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Saturday, October 25, 2008 10:01:00 PM
Greetings Brothers and Sisters,
I hope that everyone’s lives are moving toward some type of normalcy, as Hurricane Ike took a toll on many families. If you have not completed your Hurricane Financial Assistance form from the lodge, please do so quickly to avoid being overlooked.
The hurricane caused us to lose our lodge, and the office building was destroyed. We are currently working and meeting at lodge 39 on the North Freeway. Remember that meetings are on the third Sunday of every month, unless a holiday, then it moves to the following Sunday. The meetings are at 7pm and refreshments are available.
Myself, along with several other board members met with the chief in October about the CMPOA investigation. Chief informed us that a complete investigation had taken place and it was led by the Harris County District Attorney’s Office. Chief informed us that no charges would be taken against any member of the CMPOA and that the case was closed. If you have further questions about the investigation, please feel free to contact the chief, as he might be able to clear any questions you may have.
Payroll deduction is coming and as soon as the details are worked out, we should be online in November.
The lodge of working on some projects for Thanksgiving and Christmas, so look for the details on the bulletin board.
Fraternally,
Robert Lozano
Wednesday, August 27, 2008 10:17:38 PM
The following is a copy of the trustee report that was sent in to state for the state conference.-webmaster
Although our first 8 months have had their ups and downs, Houston Metro Lodge 98 is gaining momentum, and growing stronger in many aspects.
To begin, our membership has grown from 20 charter members to over 120 brothers and sisters. We were one of the first lodges to institute online banking within the organization, and no longer rely on Metro P.D. for payroll deductions. All dues, insurance payments, and other supplements are paid through online auto drafts. This has been a very positive experience for all of our members in that they no longer have to worry about whether or not their payments are being credited correctly. Also, it has been invaluable in sustaining the integrity of the lodge’s credit and financial records. We have also enjoyed the creation of our new website, which has been visited by the media as well as civilians. Our “blog” is also available as a forum for all to express their thoughts or concerns. Please feel free to visit us at www.fop98.org
We have also had a very busy year so far in getting acquainted with our legal team. Since the Houston Metropolitan Transit Authority is a corporation, it made sense to enlist the services of a corporate law firm, who is better equipped to interpret corporate jargon. In fact, we chose to work with a variety of specialized law firms in order to offer our members a well-rounded legal team.
We also continue to work with Metro administration to rectify some of the issues we have had in the past with payroll deductions, as well as lobby for the better pay and benefits that Metro officers deserve.
The main goal of our lodge has been to raise morale and encourage a spirit of camaraderie. We have started by holding a Lodge Barbecue, Poker Night, and a “Biggest Loser” weight loss contest. Later this year we look forward to furthering our community involvement through sponsoring 8 deserving families for Thanksgiving, and also through our “Shop with a Cop” event during the Christmas holidays.
Although we are still a new lodge, we have been able to enjoy the brotherhood of Harris County Lodge #39 as well as Houston Police Patrolmen Lodge #109. They have shown our lodge proper guidance when the odds were against us, and helped us find workable compromises in our lodge, which has so many different personalities. Our brothers and sisters at these chapters, along with members from the state level, have helped our inaugural year get off to a strong start. I want to thank Ken Starrs, Frank Plowick, Dean Goodrick, Wes Porter, Sandra Hunt, Judy Thurmon, Mike Simpson, Pam Martin and everyone else who has helped in our development.
Fraternally,
Robert Lozano
Houston Metro Lodge 98
President
Sunday, June 01, 2008 10:27:00 AM
Dear Mr. Lozano:
Thank you for contacting me regarding the Public Safety
Employer-Employee Cooperation Act of 2007. I welcome your thoughts and
comments on this issue.
The Public Safety Employer-Employee Cooperation Act has been
introduced in both the House of Representatives and the Senate. H.R. 980
was introduced on February 12, 2007, by Representative Dale Kildee (D-MI).
On July 17, 2007, this legislation passed the House of Representatives by a
vote of 314-97. It is currently pending consideration by the Senate. S.
2123 was introduced by Senator Judd Gregg (R-NH) on October 1, 2007, and is
currently being considered by the Senate Committee on Health, Education,
Labor, and Pensions.
The Public Safety Employer-Employee Cooperation Act grants
collective bargaining rights to public safety employees, including law
enforcement officers, firefighters, and emergency medical services
personnel. Should states or political subdivisions within a state choose
not to enter collective bargaining agreements with its public safety
employees, this bill provides for enforcement of this Act’s mandate through
the United States Court of Appeals.
