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Political Director Chuck Flynn will posting vital info to the campaign
and Team 724's next move.

Mayor Finizio claims drop in NLPD police manpower is consistent with his data driven statistics based on reported crimes. Well here is how Neighborhood Scout describes the crime problems in New London and then ask yourself do you feel safer with less cops on the street thanks to the Mayor and Police Chief Ackley. Let the Mayor know how you feel, call his office 860-447-5201 860-447-5201 or email him: dfinizio@ci.new-london.ct.us


"The crime rate in New London is considerably higher than the national average across all communities in America from the largest to the smallest, although at 41 crimes per one thousand residents, it is not among the communities with the very highest crime rate. The chance of becoming a victim of either violent or property crime in New London is 1 in 24. Based on FBI crime data, New London is not one of the safest communities in America. Relative to Connecticut, New London has a crime rate that is higher than 97% of the state's cities and towns of all sizes.In fact, after researching dangerous places to live, NeighborhoodScout found New London to be one of the top 100 most dangerous cities in the U.S.A.

Importantly, when you compare New London to other communities of similar population, then New London crime rate (violent and property crimes combined) is quite a bit higher than average. Regardless of how New London does relative to all communities in America of all sizes, when NeighborhoodScout compared it to communities of similar population size, its crime rate per thousand residents stands out as higher than most.
The crime data that NeighborhoodScout used for this analysis are the seven offenses from the uniform crime reports, collected by the FBI from 17,000 local law enforcement agencies, and include both violent and property crimes, combined.

Now let us turn to take a look at how New London does for violent crimes specifically, and then how it does for property crimes. This is important because the overall crime rate can be further illuminated by understanding if violent crime or property crimes (or both) are the major contributors to the general rate of crime in New London.

For New London, we found that the violent crime rate is one of the highest in the nation, across communities of all sizes (both large and small). Violent offenses tracked included forcible rape, murder and non-negligent manslaughter, armed robbery, and aggravated assault, including assault with a deadly weapon. According to NeighborhoodScout's analysis of FBI reported crime data, your chance of becoming a victim of one of these crimes in New London is one in 86.

Significantly, based on the number of murders reported by the FBI and the number of residents living in the city, NeighborhoodScout's analysis shows that New London experiences one of the higher murder rates in the nation when compared with cities and towns for all sizes of population, from the largest to the smallest.

NeighborhoodScout's analysis also reveals that New London's rate for property crime is 30 per one thousand population. This makes New London a place where there is an above average chance of becoming a victim of a property crime, when compared to all other communities in America of all population sizes. Property crimes are motor vehicle theft, arson, larceny, and burglary. Your chance of becoming a victim of any of these crimes in New London is one in 34- from Neighborhood Scout

Guest Blogger - Ben Burbank


New London or New Camden?

New London is fast becoming a place where anything goes, but that no one goes to. And why is that? The thin blue line that protects the public has become crippled. Stretched thin and broken.

With record numbers of officers leaving to go, not to a different line of work, but to different departments, there is less and less protecting the city. Officers are fed up with the direction of the department, and the way they are treated. Morale is broken because if someone makes a suggestion to improve the working environment, the opposite is done making it worse than it was. And as for the officers that remain, they are asked to do more and more, and at the same time give back what they have worked so hard to achieve.

The question the public should be asking is what can be done to keep these officers in New London? How could New London afford 91 officers in 2011, but in 2012 and 2013 threaten layoffs even as officers leave the department as if it is a plague leaving the department with 70 officers, but with even more waiting to have their ticket punched to get off the train wreck that is NLPD.

How can New London afford 91 officers one year, raise taxes the next and then say they can't afford 70 officers. Where is the money going? More importantly, who is going to protect this city when no one is left. Seems like the chief will be out on patrol herself if nothing is done soon.

Vegas is a city where anything goes, and that people go to. And why is that? They feel safe. Something the public does not feel when they are in New London. That is the difference between a city that thrives, and a city that dies.

If money is not put in to fund important city services, like properly funding the police department to make it functional again, then this city is doomed to become the New Camden of New England. I think this picture sums upon the city perfectly, recently the donator plaque was stolen from a park bench. Even things that are nailed down in this city aren't safe from the miscreants that walk the streets. What keeps you safe? The answer...not much, and soon to be even less.

