Page 3 - Trooper Summer 2021

Presidents Corner:

Today we face some difficult decisions within our Association. In order to address these decisions, communication
with the members we are entrusted to serve and government leadership is critical. TROOPER is one of those
communication tools and I thank you for taking time to read this issue. Reviving TROOPER has a been an
important goal of mine. Our sponsors funded its publication, and I thank them for their support. While most of
you may be reading this as an electronic version, SPAM has printed several hundred copies for distribution at both
the State House and our various partner agencies and Associations.

As you know, we are in the midst of main table negotiations for a successor contract. As we all know, we have been
operating without a contract since January. We are keenly aware that our previous contract made it abundantly
clear that both SPAM and the Commonwealth would bargain in “good faith” for an educational incentive in these
negotiations. Although we are prohibited from discussing negotiations, rest assured SPAM is upholding our end
of the agreement.

In the middle of these negotiations, the Governor issued an Executive Order requiring all members to be vaccinated
or face increasing discipline, to include termination. In our recent SPAM-O-GRAM (“SOG”), we attached a
survey. If you have not yet completed this survey, please do so ASAP. The data gathered here will remain with
SPAM. However, to accurately represent the membership, we need to have an idea of what the numbers look like
in the various categories. These questions were deliberate and were written in a way that will allow us to strategize
and subsequently will only be used by SPAM at the negotiating table during Impact Bargaining.

I realize that many of you are very concerned with this Executive Order and the future of both your employment
and the Department as a whole. I hope that in the coming days the Commonwealth will provide us with clear
guidance on this process and how we are expected to submit our vaccination status, or apply for an exemption to
the mandate.

While this is ongoing, we are continuing to support our members injured in the line-of-duty. We still have two (2)
members out injured from gunshot wounds. We have others out from cruiser crashes and felonious assaults. In
addition, we still have members who are fighting for injury benefits after contracting COVID.

I have travelled to various barracks in the past few days and was surprised to learn just how many members
contracted COVID during the performance of their duties – whether they were in riot gear protecting the State
House, packed into a vehicle as a Quick Reaction Force (“QRF”), or just making an arrest with a violent and
infected detainee. Many of these members did not receive the benefits associated with a Line of Duty Injury. I am
happy to report that the two members shot in the line of duty have received those benefits; however, those who
contracted this virus serving the people of Massachusetts have not received the same benefits. We are fighting to
fix this.

We have posted a list of upcoming dates for Troop Town Hall meetings. Please attempt to stop in for the
presentation. We must remember that as a labor organization, we represent ALL SPAM members and we have an
obligation to fairly represent you, the Association Members. We also have a fiduciary obligation to responsibly
manage the financial affairs of the organization. I take these responsibilities seriously and consider them in my
decision-making and recommendations. We have a General Counsel who is working hard to ensure your E-Board
and your Association conducts itself with the utmost professionalism and accomplishes our mission in line with
our responsibilities. Our Fiduciary Responsibility has changed the way your E-Board operates today and for that
reason, we are stronger financially.

I look forward to continuing to represent you and hope you enjoy this edition of TROOPER.

Mike Cherven
President
State Police Association of Massachusetts

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