June 1991 - San Francisco Police Officers Association

June, 1991 Notebook Page 3Interview With Al TrigueiroFROM THEPRESIDENTWhat's0Happeningur self-imposed deadline of May31, 1991 has come and gone. What'sgoing on? Is there a deal to be made? Isanything happening?The answers to these questions are succinct.Not much! Perhaps! Yes?Thus far through the negotiation processnothing of substance has occurred. The City,after receiving a week's extension on ourself-imposed deadline to Monday, June 3rd(due to the Memorial Holiday), returned tothe table on that particular date to providecounters to many of the remaining POAaffirmative proposals which have yet to beaddressed. Please realize that the POAplaced 51 affirmative proposals on thetable and, thus far, the City's negotiatingefforts have been spread thin by concurrentnegotiations with Firefighters, AirportPolice and the Miscellanous PublicEmployees' Unions. Now, however, thefield has narrowed and the City will be concentratingtheir efforts on our negotiations.The Public Employees' Unions settled theirdispute with the City in an 11th hourmeeting with the Mayor and hisNegotiating Staff on the evening of Monday,June 3rd - the date those Unionswere asking the Board of Supervisors fora veto override of the Mayor's proposedwage freeze package. The MiscellaneousPublic Employees' Unions cut a deal withthe City that will prove a full dental program,a proposed collective bargainingballot measure, arbitration for terminationand discipline cases and the guarantee oftheir expected pay raises in Fiscal Year1992-93. In other words, it may be a gooddeal for all concerned.Perhaps we, too, can make a deal? OnFriday morning, May 31st, Gary Delagnes,Vince Courtney and I met with the Mayorand Deputy Mayor Claude Everhardt todiscuss Gary's recently completed wageand benefit survey and comparison of thetop 20 California cities by population.Gary's survey (see story on page 1) clearlyputs us, on average, 20% behind the othertop agencies in California which translatesinto a monthly loss of approximately $800for a 4th year patrol officer. Gary providedthe Mayor with these survey results. Itwas agreed to by the City and the POAthat the impasse deadline would be extendedto the Monday, June 10th meeting atwhich the City, hopefully, will providepositive movement to settle these negotiationsand avoid arbitration. The POA hasa bottom line and we're playing the "pokergame" with all cards face up. It's the rightapproach and now the burden is on the Cityto bring its police officers back to a placewhere they rightfully belong - among thetop paid Departments in the State -because you deserve it!Dennis Tomason, chair of the Communications'Committee, will be keepingyou posted as events unfold. Look for hisbulletins.Lastly, the tribute dinner, for the Cityemployees who participted in OperationDesert Storm, sponsored by our Associationand organized by Mary O'Shea andAssociates, was a great success. The eventwas well attended and the entertainmentwas superb. Many thanks to all of ourmembers who contributed and there aremany. The POA salutes them all -Welcome Home.Conducted by Steve JohnsonOn May 4, 1950, Marie and AlfredTrigueiro had no idea that their newbornson, Alfred, would, 31 years after becominga native San Franciscan, enter into oneof the most difficult professions in theworld and become a San Francisco policeofficer.Young Al Trigueiro was raised in theMission District, attended Mission DoloresElementary School, graduated from St.Ignatius High School, received his Bachelorof Arts degree from Santa Clara Universityand a Masters in Business Administrationfrom the University of San Franciscoin 1988.Al's career within the San FranciscoPolice Department has been distinguishedby his adaptability to both patrol (Centraland Mission Stations) and administrativechallenges (Planning/Research and NarcoticEducation Unit). Al was instrumentalin the passage of Proposition A in 1988,a successful ballot measure sponsored byour department that now enables the Citythe opportunity to finance needed improvementsat its 9 district police stations.Officer Trigueiro was also a favorite ofthe elementary school children he taughtwhile serving with the Narcotic EducationUnit. Many of his students sent "thank you"notes to our Association during the weekfollowing the 1989 earthquake whenmembers of our department worked manywatches without relief.In 1989, Al Trigueiro was electedTreasurer of the SFPOA. Al was thecatalyst and later chaired the committeethat sponsored a collective bargainingballot measure. Al's efforts were instrumentalin ensuring the passage of the measure(Proposition D/1990) and the next stepwas only logical - the author of the successfulnovel (collective bargaining) shouldwrite the sequel (contract). So Al ran forthe Presidency of our Association andreceived an overwhelming mandate torepresent our members' interests in all laborissues.INTERVIEWWho is Al Trigueiro?Al: Al Trigueiro is not a complex person- he is a police officer who has the opportunityto represent his fellow officers indifferent arenas - City Hall, communitymeetings and at the department administrationlevel.Al Trigueiro, the person, has many interests- Al Trigueiro, the President, hasbut one... to obtain benefits for membersof the Association.Nevertheless, I feel I must apologizewhen I can't return a phone call right away.It's usually because Fm attending one of thecountless meetings during a week.Why did you choose to run for thepresidency of the SFPOA?Al: It was not an easy decision, nor wasit my own.I saw, firsthand, the price our formerpresident (Michael keys) paid during his administrationas far as demands for themost precious asset of all - time, was con-WHEN YOU THINK OFREAL ESTATE, THINK OF US!WE WORK TWICE ASHARD FOR YOU!Current Inventory:• 3 Bed/2 Bath Remodeled Homew/Family Rm. $249,000• 3 Bed/2 Bath Remodeled Homew/Formal Dining Rm and Pool!