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Looking
Back Certain people expressed great surprise when the Michigan Association of Police marked its first anniversary in 1985. Most of these doubters also were extremely disappointed that MAP had survived through its crucial first year. They were former colleagues of MAP's founders who had become bitter competitors. Perhaps their predictions that the new union would die in its infancy were merely wishful thinking. Perhaps they were relying on cold facts; odds that strongly indicated such an enterprise would not succeed. In either case they should have known better. After all, they had worked with MAP's originators and were familiar with law enforcement labor movement history. One of the fledgling organization's founders was Fred Timpner, who, of course, is now its veteran Executive Director. As a young family man with small children, he took a major gamble when he and mentor/friend Carl Parsell broke from the already-large union that Parsell actually had established years before. While acknowledging that there was definitely an element of risk involved in the venture, Timpner today maintains that - even at the time - the decision was logical. Why? Because the partner with whom he cast his lot was Carl Parsell. "I was very confident from the outset, because Carl's credentials were extraordinary," he recalls. "Of course it's easy to say after two decades of success that making the move was the right thing to do, but I knew it was when we made it." "The reasons were obvious Carl knew more about the police union business than anyone else. Heck, he invented it! He was greatly respected and may people were loyal to him because of all he had accomplished. I knew that if anyone could start a new union and make it work by doing all of the right things the right way, it was Carl." This might qualify as an understatement. Parsell is rightfully remembered as the architect of modern-day police labor relations, as well as the preeminent pioneer of the law enforcement union movement, itself. It would be literally impossible to write a history of the movement, let alone of MAP, without spotlighting him in the leading role. He was president of the Detroit Police Officers Association (DPOA) from the early 1960s, an era when officers made minuscule wages and were incapable of doing anything about it because their unions had no real bargaining power. Parsell, proactive as always, did not simply accept the existing reality. • He took a central
role in the passage in 1965 of Public Act 379, which officially reaffirmed
the • He originated in 1966 what soon became known in the media as the "Blue Flu," a strategy of using random mass sick calls to underscore publicly the no-win negotiating plight faced by police officers. The department's administration was outraged and insisted that the "illness outbreaks" were nothing more than thinly-veiled illegal strikes. However, the tactic proved effective, drawing national attention to the issue and creating widespread sympathy for the union's position. • He was the prime mover in achieving passage of what amounted to an "Emancipation Proclamation" for Michigan's police officers. Public Act 312, which guarantees officers the right of binding arbitration when a negotiating impasse occurs, remains the keystone of law enforcement labor relations. • He led the establishing, then nurtured the growth through the 1970s and into the early '80s, of Michigan's first statewide police union. During the latter years of this period, a trend developed that ultimately would lead to the creation of the Michigan Association of Police. "Carl became increasingly concerned that expansion was putting more emphasis on constantly getting bigger, at the cost of constantly getting better," Timpner recalls. "He and I both came to believe that there was less dedication among some people to the union's fundamental purpose than there was to personal ambitions. "It got to the point where there were some very critical philosophical conflicts involved. Carl and I just did not see things the same way as several of the other major officials of the organization. It came down to differences in how we viewed the way a police union should operate. "We felt that the emphasis on serving the membership wasn't as strong as it had been. That mattered a lot to us, and Carl always did what he believed to be the right thing, so we left a situation we didn't agree with and we started over." How much did this commitment to basic ideals mean in the long run? It didn't take an entire decade to prove out, but this statement by Timpner on the occasion of MAP's 10th anniversary told a lot of what still is a continuing story: "I think it's accurate to say that we've come a long way by never leaving behind what is most important; our bottom-line purpose. The past 10 years have proven beyond any doubt that service can't be just the resources we provide - it has to be everything we're about." During that same celebration, Sterling Heights POA President Dan Petkoff declared that: "It (MAP) was the police union of the future because it was based on the old ideals. We went with them (as one of the new union's original groups) and we've never been sorry for a minute." By the way, one of many reasons Petkoff and his colleagues had no regrets was the fact that the SHPOA, became the first local association in Michigan to achieve a contract that brought senior officers over $50,000. Now they are very close to smashing through the $70,000 barrier! However, negotiating excellent and frequently "breakthrough" contracts was (and is) only one component of the philosophy on which MAP was founded. The union's Professional Services Profile always has promised "total representation" - topnotch labor relations specialists and ancillary experts providing the broadest possible range of services. There is considerable proof that this promise has been kept. Here are some relevant examples: • Superior
