Sunday, December 31, 2006

Friday, December 29, 2006

Membership Concerns, Week Ending 12-29-2006

Every Friday there will be posted a "Membership Concerns" section for Chino Chapter members to post ideas regarding issues which impact them. By posting these in the "Comments" section, issues that are not brought to the attention of the local Job Stewards may be addressed.

If you have any suggestions to improve this blog, simply click "The Blogmaster", and write me an email.

Ground Rules for Commentary.

We welcome your views, ESPECIALLY views that differ from conventional wisdom. People learn more from their skeptics than from their devotees and, as in structural engineering, the weakest point of a structural member can only be determined by applying stress to that member.

This is a moderated blog in which the comments are reviewed prior to their posting. This has the benefit of filtering out "spambots" which post, oftentimes, objectionable advertising. It further has the benefit of filtering out ad hominem attacks on individuals rather than policies.

Vitriolic personal harangues will not be posted. If there exists a policy that is adversarial to the Chapter Membership or CCPOA in general, then it is the policy which may be attacked. While it is understandable that you may be frustrated with a known dump-truck, chronically spewing bad policy, it is the policy which must be addressed if it is ever to be corrected. Since this is not a private blog, we must operate within the framework of the highest standards of CCPOA.

Members of the general public may post here (as a practical matter) and, hopefully, their commentary may provide a fresh "Outside of the Box" perspective.

NO PROFANITY PLEASE.

Every Friday there will be posted a "Membership Concerns" section for Chino Chapter members to post ideas regarding issues which impact them. By posting these in the "Comments" section, issues that are not brought to the attention of the local Job Stewards may be addressed.

If you have any suggestions to improve this blog, simply click "The Blogmaster", and write me an email.

The Blogmaster

Monday, December 25, 2006

Consider The Source.

Recently, failed CalDORC Secretary and Undersecretary Roderick Hickman and Jeanne Woodford, were granted a podium before Federal Judge Thelton Henderson for a self-serving vindication of their bankrupt administrative policies.

Predictably, the displacement of blame began by allegations of political arm-twisting by that darn "powerful Prison Guard's Union", however, one must consider the source and their motivations before believing anything that they say. There is another, parallel, situation in which the testimony of witnesses is bought and paid for.

It is a known practice for prosecutors to employ the use of testimony from "jailhouse snitches" in their prosecutions, in return for which they are granted reduced sentences and/or special consideration in their jailhouse environment. Now comes the nexus.

What a great opportunity it is for these two to be able to rewrite history and resurrect their tainted credentials through their testimony before a Federal judge! Testimony which now, as before, lays the blame for their unsuccessful management on bystanders. Testimony issued within the context of a media-rich environment which will ensure that their message will hit the intended target.

The opportunity to vindicate their buffoonery through such a forum and ensuing media circus is priceless, therefore, payment for their testimony is made in full.

The Pinstripe Wall is up to their old tricks all right, Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night.

The Blogmaster

Sunday, December 24, 2006

The Hickman Hangover Continues

Sleepy readers of the Los Angeles Times were greeted with the front page story, "OT pushes guards' pay past $100,000".

Within this article, a little truth trickled out from an unlikely source. Attorney Don Specter, Director of the Prison Law Office, characterized the closing of the Correctional Officer Training Academy, during the Hickman Administration, a "mistake". He further stated, "They don't have enough officers to safely man the prisons."

Understaffing the prisons is the single greatest contributor to the massive amounts of overtime being paid to Correctional Staff.

Before too many politicians get out their soap boxes, the amount of that overtime spent on divorce attorneys, as Correctional Staff become strangers in their own homes, should be calculated into the equation. All of that money comes with a high price for Correctional Officers, both physically and emotionally.

The Federal judiciary and their sycophants cannot hang this one on the "Powerful Prison Guard's Union". Instead they must look at their darling Rod Hickman for the blame.

The Jack Daniels may have soured in the glass, but the hangover lingers on.

Thursday, December 14, 2006

FAQ

From the comment section of "Why the change in format? "

Q. "When will the CDC Forum on the pacovilla.com bulletin board be up and running again?"

A. The CIM Chapter of CCPOA cannot regulate the policies or materials posted on Pacovilla. It is (allegedly) a privately owned and operated bulletin board which operates independently of CCPOA. The autonomous nature of this bulletin board makes any, official, participation in it by CCPOA improper by the very nature of the private control.

Official CCPOA participation in any privately owned bulletin board places the organizational policies in a subservient position to the board operators who have their own policies and agendas which may be quite different from CCPOA's.

Points of view, unpopular with the private board operators, may be unfairly suppressed even though the expression of these points of view by the membership may be entirely proper and in line with CCPOA's organizational policies.

Further, albeit inadvertently, CCPOA would have the appearance of tacitly supporting the products and services advertised on the website of the private bulletin board operators. This could lead to many embarassing conflicts of interest if advertising were placed on the bulletin board or website which was inconsistant with the policies and goals of CCPOA.

One of the main factors in deciding on this blog format is the lack of advertising required for a free site, therefore separating ourselves from the appearance of support for advertised products and/or services over which we have no control.

Therefore, on and after January 1, 2007, the CIM Chapter of CCPOA chooses to, officially, disassociate itself with all privately owned and operated bulletin boards.

Why the change in format?

On January 1, 2007, the CIM Cyber-Forum has changed to the blog format. There are several advantages to this format that make this more desirable for the membership.

First, there is the "free" factor. Having a website incurs web hosting and registrar fees, however, a blog is free.

Secondly, is the increased functionality and two-way communications the blog interface provides to the membership through the "Comments" section, without requiring the typical advertising on a free website interface.

Hopefully you will find this a more useful venue than a traditional website.

FORMS.

The following are some of the forms that Bargaining Unit 6 Employees may need.

They are in Adobe Acrobat (PDF) format.

Disclaimer Cond. & Cont. Bid (2007)
Holiday Request Vacation Cancellation Request
Holiday Cancellation OJT Training Report
Standby Vacation RequestSwap Form
Standby Vacation Cancellation Grievance Form


The Blogmaster

Wednesday, December 13, 2006

SUCCESS

The announcement from Sacramento was made on 12-12-2006 that Gary Clark is now the Chapter President Elect and will officially take office on January 1, 2007.

On and after January 1, 2007, this blog will become the official cyber-forum for the CIM Chapter of CCPOA.

Congratulations Gary.