Express Times Continues to Assail Nazareth Police Union

Pig costume was probably a bad idea

Yesterday, I told you about The Express Times' war on public sector unions. On Monday, the newspaper began publishing the salaries of public sector workers again, even down to kids in college. But the real battle line is in Nazareth. Their tiny police union, which consists of just four officers, is being vilified for daring to send out a fundraising letter, a fairly common practice among police unions everywhere.

Nazareth Borough officials, who have lost pretty much every grievance ever filed by this small but well-prepared labor organization, wasted no time last week in complaining about the fundraiser. Mayor Carl Strye ran to the newspaper, which in turn tried to get a few residents to weigh in against the letter. That way the paper could publish a story with a headline that screams, "Residents Slam Union Solicitation." But the residents who were called refused to take the bait and complain. I know this because I spoke to two of the persons called.

Borough officials are also quite upset that the solicitation informs readers that they can check the legitimacy of the union by calling the police department. Now when Strye was the King of the Illegal Poker Machines at the Vig, perhaps he didn't want residents calling the police. But it's a good idea for any organization soliciting funds to tell readers how to determine whether they are legitimate.

Though this complaint is much ado about nothing, it resulted in a turkey, followed by an anti-union editorial the next day about the evil of binding arbitration.

Good stuff.

The war continued today with what I call the "put up". Nazareth officials instigated or put a resident up to complaining about the solicitation. They can pretend they are listening to the people, but only after making sure the people say what they want said.

I know this is a put up because The Express Times knew about it well in advance. Hours before last night's Nazareth Borough Council meeting, The Express Times reporter knew that a resident would be there to complain. Rather than questioning who put this resident up, the reporter instead demanded an explanation from the union she's already vilified.

She never got one.

If someone is intent on shooting you, she should at least load the gun herself.

Sure enough. The Express Times now has a new story about the resident who complained. Apparently, the legitimacy of  an organization soliciting money from Nazareth residents should be verified by some organization other than Nazareth police. Alrighty then. Who? Should they call Bushkill? The FBI? The Spanish Inquisition?

This is all getting a tad silly. If another resident complains tomorrow, The Express Times might want to do yet another story.

What the Express Times has still failed to report is that the police union uses much of the money received for what I call random acts of kindness. They are even sponsoring an essay contest for high school seniors, something they have been planning on since last November.

The police union has thus far only sent its fundraising letter to some residents That's because these guys knew that the newspaper and hypocrites in Nazareth Borough government would complain. But I'm told by Officer Fred Lahovski that the response has been "overwhelming" and "very gratifying". He has promised to share some notes of appreciation, not complaints, from Nazareth residents.