contracts: MAP local associations have agreements that, dollar-for-dollar
and • Employment protection: The record of consistent successes accomplished by MAP's labor relations professionals in handling grievance cases and other,job security issues is unmatched by any other union. • Companion services: These are resources MAP has exclusively provided or continues to provide that also have furthered the union's fundamental goals for representation. From the outset, Timpner and Parsel sought to expand services to members while helping all police officers, and to do so in a way that would continue to pay dividends for them and their families. Prominent examples of truly unique services introduced in the first two decades are the SafeStart Program and MAP's anti-AIDS (and other blood-born diseases) education program. SafeStart provided state-of-the-art body armor to many men and women in all areas of Michigan who otherwise would not have had this essential protection. After delivering about a thousand cost-free vests over the years, SafeStart recently was phased out when the Federal Government began meeting this essential need on a nationwide scale. MAP contracted in the early 1980s with research scientist Dr. Jerome P. Horwitz to help inform members about the facts and dangers of the dreaded HIV virus. He was internationally famous for having synthesized AZT, which then was the most effective drug in slowing the effects of AIDS. MAP led the way in introducing both insurance and financial consultation to its membership, innovations that other unions later followed. • The expanded benefits of allying with other top police unions: When MAP and other major law enforcement labor organizations formed the Michigan Police Legislative Coalition in the early '90s, the mutual goal was to achieve greater strength via greater numbers, for the greater advantage of each union's membership. The concept soon proved valid. While each member organization had long been respected in its own right, the coalition - working with Karoub Associates, Lansing's most prestigious and effective legislative liaison firm - became a powerful collective voice. Indeed, the MPLC influenced the fate of numerous pieces of legislation affecting law enforcement professionals and their families. Further, the coalition applied the "strength in numbers" concept to other member services, such as insurance coverage, banking, real estate, and legal protection. These programs became more and more successful, to the point that the term "Legislative Coalition" was inadequate to describe the alliance's scope. Today, the Michigan Association of Police Organizations (MAPO) offers a great range of services to its cumulative membership, including a stronger-than-ever presence in the State Legislature (with the continuing expert representation of Karoub Associates). In addition to MAP, the partnership includes: The Michigan State Police Troopers Association (MSPTA), The Michigan State Command Officers Association (MSCOA), the Police Officers Labor Council (POLC), the Detroit Police Officers Association (DPOA), the Detroit Lieutenants and Sergeants Association (DLSA), the Warren Police Officers Association (WPOA), and the Flint Police Officers Association (FPOA). • Community programs: MAP's constructive involvement in the lives of police officers, other public employees, their families, and in communities around Michigan is widely recognized. The Children Be Aware Program provides the special protection of free fingerprinting for hundreds of youngsters every year, and distributes important crime prevention information to them and thousands more. The Carl Parsell Memorial Scholarship Program, financed by a gala annual golf outing and directed by an impartial body, funds as many as five $1,000 college scholarships each year to students who are members of eligible public employees' families anywhere in the state. Indeed, the Michigan Association of Police has been a great success story over its initial two decades, a tenure which has far surpassed the expectations of doubters. The secret? It's no secret at all, at least to the folks who make MAP work. In fact, Fred Timpner will gladly repeat today the very same assessment he offered 10 years ago: "I think it's accurate to say that we've come a long way by never leaving behind what is most important; our bottom-line purpose." Indeed it is!
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