JUNE UPDATE

Attendees this year's National Police Week in Washington, DC on May 15th included NLPD Officers Chris Bunkley Dave Ferland and Kyle Lamontagne (now with New Britain PD). The National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial added the names of 321 police officers who were killed in the line of duty on 2012. We pause to remember those Officers who made the ultimate sacrifice and honor their service as we thank them for their selfless acts protecting fellow citizens. May all our brothers and sisters who answered their last call in 2012 rest in eternal peace.

Congratulations to Vice Officers Neil Rodgers and Brian Laurie on being selected New London Elks Club NLPD Officers of the Year. Both are dedicated street cops who have enjoyed much success due to their hard work with complex narcotics and firearms investigations that have led to many significant arrests. Job Well Done!

Local 724's annual TCI America telephone fundraiser is winding down soon and we are grateful for the generous support from our SECT citizens and business neighbors. Because of the fundraiser success, we in turn are able to provide support to many civic and charitable events in and around New London . On behalf of all our members Local 724 executive board extends our heartfelt thanks for your continued support. For those readers who haven't been called and wish to show your support you can send your check payable to New London Police Union, PO Box 135, New London, CT. 06360

Our members are frustrated doing more with less every day on the street for the past several years especially upon learning the Chief has given back over $4 million police budget dollars since 2009 . Now we are doing less with less and working as hard if not harder than we ever have. It's only gotten more difficult with call volume up, severity of cases up with the number of personnel available and overtime drastically reduced. Our job has gotten harder while our benefits and wages have not been enhanced to compensate us for a more difficult job causing many of our younger officers to seek law enforcement opportunities in other agencies, especially with annual threats of layoffs.

Then City Council voted to pass this year's budget and failed to properly fund the police department. The budget numbers postpones police officer layoffs six months until January 2014 which only exacerbates an already difficult situation so we ask the question: Which 911 calls shall we put on hold because of no cops to send? Make no mistake these layoffs will delay calls for police services. In light of the recent Boston Marathon terrorist bombings, our city leaders should be asking how can we possibly keep our citizens and visitors safe on a busy and crowded Sailefest weekend with such critically low police staffing.

The members of this union are troubled that several City Councilors who sought for and received our labor union endorsement and support when they ran for office in 2011 then failed to uphold their pledge to support our concerns when they voted with the Mayor and against our police officers supporting a budget that requires layoffs. We publicly say "thank you" to Councilors John Maynard, Marie McSparran and Adam Sprecace for their hard work and efforts to stand with the police officers. These budget issues combined with the toxic malaise of poor morale in a broken police department have resulted in another nine young and experienced police officers to seek lateral transfers to other police agencies as soon as possible. This mess is just another chapter of the ongoing modern New London story of shattered hopes, broken promises and broken dreams. Should these nine leave it will boost the number of officers who have left the department to 36 since June 2009. Anyone else see a problem here?

Lastly, Local 724 in February filed a formal Freedom of Information complaint against the New London Board of Ethics (BOE) that is pending in Hartford. A total of three complaints were made, two regarding BOE's file keeping of minutes, agendas, notice of meetings, storage and compliance with public inspection rules which have since been rectified. The last complaint involves our request of BOE official correspondence related to our two ethics complaints filed against the police chief in 2012 and copies of emails where BOE business was being conducted via personal email accounts. An Ombudsman has been assigned to assist facilitate a remedy if possible without the need for a formal hearing. A formal FOIA hearing date has yet to be determined.

May Update

Local 724 leadership had a busy month defending the rights of two of our members who were wrongly terminated.

The next elephant in the room is the city budget. In a city ranked 55th most dangerous in America one has to wonder what the mayor and city council were thinking when they agreed to significant police department budget cuts that will result in the layoffs of 20 cops when the agency is already short 15. Especially when these cuts are not being shared equally in other public safety departments

The mayor, a self proclaimed expert in all things law enforcement, has proposed new lighting and the posting no loitering signs as his solution to the city crime problem with a staff of 60 police officers when real law enforcement experts in 2006 recommended NLPD staffing of 118 police officers. The mayor was told these police layoffs will diminish the thin blue line allowing the criminal predators to prey on the rest of the city and the results of this staff reduction will be squarely on his back.

Union leadership has been actively seeking out other police agencies for our younger officers on the layoff bubble. We expect NLPD 10 officers gone to other PD's prior to July 1 to avoid being laid off. These are young. healthy, highly trained and experienced cops that the city invested a lot of time and money training will be lost forever.

