few
The background of the case is this: In 1977, in a case months.
titled Abood v. Detroit Board of Education , public

DC Police Union / CID ShopNewsletter, April 2018


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If the court were to side with Janus, it would likely • You do not have the right to tell the employee
prevent unions from collecting dues from anyone not to answer nor, obviously, to give false
who did not want to pay them. This obviously would answers. An employee can be disciplined for
have a significant effect on the organization’s refusing to answer questions.
revenue and ultimately impact its ability to perform.
Non-union “service-fee” members would no longer The D.C. Police Union has 69 Shop Stewards that
be required to pay, which would not only reduce work different shifts; if you need to contact a
revenue, but there is also a possibility that other Steward please logon to the member only side of
active members would elect to leave in order to avoid DCPoliceUnion.com where you can find Steward’s
paying dues as well. Having more members leave the phone numbers, email addresses, assignments,
organization to save a few dollars would not only be shifts, and days off. If you’re having trouble locating a
detrimental to the revenue, but also the Steward, you can call the CIC to have them send out
representation of the whole of membership. an alert.

As the Treasurer of the DC Police Union, I am


following the case closely and have briefed the
Executive Council on the possible impacts. We are
already working on some contingency plans on how
to deal with a decision in favor of Janus and are
actively working to find solutions. I will continue to
keep the membership updated as a decision should
be handed down before summer.

Reminder for Union Reps and


Members During Interviews
Russell Mullins Jr., CID Shop Steward A Healthy Detective Is a Stress-Free Detective
Gregory Archer, CID Shop Steward
When a member is a subject of any kind of interview
with management, Union Reps are not required to
It’s no secret that being a Detective is one of the
merely be 'silent witness'. There are several rights and
permissions they possess. most coveted positions on the Metropolitan Police
Department. It’s a position that is incredibly
Union Reps have the right to: challenging, but can be equally rewarding, if it’s given
the right effort.
• Be informed by the supervisor of the subject
• matter of the interview
However, it has a few drawbacks as well. The caseload
• Take the employee aside for a private
and court obligations often make it difficult to spend
• conference before questioning begins
• Speak during the interview time with family and friends. The constant ripping
• Request that the supervisor clarify a question and running usually has us eating bad foods on the
so that what is being asked is understood go, and the rotating shifts make it hard to find time
• Give employee advice on how to answer a to hit the gym. Before you know it, a detective may
question often gain weight, lose interest in other pleasures
• Provide additional information to the
outside the office, and suffer from sleep deprivation,
supervisor at the end of the questioning.
DC Police Union / CID ShopNewsletter, April 2018
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starting an unhealthy spiral. How often do we hear of Lodge #1 have been able to provide monetary
co-workers who have sustained serious yet assistance to off-set some of the medical costs.
preventable illnesses, or are admitted to the hospital However the most inspiring act was displayed by the
due to high blood pressure or stress? Union membership who donated a very impressive
amount of leave to Detective Eschinger. The donated
According to the Dept of Health, just 30 minutes a leave will help Detective Eschinger focus on
day can keep us healthy, vibrant and active in our recovering.
daily lives.
The CID Union Shop would like to specifically thank
Don’t allow the excuse of the job taking up most of CID Sergeant Robert Merrick (4DDU), CID Lieutenant
your time to prevent some form of exercise every Andrew Dawidowitz (4DDU), and Detective Christian
day. When you think about it there really is no valid Glynn (VCB) who did an amazing job of organizing
excuse, almost all MPD facilities have a full gym and the leave donation sign-up sheets.
Chief Newsham has ensured that the Police Academy
stays open later to accommodate members on all Additionally, the FOP Lodge #1 is hosting a Cinco De
shifts. Mayo fundraiser for Pete on Saturday, May 5th, with
doors opening at 5:00 pm. It’s a $20 donation at the
Studies suggest that an average life span for police door with all profits going directly to Pete. There is a
officers is 66 years, or 10.6 years after retirement, full taco buffet and drink specials. It would be great
adjusted for age and gender. This is lower than the to see a strong showing of CID folks.
average for males in the United States (76 years of
age). Caring for oneself physically and emotionally If you are aware of a CID member going through a
are ways one can increase the likelihood of a longer health crisis, please contact a CID Steward, so we can
life. See also http://www.badgeoflife.com/badge-life- ensure the member receives the proper information
faqs/ in reference to catastrophic leave, and leave
donations, as well as our ability to organize more
The responsibilities of a detective’s caseload can be informal support, specific to the member’s needs.
incredibly demanding. Do your best to prevent those
demands from affecting your health. Diet and CALENDAR AND UPCOMING EVENTS
exercise are the keys to a prolonged positive career,
May 1st Police Week (Blue Mass)
and retirement.
May 5th 5:00pm Cinco de Mayo fundraiser for

CID Health & Welfare Update Detective Eschinger at FOP


th
By the CID Union Shop May 12 National Police Week 5K
th
May 13 Police Week (Candlelight Vigil)

As some of you may be aware Detective Peter End of June (TBA) Union General Membership

Eschinger of the Fourth District Detectives Unit has Meeting

been in an intense battle with cancer. I can proudly


report that both the DC Police Union and DC FOP
DC Police Union / CID ShopNewsletter, April 2018
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