Wednesday, January 31, 2024

9:00 Introduction And Recent Developments

Recent developments from around the country in public safety labor relations, including:

• Review of recent wage and benefit settlements/trends in public safety agencies.
• The impact of inflation and recruiting/retention challenges on public safety bargaining.
• The impact of evolving public attitudes toward policing and the related impact on all public safety employees.
• The increased use of artificial intelligence in law enforcement agencies, and related risks to officer privacy and disciplinary protections.
• Cell phones, flash drives, GPS trackers, and other electronic equipment – the privacy rights of public safety employees.

Will Aitchison, Attorney at Law, Public Safety Labor Group and Founder, LRIS.

11:00 A Union’s Constitution And Bylaws

A public safety union’s bylaws amount to a contract with its membership. The panel consists of an experienced law enforcement and fire union presidents, who will discuss topics such as:

• Running an effective union meeting. How often, how long, and what should be on the agenda.
  • The types of union elections, and how to avoid problems. The special consideration needed for contract ratification votes. On-line balloting – does it work?
• The different forms of membership in a union – including full members and associate members – and what the union’s obligations are to each.
• The duties of union officers.
• When and how committees should be formed, and who should be appointed to the committees.

Will Aitchison; Will Milam, First Vice President of the Maryland State Fraternal Order of Police and Assistant Sheriff in Prince George’s County, Maryland; and Bob Brooks, President, Pennsylvania Professional Fire Fighters Association.

12:00 Lunch (Included in registration)

1:00 Constitutions And Bylaws (continued)

2:00 Finances And Fundraising

A wide-ranging discussion of the finances of a labor organization:

• Sound financial protocols – what procedures does a union need to have in place in order to safeguard the union’s funds?
• The options for dues structures, including membership assessments and initiation fees.
• Should a public safety union have outside fundraisers? If so, how to research and monitor the activities of a fundraiser.
• Basic financial reporting to the membership – how to construct budgets and financial statements.
• When are audits necessary?

Will Aitchison; Will Milam; Bob Brooks; and Derek Hsieh, Executive Director, Association for Los Angeles Deputy Sheriffs.

4:00 Adjournment

4:15 Hosted Reception

Thursday, February 1, 2024

9:00 Collective Bargaining

A top-level view of key bargaining issues facing public safety employees.

• National trends on wage and benefit settlement for public safety employees.
• The evolution and future of police/fire parity.
• Bargaining in the sunshine: how does it work?
• The impact of public participation in the ratification process.
• What’s negotiable and what’s not – trends in scope of bargaining issues.

Anil Karia, Attorney at Law, Public Safety Labor Group and Assistant Executive Director, LRIS; Derek Hsieh, Executive Director, Association for Los Angeles Deputy Sheriffs; and Mike Bellamy, District Vice President, Florida Professional Firefighters.

11:00 Communication Skills And Political Activity

• Developing a communications plan.
• Social Media 101 – what every union needs to do (and avoid).
• Press releases and newspaper editorials.
• Media Interviews – what to say and what to avoid.
• How to use press conferences to get your message out.
• Controlling the narrative of a story using social and traditional media. 
• Public outreach programs, including day-in-the-life training and videos.
• Crisis communication.
• A critique of video and other messaging by public safety unions
• How to design and implement a program to educate politicians, advocacy groups, the media, and citizens in the work challenges faced by public safety employees. 
• The increasing need for public safety unions to have an effective and positive political presence.
• Mobilizing the membership on political issues.

Anil Karia; Derek Hsieh; Mike Bellamy; and Barry Donelan, President, Oakland Police Officers Association.

12:00 Lunch (Included in registration)

1:00 Communication Skills And Political Activity (continued)

4:00 Adjournment

Friday, February 2, 2024

8:30 Representing A Member In A Disciplinary Interview

A review of how to prepare a member for a disciplinary interview:

• Obtaining information about the employer’s ongoing investigation.
• The basic rules to follow to be an effective witness.
• Counseling the member during the interview.
• Follow-up work after the interview.
• The tests for just cause for discipline, including progressive discipline, mitigating circumstances, and disparate treatment.
• The Garrity and Weingarten rules and how they apply in disciplinary investigations and critical incidents.

Richard Poulson, Attorney at Law, Partner, Willig, Williams & Davidson and Executive Director, LRIS; Barry Donelan; and Sean Burrows, President, Alameda County (CA) Firefighters, IAFF Local 55.

11:30 Adjournment