Dear Potential Members,

 

Please allow me to introduce myself:  My name is Bob Orange, President of Peace Officers of California (P.O.C.).  I wanted to start off by saying what a tremendous honor and a privilege it has been working with my fellow state and federal Peace Officers over the last 34 years in service - 29 years as a State Fish & Game Warden and 5 as a USFS Firefighter.

 

However, there have been a few exceptions.  I want to take this time to address some issues that relate to this and to help members that might have concerns about the upcoming severance election.  CAUSE / CSLEA is throwing the kitchen sink at P.O.C. in the hopes that they can mislead, confuse or intimidate members from joining the severance campaign.  We hope this webpage will serve as a conduit to address your concerns.

 

Despite CAUSE / CSLEA’s attempt to paint this campaign as a conspiracy by myself or other Fish and Game wardens to grab power – nothing could be further from the truth! 

 

The truth is that the work of the Fish & Game Wardens Association did pave the way for raises for everyone – the State even confirmed it in a newspaper article. So why, then, has CAUSE / CSLEA gone after the Wardens Association?  First, we embarrassed the CAUSE / CSLEA union management by accomplishing what they would or could not do in the Legislature in regards to securing funds for pay in the last contract negotiation. Second, we started asking questions about the President’s expenditure of union dues and PAC (Political Action Committee) expenses.

 

I began this P.O.C. journey with my fellow peace officers knowing that by the time our efforts bore fruit I would be retiring after 30 years of state service.  When I leave service, the new president of P.O.C. will be elected by a general membership election.  No question, that must really unsettle the current 15 year CAUSE / CSLEA President, Alan Barcelona.  I helped found P.O.C. because I have a lifelong respect of peace officers and lifelong friends in these positions.   Unfortunately, over the last 15 years, with the current union management of CAUSE / CSLEA, I have watched the steady downward spiral of pay and benefits of the Peace Officers within Unit 7 - especially in comparison with the other state Peace Officer unions, and indeed, an accompanying loss of respect by the public for my fellow officers within the unit.

 

In my opinion, one of the primary problems at CAUSE / CSLEA is a very simple one.  I clearly feel an attitude that we work for the union rather than the other way around.  It is our hard earned dues money that pays the stipends, salaries, and expense accounts of the CAUSE / CSLEA management.  I was a sitting board member on the CAUSE / CSLEA Board, when I requested, among other things, copies of Political Action Committee (PAC) expenses related to the CAUSE / CSLEA President’s friend, Mark Puthuff, who had run for Sheriff of Stanislaus County.  We also requested to see all stipends, pay, expense accounts and any financial benefits being afforded to the CAUSE / CSLEA President and staff.  My affiliate was basically told to sue the union to get the records, which I should have been entitled to see as a board member.  CFGWA was then subjected to  bogus charges by CAUSE / CSLEA President Barcelona, and then we were placed into “trusteeship” (= excommunicated / expelled), consequently joining 1,000 other State employees within BU 7 who have run afoul of CAUSE / CSLEA “management.” 

 

CAUSE / CSLEA states that we have no experience, we don’t know what we are doing and that we have made enemies at the state capitol – to which I say, "nonsense."  If that is so, why did the State Senate honor me with a Senate Resolution last year?  Jerry Karnow, the P.O.C. Treasurer, was just named by the NRA as California’s Peace Officer of the Year – the first time a rank-and-file peace officer has ever won this honor in history!  He was selected from out of over 100,000 Peace Officers in California. 

 

Further more, P.O.C. has California Strategies as our government consultants, Marty Morgenstern - the twice former DPA Director as your bargaining consultant, and Paul Barty, who among other things, was a former European Space Agency consultant, as your general manager.  In every way,  P.O.C.  will be prepared to honorably, respectfully and energetically represent YOUR interests.

 

Make no mistake about it: with CAUSE / CSLEA this is all about the money we must give to them -  reaching around $6 million a year.  Alan Barcelona, the 15 year President of CAUSE / CSLEA, has full-release time, at least tens of thousands of dollars of unknown additional union pay, stipends, and what appears to be a bottomless expense account – all taken out of YOUR hard earned dues money.  Alan Barcelona has a CAUSE / CSLEA car, insurance and a gas card (on your dime) so he can ostensibly conduct union business.  Can anyone tell us where he has been and who he drove to see in the last 15-years? 

 

Others apart from myself have requested to see the nitty-gritty facts of the executive management expenditure of our dues, but have been completely rebuked by CAUSE / CSLEA.  I believe we should have access, where we will be able to confirm reports of the President staying in $1,200 a night hotel rooms while visiting the most exclusive of golf resorts - all on our dues.  I also feel Unit 7 members should be entitled to see the expense accounts, bar tabs, airline fares, resorts and restaurant bills paid for by the membership! It seems reasonable to me!!

