Family Values

On September 3rd, MSA bosses appeared on television and proclaimed "The dog is family, that’s how we treat them here. It’s really not a working tool for us here at MSA, they’re part of our family." and "It’s very important to us, we want well-adjusted dogs. We don’t just say that as a marketing line. They are family to us. If the dogs aren’t well adjusted and happy, they don’t provide a good service."

Below is an example of MSA treating our partners like "family". How long until MSA decides to give you the "family" treatment?

Click Here for the NY Post Article

He was a loyal partner who loved apples and a comfortable bed after a long day at work — but he won’t be spending retirement with the family that loved him.

That’s because Valiant the beloved bomb-sniffing dog was cruelly removed from his longtime handler — and the man’s developmentally disabled son — after a workplace dispute, the handler claims. Joseph Tallini says MSA Security fired him under false pretenses and then took the 8-year-old yellow Lab, leaving his family “devastated.”

“It was horrible,” Tallini told The Post. Tallini, who is part of an ongoing Manhattan Federal Court lawsuit against MSA, says he twice warned his supervisors earlier this year that Valiant was “drastically” slowing down and could no longer handle grueling 12-hour shifts at the New York Stock Exchange. His cautions “went in one ear and out the other,” Tallini charges, until someone complained about the way Valiant conducted a search. That’s when MSA officials “told me, ‘You put the public at risk,’ ” according to Tallini.

The company fired him on July 31 and threatened a lawsuit if he didn’t return the pooch. “I had to give the dog back because I couldn’t afford to spend $60,000 on a lawyer to fight them,” he said. Handlers are expected to bring their dogs home each day, to further their bond with the animals. Tallini’s son, Timothy, who battles multiple developmental issues, wept at the loss of Valiant, his parents said. “It’s terrible,” said Tallini’s wife, Pat. “He’s upset, he’s crying. You can’t separate the heart from the head.” Valiant “deserves to be treated like a house pet,” she added.

MSA did not return a message for comment.

Hurricane Florence

My fellow handlers,

If you are in the path of the storm, please know that we are thinking of you. If there is anything we can do to help, do not hesitate to contact us and we'll do everything we can to help you and your families. Thank you for all you do and please stay safe.

Bill Beaury

September 11th

Dear fellow handlers,

It's hard to believe that 17 years have passed since the cowardly attacks on this great nation.

I would like to thank those who responded that day and every day since. I would also like to thank our military personnel for their service during these very trying times.

God bless you and God Bless America.

Let's be extra vigilant on this day. Be safe out there.

Regards,
Bill Beaury

A Message from Bill Beaury

Dear fellow handlers,

I'd like to personally thank you for your responses to our request for suggestions. Handlers all over the nation have repeated the same theme over and over; better pay, vacation time, night differential, safer work sites, and to be treated with RESPECT. All of the suggestions have been included in our list of requests and forwarded to the lawyers who are handling contract demands. Please continue to send us any and all ideas you have about improving MSA and continue to encourage your fellow handlers to voice their concerns as well. As most of you know, hammering out a contract can be a long and tedious ordeal and we are ready and able.

It has also come to our attention that MSA management from coast to coast have made statements that they are cutting your hours because of the Union. They are full of soup. Whether it's going from a 12 hour shift to an 8 hour shift or from 50 hours a week to 30 hours a week the fact that handlers are represented by a Union has nothing to do with it. How can the Union be the cause if there has yet to be an official meeting with MSA? Once again, it's business as usual and it has to STOP!!!

Regards,
Bill Beaury