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Inver Hills Scholarship PDF Print E-mail
Written by randy dalbec   

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

 

New scholarship established for law enforcement, EMS students

 

INVER GROVE HEIGHTS – Inver Hills Community College will award the first Fraternal Order of Police Minnesota Lodge 1 Scholarship this spring to a student studying law enforcement or emergency medical services.

 

The fund was initiated in 2010 with a $10,000 contribution from Minnesota Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 1. The group made an additional $7,000 donation this month. Inver Hills offers the Associate in Science degree in both Law Enforcement and Emergency Medical Services.

 

The deadline to apply for this and other scholarships for the spring 2012 semester is Nov. 3. The scholarship is worth $500.

 

The first Fraternal Order of Police lodge established in the state of Minnesota, Minnesota Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 1 has more than 250 members and strives to encourage fraternal, educational, charitable and social activities among law enforcement officers. For more information on the group, visit www.mnfop1.org.

 

About Inver Hills

Founded in 1970, Inver Hills Community College is a comprehensive college committed to continuously improving student understanding and capabilities that help students lead purposeful lives, contribute to a vital social and economic community, and pursue lifelong learning. A member of the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system, the college offers more than 20 degree options, including liberal education courses and career-related degrees in leading occupational areas. For more information, visit www.inverhills.edu.
 
update PDF Print E-mail
Written by randy dalbec   
Social Security Fairness Act Introduced in the House
H.R. 1332: Repeal of WEP and GPO

Chuck Canterbury, National President of the Fraternal Order of Police, welcomed the introduction of H.R. 1332, the �Social Security Fairness Act.� in the U.S. House of Representatives.

�For more than ten years now, the FOP has been pushing for this repeal,� Canterbury said.  �Congress knows this issue well because it�s held six hearings on this issue in last few years.  The repeal of the WEP and GPO should be part of the discussion as Congress grapples with fiscal reform.�
                 
The bill was introduced in the House by Representatives Howard P. �Buck� McKeon (R-CA) and Howard L. Berman (D-CA).  The bill, which already has forty-eight (48) cosponsors, would repeal both the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and the Government Pension Offset (GPO) in current Social Security law.

The Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) affects workers who spent some time in jobs not covered by Social Security and also worked other jobs where they paid Social Security taxes long enough to qualify for retirement benefits.  The provision has a disproportionate effect on law enforcement officers, who retire earlier than most other public employees and are more likely to begin a second career after they leave law enforcement.  Officers in this position are penalized and may have their Social Security benefit reduced by up to sixty (60%) percent.

�The WEP substantially reduces a benefit that workers had included and counted on when planning their retirement, and it substantially penalizes lower paid public employees with short careers or, like many retired law enforcement officers, those whose careers are evenly split inside and outside the Social Security system,� Canterbury explained.  �This is a loss of benefits to which they are entitled, not an adjustment for a �windfall.��

Like the WEP, the Government Pension Offset was adopted to shore up the finances of the Social Security trust fund.  This �offset� law reduces by two-thirds the benefit received by surviving spouses who also collect a government pension. 

�Nine out of ten times,� Canterbury said, �this so-called �offset� completely eliminates the spousal benefit even though the covered spouse paid Social Security taxes for many years, thereby earning the right to these benefits.�
                                                     

�The WEP and GPO provisions do not eliminate a windfall for workers, instead they have proved to be a windfall for the Federal government at the expense of public employees.  That�s not right and it�s not fair,� he said.  �Congress should repeal these inequitable provisions and pass the �Social Security Fairness Act.��

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Response PDF Print E-mail
Written by randy dalbec   
Response to Glen Beck Show
 
 
In the 96-year history of the Fraternal Order of Police I am sure there have been times when our mission and our goals have been misunderstood. In my 27 years in the FOP I have never seen an attempt to slant a story any worse than I have heard from Television entertainer Glen Beck.
 
The first and most important thing to remember is that Glen Beck is not a journalist. He is a mere entertainer. He has a long anti-union stance and on this issue he is hiding that behind his “support” for law enforcement.
 
In his attempt to paint the FOP in a poor light the one fact that is correct is that the Fraternal Order of Police supports the right of public employees to collectively bargain with our employers. The National FOP has not participated in any protests in Wisconsin.
 
The National FOP has no affiliation with the AFL-CIO and we have had no discussions with them on this topic. We also have not had nor would we have dialogue with Van Jones. A person whose position we would adamantly disagree with. Our only statement from the National has been that we support the right of public employees to collectively bargain. The fact that people like Jones agrees is no reflection on our stance that we support public employee’s ability to collectively bargain.
 
This is the Police Organization that spoke out against the President of the United States when he made his inappropriate comments about Police in the Gates incident in Cambridge Massachusetts. We stood tall when all of the other police groups remained silent. Once we spoke out then others joined in.
 
This is the police organization that has stood tall and faced worldwide pressure on the Mumia Jamal case where we have maintained that all evidence shows that Jamal is a cop killer that should face the death penalty.
 

This is the same FOP that fought to keep Ray Luc Levasseur from spreading his message of hate on a college campus in Massachusetts. His message and his unrepentant attitude were unacceptable and we stood tall for our Brothers and Sisters.

 

This is the same FOP that keeps fighting to keep Verzona Bowers in jail for killing Park Ranger Patrick in California. Bowers, who has been a cause celebrity, is still in jail after maxing out a sentence because the FOP fought to have him remain in jail because of his unrepentant attitude.

 

The FOP has always and will always fight for our members and we will always support the right of law enforcement officers and other public employees to have the right to collective bargaining, a right private sector employees have had since 1934. Our Constitution and Bylaws forbids our members to strike or participate in concerted work actions. We are always there when the public needs us. We need them to be there for us in our times of need.

 
( see the FOP Positions at www.fop.net)

Chuck Canterbury
 


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