NEPBA Local #550 Union

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***Please click for a VIDEO of West Boylston PICKET of Sheriff GUY GLODIS***

Below are just a couple pictures from the October 16th, 2009

Picket of Sheriff Glodis at the Manor in West Boylston

***Please click for a VIDEO of the Winthrop Picket of Jeffrey Turco***

On Thursday, October 8^th, 93 officers and sergeants boarded a Greyhound bus and a half-a-dozen vehicles and departed from West Boylston for the destination of the city of Winthrop . Our goal: to prevent the right hand man of the Sheriff, “Honest” Jeff Turco, from spreading misinformation and obtaining the political office that he is running for in his hometown of Winthrop .

The ride down was worth the trip alone. Spirits were very high; we would joke and play cards enjoy each others’ company. The mood was extremely positive and we knew we were going to make a significant impact on behalf of every employee at the Jail before we had even set foot in the city we were headed for.

We would arrive an hour later at the Town Hall where Honest Jeff would have his first political debate. This was coincidental as this was our first picket, but the comparisons end there. We were there to tell the truth. And Honest Jeff? He was more concerned about telling the voters what he thought would help to get him elected, and that included talking about all of his great “accomplishments” at the Jail. It seems that the Lie apple does not fall far from the Guy tree.

The Winthrop Police were on scene as well. This was wonderful, as we made new union friends and allies (yes, the Winthrop Police are our brothers in labor). When we ordered $200 in pizza we would share it with them, just as we should. In turn, they graciously allowed us to use their private bathroom at their police station and even gave us advice on where to stand on Election Day to have the greatest impact on potential voters. We owe these police officers great thanks and more than one confided in us that “off the record” there was no way that they would vote for a man that did so much harm against his own employees. We were and remain grateful for their support.

Reporters from local media outlets would show up throughout the evening and ask us why we were in Winthrop . We shared with them and they took copious notes and promised coverage. One resident of 50 years noted that he had never seen such a showing of people in his city but for a 4^th of July gathering. And we stood in front of the Hall, holding Old Glory high, in quiet protest and waiting for the Sultan of Subterfuge to appear.

And arrive he would, briskly walking up the steps and avoiding eye contact with the men who he has screwed these past 5 years. But he would be stopped at the door of the Hall by greeters who, much to his dismay, delayed his entry. Aspiring politicians, you see, must shake hands and smile even when they don’t want to just to make everything seem alright.

Alas, this is where our Derelict Deputy Superintendent epically failed. Before entering into the Town Hall, he would turn and survey a wall of officers and sergeants that locked eyes with him in silent protest, saying nothing but saying everything with steely stares. And Honest Jeff would look. And Honest Jeff would not smile. And who could blame him?

Following Turco’s entry into the town hall, we would carry our signs and banners 1 block away to one of the city’s epicenters. We would there pass out anti-Turco flyers and talk to citizens; some people would even merrily honk as they drove by as a sign of union support. At the end of the night, we would pack our gear onto the bus and shake hands with the very professional Winthrop police. And we would again load onto the bus, tired but happy and smiling and laughing, and we would head for home.

Every person who attended the picket will be soon given a black Local 550 shirt. These shirts cannot be bought but can only be earned through attendance at a picket. These shirts are a sign of courage and unity and those who receive them did so at a cost. They sacrificed their time and energies to fight for you (yes, you!) so that you might have a brighter day and a better future. These men should be honored amongst our ranks and I am privileged to have stood with these, my brothers, on the picket line on that great night on October 8^th.

Before I close, I have an observation and a challenge. The observation: Turco, as deleterious as his policies have been, is only second in command and not the one most culpable for the deplorable conditions at the Jail. If we, as a union, can bring 100 of our men 40 miles away on a weekday night to picket the second in command, what type of response will be awaiting the High Sheriff of Worcester County? How many will be in attendance at a Glodis picket when we ask for the support of not just our members, but of our friends and our families as well? There is a political price to being anti-labor in the Commonwealth, and Glodis will soon speak from firsthand experience precisely what that price is.

Speaking of The Man In The Ivory Tower, I will issue my challenge. Sheriff, we have warned you time and again. Your Jail is unsafe and your officers have lost all faith in you. The days of your uncontested lies are coming to an end. When we show up at your future functions, hundreds strong with bullhorns and banners, supported by local unions throughout this great state, and when you see your poll numbers spiraling further and further downwards, I would challenge you to do something.

Turn to the legions of us and look us in the eyes and smile. Do what Turco could not.

And I promise you this, sir. If you do smile, we will smile back, knowing that finally your Dynasty of Deception is coming to a fitting end, and you have no one to blame for that but yourself, and your disgraceful anti-union, anti-family and anti-labor policies.

We will smile and we will laugh heartily, just like we did on the bus ride home from Winthrop.

Warren Lohnes, Jr.

President, Local 550, W.C.C.O.