The city fiscal mess has no meaningful plans in place to change course other than continued cuts to personnel, as if the city is cutting up furniture for firewood. Who knows, maybe the next round of budget cuts will eliminate police administration and allow NLPD to become the newest and largest Resident Trooper town in the history of the State Police.

Council votes have consequences, with municipal elections scheduled for this fall union members will remember those officials who voted for and who voted against these police layoffs.

APRIL UPDATE

Welcome to the City of New London where the circus comes to town every April at budget time. The newest act has Mayor Finizio proposing his FY 2013-14 municipal budget with demands cut $1.4 million from the police budget by laying off police officers from an already decimated police department. Some of you may recall in 2006 OSS Law Enforcement Advisors recommended NLPD be increased to 118 police officers to properly handle the calls for services. In 2009 we had an authorized strength of 96 officers. In 2011 after the mayors inauguration he promised to hire six more police officers in his first year, that never happened. In 2013 we stand with just 80 officers with potentially 10 more about to be kicked off the force July 1st leaving us with 70 officers, a 24% decrease in sworn personnel and a 30% decrease in patrol division staffing.

These layoffs will eliminate ten or more highly trained police officers representing over 30 years of combined police experience. It will take the several years and an estimated $1.25 million dollars to recruit, select and train new officers just to regain 96 officers we once had never mind 118 officers we need. What a waste of money. time and resources to lose these fine officers to other departments. But not to worry the Mayor assures us installing more lighting and anti loitering signage will make up for these lost police officers. Somebody please tell me how does new signage respond to urgent 911 emergency calls, domestics violence calls or reunite lost children with family members?

In 2012 New London was ranked at the 87th most dangerous US city with a population over 25,000 people by NeighborhoodScout.com. Their 2013 study shows New London is now ranked 55th most dangerous. CityRating.com projected New London 2013 crime stats about 10% lower than 2010 yet those new numbers still represent violent crime 273% higher than the Connecticut average while property crimes are 46% higher than Connecticut. Congratulations Whalers!

Our current staffing already adversely affects manpower deployment to as few as 4 cars covering the entire city, these layoffs will cause the elimination of NIPIT program, School Resource Officers, Crime Prevention Officer, significant downsizing of Vice and Narcotics not to mention several NLPD officers slotted for the next State Police class starting in June.

The most frustrating point of all is that over the last decade the only fiscal remedy the city has utilized for each budget year shortfall has been layoffs, job eliminations, reduction in city services, deferred maintenance and capital expenditures. Once they find reduced numbers to adopt a new budget everybody forgets about it until the next budget season crisis hits and budget cutting starts all over again. These recurring fiscal issues have left the city in ruins with diminished staffing, crumbling infrastructure and poor delivery of essential city services. No long term strategy has been implemented to fix the problem then or now other than clicking their heels wishing for more state and federal aid programs to subsidize the annual budget. Another words the only strategy has been waiting for the government handout.

The proposed layoffs by this administration only exacerbates the city's very real crime problem with less police resulting in fewer arrests, more crime, criminals, delays in calls for services and further compromised officer safety. But don't take my word for it, Camden and Newark, NJ saw dramatic increases in violent crimes, especially gun related crimes, when police layoffs happened there in 2010. More crime or even the perception of more crime means the remaining business and residents fleeing the city that can and lost opportunities from potential investors and future development projects resulting in even less revenues. A primary function of any government is to protect its citizens, it appears New London fully intends to ignore that responsibility too.

This call for police layoffs according the Mayor is not political grandstanding to seek Union contract concessions from the yet to begin contract talks with our Police Union. That's a relief because our contract is already too thin with none of our members interested giving up their hard worn salary and benefits for another short term promise of no layoffs. Fortunately there are several fine police agencies who have already reached out to Local 724 union officials more than willing to accept our young, fully trained professional police officers with offers of better salary, benefits and working conditions than enjoyed in New London.

Should the city actually layoff these excellent and dedicated officers who put their lives on the line each day protecting New London and its citizens safe than the city shall endure the consequences of these actions.

COLLECTIVE BARGAINING AND LAW ENFORCEMENT
From International Union of Police Associations AFL-CIO

I cannot understand the fuss about public safety collective bargaining. For years, some have painted a picture of "union bosses" taking over our police departments and calling for strikes just as the crook is climbing through the window. Those who characterize the system in such a way are either disingenuous or completely ignorant of cops, cop unions and their role in bargaining. For the record:

$ Police unions are run by police officers who are elected by their peers.
$ The "union boss" is a police officer who patrols your neighborhood.
$ Police are barred from strikes; and even if they were not, I do not know of any who would abandon the communities they serve.