 

In the 15-years Barcelona has been President of CAUSE / CSLEA, the pay & benefit disparity between us and other sworn officer unions has only gotten worse. 

 

Equally concerning would be any attempts to mislead members that long term disability insurance, LDF, or other benefits will not be there for P.O.C. members on DAY-1 upon the creation of Bargaining Unit #22.  CAUSE / CSLEA is trying to scare you, because they want to take focus away from their failure and their suspicious unwillingness to turn over records.   In the meantime, I call for an independent complete and in-depth audit of the CAUSE / CSLEA organization.  Since this President (of P.O.C.) is an actual working member, I necessarily need and want only the best possible benefits for all members as a result.  

 

I did not do take this position for my ego, money, or power - I did this for you and my other brother and sister peace officers close to my retirement year.  I do it now because of my unfailing faith that peace officers are better off in a Peace Officer only sworn union, and that CAUSE / CSLEA is FAILING us, big time! 

 

Now, CAUSE / CSLEA have the gall to insinuate that there is widespread fraud amongst the P.O.C. signature ballots.  PERB investigated all information submitted by CAUSE / CSLEA and found no such activity, but CAUSE / CSLEA continues to claim the same -  absent any evidence and dismissing the integrity of the PERB investigation.  Interestingly enough, we offered to let CAUSE / CSLEA hire independent counsel to verify that the signature cards were valid if they would provide us with copies of the PAC approvals for the nearly $60,000 CAUSE / CSLEA spent on trying to elect the president’s friend as Sheriff of Stanislaus County. 

 

My efforts are focused on creating a solid, respectable union for California Peace Officers - one we can all be proud of!  What are the structural improvements of P.O.C. over the current CAUSE / CSLEA union you may well ask?

 

First of all, my replacement will be elected by a general membership vote, and the board has representational voting rights based on the number of employees under their affiliates (so how can P.O.C. be a power grab by the Fish and Game Wardens if it can elect a president from board members voted in by the entire membership?)  Additionally, the election term for President is two years, and no President can serve more than two terms.  As a result, the President will be accountable to all of the membership.  The President will be a working member.  He will not be afforded full release time.  We feel it is important that this be a working officer so that they will never lose touch of reality.  The release time will be shared amongst all affiliates so that your representatives will be able to make a difference in Sacramento.

 

Second, no affiliate can be kicked off the Executive Board of P.O.C. because of differing views.  This will be a true democratic union.  Currently CAUSE / CSLEA has removed the Cal EXPO Police, State Park Rangers, and Fish & Game Warden affiliates from representation on their Board.  Curiously, these are the three largest armed and uniformed sworn officer affiliates with BU7.  It is expected there will be differing points of view, and we are all entitled to our opinions.  Just because you disagree with the President does not mean you and your membership should all get kicked out.

 

Third, no officers will be censured or fined for freedom of speech, where CAUSE / CSLEA is currently doing exactly that to its members for stating opinions.  This is the cornerstone of our nation and we refuse to violate it.  Any criticism of P.O.C. will be listened to and evaluated.

 

Fourth, the President and P.O.C. Board will work for you, not the other way around.  After all it is your dues money. Look at where the past annual CAUSE / CSLEA conferences are held - Las Vegas, Reno, Palm Springs, Lake Tahoe, San Diego . . . Look what they do with your dues money at these extravaganzas - $1,000 cash drawings for attending, $5,000 for a successful golf putt, and $25,000 for a hole in one at their golf tournament, a golf tournament that less than 1% of the CAUSE / CSLEA membership attends!!  While at the same time they are partying, you may be toiling away inside state mental hospitals, investigating the most heinous of crimes and dealing with some of the worst cases of humanity.  CAUSE / CSLEA looks at their conferences as fun & games to go along with bar tabs paid for by you.  They are held far from Sacramento where the actual work must be done.

 

With P.O.C., the conferences will be held in Sacramento, and while the Legislature is in session.  Instead of trying to make $5,000 putts, your representatives will be in the Capitol working for, and representing YOUR memberships to the best of their ability's.  There is much work to do and we have a long ways to catch up.  THAT is what a union is about, and that is what we will do!!

 

It is time we took our union back! 

 

One last final note.

 

Much has been said about pay-parity with other sworn officers in similar classifications, be it on a Federal or State level.  I have yet to hear of any other agency trying to gain pay parity with any sworn officer classification within CAUSE / CSLEA.

 

Nuff’ said.

 

Meanwhile, what's going on with the Wardens!!

See what the State Game Wardens say about not being able to guard the new ocean sanctuaries;

Poaching for profit in tough economic times . . .

 

 

You can be part of the change to help State Peace Officers: