AN IMPORTANT MESSAGE TO COBA DELEGATES AND MEMBERS
Correction Officers’ Benevolent Association, Inc. “Patrolling the Toughest Precincts in New York” NORMAN SEABROOK President ELIAS HUSAMUDEEN 1st Vice President JOSEPH BRACCO 2nd Vice President ELIZABETH CASTRO 3rd Vice President AN IMPORTANT MESSAGE TO COBA DELEGATES AND MEMBERS MICHAEL MAIELLO Treasurer June 4, 2015 AMELIA WARNER Financial Secretary DEAR COBA MEMBER, KAREN BELFIELD Recording Secretary As you may already know, the Union recently received a grand jury subpoena from the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York. The subpoena requests documents, including COBA’s financial records. The COBA is cooperating with the United States Attorney’s Office to produce the requested documents. We have hired the law firm of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP to represent the union in this matter. BENNY BOSCIO Sergeant-At-Arms We want to take this opportunity to reaffirm our voice as your elected leaders of the COBA. THOMAS FARRELL Legislative Chairman WILLIAM VALENTIN Corresponding Secretary KENYATTA JOHNSON First City-Wide Trustee ALBERT CRAIG Manhattan Borough Trustee DANIEL PALMIERI Bronx Borough Trustee FREDERIC FUSCO Queens Borough Trustee PAULETTE JOHNSON Brooklyn Borough Trustee BISHOP WILLIAM RAYMOND WHITAKER II Chaplain VINCENT COPPOLA Retiree Consultant KOEHLER & ISAACS, LLP COBA Attorney 75 Broad Street, Suite 0810 New York, NY 10004 t. 212.274.8000 f. 212.274.8255 COBA Satellite Office 77-10 21st Avenue East Elmhurst, N.Y. 11370 t. 718.545.COBA (2622) f. 718.545.2668 WWW.COBANYC.ORG Before a few important points are made, let us be absolutely clear from the beginning. We are 110% focused on continuing to do the jobs you elected us to do, twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. That will never change. Your Executive Board, as a team, has been very busy working on your behalf and fighting on your behalf. Here are just a few examples of what’s going on at COBA that you unfortunately won’t read about in the press: WE CONTINUE TO: Engage in discussions with OLR to negotiate the best possible and over-due contract for every single COBA Member WE CONTINUE TO: Lobby legislators to overturn the Pension Law that was enacted by Governor Cuomo in 2012 that diminished the ¾ disability benefits for New York City Correction Officers. In fact just last week, we testified again before the City Council to lobby legislators to get this benefit back for our new members hired after 2012 WE CONTINUE TO: Expose and publicize the significant increase in violent assaults on Correction Officers throughout the Department. In fact we testified before the City Council to lobby legislators to make our facilities safer and provide more resources for us to actually be able to do our jobs – providing care, custody and control WE CONTINUE TO: Represent officers every single day fighting to protect their employment rights WE CONTINUE TO: Operate one of the busiest municipal union membership benefits department, helping officers and their families get all the dental, vision and prescription benefits provided for in our contract WE CONTINUE TO: File grievances against the Department of Correction WE CONTINUE TO: Fight for safer workplaces for example, we just files three new Workplace Violence Complaints with the New York State Department of Labor WE CONTINUE TO: Work to ensure that the COBA funds and their solvency are secured for decades down the road We’re working day in and day out at the satellite office, at the main office, at the Bulova Building, and even our own homes, responding to calls from our brother and sister officers around the clock Here’s the bottom line and what we are asking each and every one of you to remember, STAY FOCUSED! We’re here to represent over 15,000 active and retired Correction Officers who this city will never ever fully appreciate. Most of you already know this. Since day one, we’ve been there. We’ve had your backs. We’ve been through the storms. BUT WE HAVE NEVER LOST TRACK OF OUR COMPASS, OUR ONE SINGLE GUIDING LIGHT STEERING US EVERY STEP OF THE WAY….YOU! We will remain focused on providing you the best representation this union has ever seen and will continue to improve the quality of life that you and your families have come to expect and enjoy since you elected us. Sincerely, Norman Seabrook President REPRESENTING NYC’S BOLDEST
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