The act of collective bargaining is simply the ability for elected employee representatives to sit down with employers and discuss their wages, hours and working conditions. Management and the police men and women who work for them all want the same thing: a professional department that responds appropriately to anything that threatens the public's safety or quality of life.

Let's examine the role of a police officer in America in 2011.
There are about 800,000 law enforcement officers nationwide, depending on whom you are counting. This would include State Troopers, Police Officers, Deputy Sheriffs, and State Investigators. In some states, corrections are also included. They police about 200 million residents.

While the rest of society is celebrating Christmas or their child's birthday, these men and women are patrolling their neighborhoods and highways. When reasonable people are faced with a situation they simply cannot resolve, they call the police. Often, a young person with a driver's license and a high school education answers their call - and almost always resolves the situation to everyone's satisfaction. When they do not, the event is on the front page.

In the course of a shift, they can deal with anything imaginable, and most of it bad. They see things you don't have to see and hear things you would not wish to hear. They are frequently disciplined for speeding to a calamity that everyone else is fleeing. Each year, about 150 of them will lose their lives in the line of duty. Thousands of them will be assaulted or injured. They have a higher incidence of heart disease, divorce and suicide than the rest of society.

The American law enforcement officer is, without a doubt, the most powerful person in American society. They not only can, but are trained, equipped and required to seize persons, property and even take a life without benefit of due process or court order. They are required to make gut wrenching decisions - often in microseconds. They operate frequently on less than optimum sleep due to court, overtime and adapting their lives to working in the middle of the night.

They are, for good reason, under a microscope throughout their careers. They are accountable for not only what they do on duty, but what they do on their own time. Their lives and the lives of their spouses and children are impacted by their schedules, their hours of work and vacation policies. A law enforcement officer generally earns between 40 and 60 thousand dollars a year.

Today, law enforcement officers want a voice - just a voice - in the formulation of policies affecting their wages, hours and working conditions. In most states, they already have the ability to sit down with their employers and managers to discuss and find agreement on issues that impact them.They work with their employers to find creative ways to deal with financial challenges that face their departments.

We have long believed and advocated that the public's safety is better served when those employees who are tasked with providing it have their voices heard in determining the procedures and protocols employed and enforced in providing that service. We also note that the most effective leaders who not only listen to the voices of their subordinates, but seek out their opinions and experiences in carrying out the mission of their organizations.

Dennis J. Slocumb
Vice President and Legislative Liason
The International Union of Police Associations, AFL-CIO

Legislative Action Alert

The Legislative Session in Hartford is in full swing with a flurry of new bills being introduced on every subject imaginable. Republican members of the House and Senate have introduced several Bills that are of potential concern to our members that try to weaken state pension plans
.
House Bills: 5559, 5563, 5702 and Senate Bills 346 and 347 propose various changes to State Employee Pensions. Proposals include elimination of overtime to calculate pensions, reduce cost of living adjustments, increase pension formula calculations to five highest years salary average from the current three years and have new state employee hires given defined contribution retirement plans rather than defined benefit plans. Sponsors of these Bills include Representatives Larry Cafero, Vincent Candelona, Themis Kalrides, John Frey, Melissa Ziobron and Senators Michael McLachlan, Scott Franz and Joe Markley.

It should be noted we participate in the Connecticut Municipal Retirement System (CMERS) which is fully funded since all participating municipalities must contribute required monies each fiscal year. The problem with the State Retirement System (SRS) is unfunded liabilities since the Legislature for decades failed to properly fund the plan and now has placed the blame for the system failures on the employees rather than on themselves.

These Bills are directed at only at state employees at this time but we should all pay attention to these changes since municipalities will jump on any legislative changes that can benefit them. Remember all politicians never let a good crisis go to waste to take advantage of any situation to move an agenda forward. Local 724 has been in contact with Council 15 to monitor these and any other Bills that threaten our hard earned wages and benefits

Congratulations!!


All of 724 endorsed candidates win their elections!
Read press release of endorsements.

FACTS ABOUT NEW LONDON CMERS PENSION PLAN

Seems the public of late has been focusing a lot of their frustration on the bad economy at municipal employees as the root cause of all that is wrong with government. For example, some people claim our retirement plan is all pork to the recipient at the excessive expense of their money. So let's add facts to the story to give it a true perspective. First let me start by adding this figure average police officer dies at age 66 and averages 10.6 years after retirement.

Second It was former New London City Manager Richard Brown who announced in the late 1990's he wanted the city "out of the pension business". He did not want the city to forever be liable for future pension liabilities from their defined benefit pension plan. Instead he wanted a plan where fiscal liabilities ended with predictable upfront contribution costs not linked long term pensioner payments. This led to the city and police union negotiations resulting in our participation in the Connecticut Municipal Employee Retirement System (CMERS).

The annual contribution for participation varies from year to year and depends upon actuarial and financial experiences or changes in benefit provision. There are two components: (a) employer and (b) employee. The employer contributions are based upon the total payroll of gross pay received by all employees eligible for membership and forwarded monthly to CMERS. Employee contributions are deducted from each eligible employee's gross wages and forwarded monthly to CMERS. Employer contributions are actuarially determined and are a percentage of gross wages of payroll. It is paid monthly and subject to change as of July 1st each year. Because of this arrangement CMERS is fully funded as opposed to many city and state pension plans that are severely under funded.

The employee contribution portion is currently set at 2¼% for Social Security participants and at 5% for employees not covered by Social Security (like New London). This employee contribution amount is set by the legislature and cannot change.

Wages reported on the roster includes overtime and longevity payments. Employee contributions are based on gross pay and forwarded monthly to the CMERS. Employer contributions are forwarded monthly also and are based on the gross pay of all eligible CMERS members. Employee contributions are defines by state statute while employer contributions are adjusted each year on July 1. Lump sum payments at retirement for accumulated sick and vacation are not considered by the CMERS in the benefit calculation. Lump sum "retroactive" payments are spread over the actual earning period when determining the three highest years.

Our members can retire with 25 years of service receiving 50% average of their three highest years of salary. Most of us will not be eligible for Social Security unless we qualified through prior employment since New London does not participate. Even if we do qualify any payments are reduced by almost 66% as a penalty due to the federal Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP)

If you work for an employer who does not withhold Social Security taxes from your salary, such as a government agency (New London) or an employer in another country, the ­pension you get based on that work may reduce your Social Security benefits. The Windfall Elimination Provision affects how the amount of your retirement or disability benefit is calculated if you receive a pension from work where Social Security taxes were not taken out of your pay. A modified formula is used to calculate your benefit amount, resulting in a lower Social Security ­benefit than you otherwise would receive. Bottom line, CMERS pension is all we get for the too few years we will live.

$190,000?

The recent disclosure of one city overtime earner has caught the attention of membership. The Police Chief once again exposed her hypocritical self. She has constantly nickel and dimed staff with cost cutting measures at the department from eliminating vacant positions, demanding union concessions, threatening 10 layoffs, reducing daily staffing levels, overtime deployment, fleet replacement and repairs, copier paper to latex gloves while she grossed $190,000 this fiscal year from an annual salary of $110,00. That number was achieved by the "secret deal" of April 2011 she inked with Denise Rose to convert "comp time" into bi weekly cash disbursements boosting her annual salary to increase her retirement salary. Comp time she authorized and monitored herself. Just another example of her do as I say not as I do ethics.

With the next election Ernie hopes to become House Majority Leader which will be good not only for New London but all of SE Connecticut. We look forward to his continued success and encourage all our members and readers of this column to please consider supporting Ernie Hewett. Make your individual campaign contribution in any amount from $5-$100 maximum to Hewett 2012 c/o 29 Colman Street New London CT. 06320-3558. Contributions must be accompanied by Contributor Certification Form for General Assembly Candidates (Form A) . Qualifying Contribution Certification Form for Candidates Participating in the Citizens' Election Program - General Assembly (Form A)

Why Political Action

THE DECISIONS that a legislative body makes, whether it is a school board, city council, county board, state legislature, or the U.S. Congress, affect AFSCME members and their families in dramatic ways.

Elected officials vote on budgets that affect employee wages, benefits, working conditions and pensions. They vote on issues of particular concern to AFSCME members, like privatization, and they vote on broader issues of concern to all working families, such as health care reform and workers' compensation. That's why working people need to have allies among elected officials. And that's why working people need to work to elect these allies.

The Local 724 executive board has the collective responsibility to provide vision and direction for the local. It is up to the leadership team to look ahead, set goals and develop a plan to make strategic planning a critical element to having a strong union which can only come about when membership is informed, educated and active.