$253,950• 5 Bed/4 Full + 2 Half Baths —BrandNew, Custom $1,350,000cemed, and I wanted to make sure I hadthe full support of both my running matesbut, more important, my fiancee before Imade a commitment.My future wife, Moyra, agreed to supportmy bid and my compatriots (Delagnes,Dito, & Johnson) already knew of my plansfor the Association and were ready toserve.But I really felt I would have a goodhandle on the job (Presidency) because ofmy previous experience as Treasurer andmy involvement in the politics and needsof our Association. There's no way AlTrigueiro could possibly address all of theneeds of our membership. I must concentrateon the most important issues -negotiating a contract and I must dependon my Board of Directors to deal with otherperipheral issues.How do you answer critics who say you'renot experienced enough to lead the 1991SFPOA?Al: I think I can respectively stand on myrecord as far as experience is concerned.I was part of a committee which defeateda political ballot measure in 1989 (Prop K)that might have threatened our job scopehad it passed. And I helped to spearheadthe Proposition D (Collective Bargaining)campaign to a successful resolution evenwhen the Mayor, Chief of Police and twomajor newspapers failed to offer theirsupport.I've paid my "dues" so to speak in manydifferent arenas, especially when we wereoperating a proactive campaign (PropositionD) on a shoestring budget and it wasnecessary to rally the support of all ourmembers to help lobby specific votingblocs of our city as target areas to "get outthe vote."This operation, by the way, was anoutstanding tribute to our members and atremendous display of teamwork at thegrass root level of city politics.I think we all learned a great deal - Ifound out what a great resource ourmembers and their friends and families canbe and must be.Is the job (Presidency) what you expected?Al: Yes and no. I knew beforehand that thedemands would be phenomenal. I'mresponsible to 1,750 active members, 700retired members, I oversee a $1 millionoperating budget, direct the two law firmswe have on retainer, attend Police Commissionmeetings, serve on the Mayor'sDisciplinary Task Force, serve as chairmanof our Negotating Committee responsiblefor providing a contract acceptable to allof our members and, in between, fry to findsome time to "stop and smell the roses."I'm very fortunate to receive outstandingsupport from the members of the POAboard of' directors, many of whom areveterans in representing our officers beforeManagement Control Division and the Officeof Citizen Complaints, and others, whohave been recently elected, will make excellentrepresentatives in time.What do you hope to accomplish duringyour term in office?Al: First, to negotiate a contract that willsubstantially address both the economicSERVING MARIN AND SONOMA COUNTIES915 Diablo Avenue Novato, California 94947and environmental needs of ourmembership.Economic, because we are still disgracefullyon the lower rung of benefitsstate-wide compared to other major law enforcementagencies. Environmental,because our facilities, equipment and trainingare all in need of improvement for thebenefit of the citizens we serve.My second major goal is to work withthe Career Development program ChiefWillis Casey has initiated to ensure a timelyand delineated resource for careerenhancement.Of course, there are many other issuesat hand but none so important as benefitsand career goals.Do you see the role of the SFPOAchanging?Al: Yes, from reactive to proactive - PropositionD led the way in many respects- we are not only more accountable to ourmembership but we are becoming more involvedproactively in community affairs. Iam also pursuing the opportunity to improveour relationship with the departmentadministration as far as having a betterunderstanding between Chief Casey andhis command and our Board of Directorsin all matters of mutual interest.What does Al Trigueiro think of the presentleadership of the SFPD?Al: More importantly, what does the presentleadership of the SFPD think of ourAssociation - we're changing the POA'sdirection to one of cooperation, away froma somewhat adversarial role we foundourselves leading towards - I would rathersee cooperation within our meet/conferrights and obligations. Chief Casey's MissionStatement is pretty much in line withours - he wants to put an emphasis backon fighting crime and improving moraleand we would like to see the same accomplishedwith more training opportunities,better resources and appropriatecompensation.I respect the leaders of our police administration- they have a very difficult jobmaintaining order with ever-increasingdemands - similar to what Al Trigueirois trying to do at 510 7th Street.What policy/procedure(s) of the SFPD(See INTERVIEW, Page 4)First Consultation Free forOfficers & Their FamiliesKATHLEEN M.CIMAAttorney at Law• Former Police OfficerFormer S.F.D.A.Investigator• and the wife of• George Cima,Company K223 Caledonia, Sausalito, CATel. 415.332.1002Practicing in the Area of Family LawTHEMOTHER-DAUGHTERTEAMDONNA FAI.ZONReal Estate BrokerDEBBIE FALZON-ASHBURNRealtor(415) 897-3000