By allowing public safety employees to negotiate terms of
employment, such as wages, the Public Safety Employer-Employee Cooperation
Act essentially results in a large unfunded federal mandate on states.
Moreover, these negotiations could jeopardize merit-based promotion
protocols in favor of seniority-based systems, which compromise public
safety. Texas state law currently prohibits public safety employees from
entering into collective bargaining agreements, and, as a strong proponent
of state’s rights, I cannot support a federal law that would preempt Texas
state law. For these reasons, I will oppose the Public Safety
Employer-Employee Cooperation Act should it come to a vote before the full
Senate.
I appreciate hearing from you and hope you will not hesitate to keep
in touch on any issue of concern to you.
Sincerely,
Kay Bailey Hutchison
United States Senator
284 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
202-224-5922 (tel)
202-224-0776 (fax)
http://hutchison.senate.gov
Saturday, May 24, 2008 2:16:36 PM
Brothers and Sisters,
I know the members voted to take the third payment from the two months of the year that we get, to make the January payment and do the same for 2009, to make up the February payment.
I don’t think anyone anticipated the fuel issue at the time and it seems to only be getting worse. In lieu of this, I proposed to the e-board that we suspend this month’s third draft to help with members fuel cost at home. This one time event will in no way make us any later or move us forward in payments toward insurance. The e-board voted unanimously and Chase bank will not be drafting from the member’s accounts the third draft this month.
I hope this will help take a little ease off of everyone’s pocket book.
Fraternally,
Robert Lozano
President
Saturday, May 24, 2008 2:17:08 PM
Chief,
As you are aware, gas prices are getting outrageous, and we are all being affected. The news (NBC, May 22, 2008) reported that gas is estimated to soar up to $7.00 a gallon by next year, and as much as $10.00 a gallon by the end of the year 2009.
With this in mind, and as per our conversation this past November, you informed me that if a plan could be put together, you would take a look at working four 10-hour shifts a week for patrol officers. I know that you said that a major concern of yours was the weekend coverage. Keeping this in mind, most shifts have around 10 officers working, and a suggestion would be:
Per Platoon:
4 Officers RDO Sun/Mon/Tues
3 Officers RDO Thurs/Fri/Sat
3 Officers RDO Tues/Wed/Thurs
The emphasis would be on having more officers off early in the week, due to the decline in work call load trends. The same amount of officers would be covering the same shifts with more on other days, as the schedule already shows. We would in fact be gaining coverage on some days, and not losing any coverage at all.
I feel that this plan could also be a hiring incentive for officers.
Thank you for your time and consideration.
Respectfully,
Wednesday, April 23, 2008 7:49:32 AM
The Lodge is taking NOMINATIONS for SGT AT ARMS at the next general membership meeting, which is May 18th.
Friday, May 09, 2008 7:39:46 AM
Two of the most asked questions I get are “What happened last meeting?” and “What’s going on with the lodge lately?” I know that sometimes I get long winded with the information, but thanks for asking, and I’m glad to be informative. It’s great that members want to be more informed and see the progress.
The lodge barbeque was a success, even though Frank Wilson was unable to make it due to a family outing. There are several ideas that are in the works that include payroll deduction and salary increase. These are the two main topics that the board is heavily preoccupied with right now. Even though you don’t hear it, something is going on every day, and there is a lot of progress behind the scenes. The time for change is now and we are moving that way, it just doesn’t happen over night because of the resistance we are getting from the Chief.
The e-board voted to release Police and Fire Insurance, since they do nothing for the lodge; i.e.: group discount, hard to get benefits rolling, etc. The lodge is paying through February, but members electing to keep their benefits with them will have to start paying from March 1st. The reason for starting March is because the lodge did not draft dues in January and February and the lodge has not drafted anyone’s account to make the difference. Police and Fire will send its clients a bill and it will be up to the members to pay their own bill.
This leaves an open spot for the lodge to add a third insurance company to give its members the best insurance available. I urge all members to attend the May 18th meeting, as there will be a representative from an insurance company present to talk about their company. The representative is coming from Michigan, and she wants to show a better insurance than AFLAC, but cheaper.
Membership continues to grow and we are starting to get e-mails from people who want to join from other agencies, along with people who want to join and be an auxiliary member. This only means we are going in the right direction, so expect big things for the future.
“I have never advocated war except as a means of peace”
~~~~Ulysses S. Grant
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