Unions can never hope to match the hundreds of millions of dollars big business pours into every election. But working people have superior numbers, so they can get out in the streets and work for candidates. And if members pool their cash, unions can help make sure that their endorsed candidates have enough funds to compete against business-backed opponents in the ever-more important media ad wars.

Through the political process we can be involved in setting important public policy. Through the political process public employees can elect representatives who are sensitive to maintaining vital public services and committed to dealing with workers fairly.

Local 724 accomplishes this through political action in conjunction with the exercise of collective bargaining process, growth and community involvement to produce a just and rewarding workplace.

Rep. Ernest Hewett of New London was honored with the Connecticut Police Chief's Association Legislative Award in grateful recognition of his efforts to enhance Law Enforcement in the State of Connecticut.

Ernie and Ret' NLPD Eddie Hedge -Law Enforcement Liaison
Highway Safety Office CT. Department of Transportation.

The ceremony was held on in Cromwell, Thursday, December 15 at CPCA/DOT Law Enforcement Summit. When accepting this award, Rep. Hewett mentioned the bill that he championed: the DNA upon arrest legislation which requires DNA samples to be collected from convicted felons after a subsequent arrest. Rep. Hewett emphasized that because of that bill, we will be able to put more people behind bars who committed serious crimes and who would have otherwise been free, and we will be able to exonerate those who are wrongfully convicted. Rep. Hewett dedicated the passage of this measure to Jayann Sepich whose daughter Katie Sepich was raped, murdered and her body set on fire in New Mexico. Her killer was arrested through the DNA collection. Ms. Sepich came to Connecticut to testify in favor of Rep. Hewett's bill.

Rep. Hewett also thanked the entire police community for their great work in keeping us safe; Rep. Hewett also recognized other lawmakers who were helpful in having this important piece of legislation enacted.

724 attends Democratic Town Committee annual election dinner.

US Congressman Chris Murphy	CT Comptroller Kevin Lembo
Former Sec State Susan Bysiewicz	Lt Gov Nancy Wyman

Local 724 stands up for Marie Friess-McSparran @ 2 wifes pizza fundraiser!
Senator Richard Blumenthal endorses Marie!

Congressman Courtney press conference
on legislation he has co-sponsored.
The Recovering Missing Children Act of 2011

Picture from patch.com

The Recovering Missing Children Act is a bill that would extensively assist in the investigation and recovery of missing or abducted children. Every year, over 200,000 children are abducted by members of their own family. A study by the US Treasury Department found that in one third of cases, a tax return is filed using the missing child’s Social Security number. This information could lead to the recovery of the missing child. Unfortunately, a conflicting US code prevents most requests from federal judges to issue an ex parte order, which would allow law enforcement to access these tax returns, from being approved.

This legislation would amend the Internal Revenue Code to add the case of a missing child to the list of exceptions allowing the release of IRS tax return information upon receiving a court order. As with any missing person case, every bit of information is crucial and this legislation has the ability to assist law enforcement a great deal

Local 724 gets recognized on the national level!

On January 28, 2011 at the Council 4 Campaign for the Middle Class Seminar in Meriden The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), AFL-CIO thanked the New London Police Union- Local 724 for their efforts in the Labor 2010 campaign.

Lee Saunders, International Secretary-Treasurer and AFSCME Council 4's Sal Luciano who is also an International Vice President honored Local 724 with a certificate "In recognition of their tireless work and commitment during the 2010 State of Connecticut general elections". To this day labor leaders throughout the state continue to praise our Malloy/Wyman Pre-Debate Rally as a new benchmark of what local labor can achieve when committed to a goal.

Chuck Flynn was honored to accept the award on behalf of our entire membership which will hang proudly in the 724 "Hall of Justice". I want to personally thank everyone that participated in some way no matter how big or small. Our election success was due to the collective efforts of our TEAM-Together Everyone Accomplishes More.

724 helps East Lyme fight the cause

Why Political Action?

Shooting from the lip
Political Director C Flynn

Obama Care now considers employee healthcare benfits as taxable income. AFSCME was able to secure an extension on this provision until 2018

Joe Courtney is trying to repeal this tax before it gets implemented.

NLPD awarded a $722,000 federal grant to hire three additional police officers.
Only two other Connecticut cities received funding.
Joe Courtney: Democrat and a Congressman of the United States House of Representatives for Connecticut's 2nd congressional district.

Ernie Hewett

Andrea Stillman

Nancy Wyman