September 11th

My fellow handlers,

All of us remember where we were and exactly what we were doing on that Tuesday morning of September 11, 2001 when two hijacked airliners crashed into the World Trade Center towers in lower Manhattan and when two more crashed into the Pentagon and in Shanksville, Pennsylvania.

That horrific terrorist attack against our country is forever etched into our hearts and minds.

Please join me in thanking our first responders, Police, Fire, and our military personnel. 

We Will Never Forget.

Thank You

Bill Beaury

Union Update

Fellow Handlers:

I am hoping this finds you and your family well. We would like to let you know that your Employer, MSA, believes that the Union no longer has membership support. It is unclear where they got this information, but the facts remain that they continue to come between the Union and the membership.

They have filed a petition, on your behalf, with the NLRB, to decertify and unrecognize the United Federation of K9 Handlers. We have been negotiating a Collective Bargaining Agreement, tirelessly, that would give you and your EDC partner regular raises, more vacation time, uniform allowance, and the Stipend pay that we have alleged that they unilaterally took away from you without bargaining with the Union.  

We are trying our hardest to get you all the best economic terms possible. To date, we have continued to protect the members through the NLRB and we have settled several charges on behalf of members.

We are currently very close to a favorable agreement, so MSAs timing could not be any worse. The Union will continue to fight for its members day in and day out.  

So please let MSA know you want raises every year (not one every 33 years) , you want more vacation time, and a host of other benefits you and your partners deserve.

This is a baseless attempt to try and pull the membership away from the Union and we will not tolerate it. The Union, and our attorneys, will continue to keep your, and your Canines, best interests in mind. We have made significant progress to favor the employees, but the Employer wants to oust the Union to benefit themselves.

Besides negotiating, we have succeeded on several battles in front of the NLRB and have open matters currently pending resolution of a contract. This will include the Stipend that was taken away from you by MSA over 9 months ago.

We appreciate the continued support. Please feel free to reach out to us at anytime for any questions or concerns.

Sincerely,

Bill Beaury

Dear fellow handlers,

For those of you who have been called up with national guard units and for those of you who are active law enforcement please stay safe and be careful. Our prayers are with you.

Memorial Day

On Monday, we honor all of our military veterans who made the ultimate sacrifice and those who have served to keep us and this great nation free.

As a nation, we pay tribute to the Heroic men and women who lost their lives in defense of our great country.

Please join me in thanking our veterans whose courage, determination, and dedication to excellence makes this country what it is today.

Bill Beaury

Dear Fellow Handlers,

I hope this finds you and your loved ones healthy during these troubling times.

As I am sure you are realizing, the downturn of many businesses across the nation due to the Covid-19 pandemic has also affected MSA and many of MSA’s customers.

MSA approached the union asking for their assistance in light of MSA’s downturn in business due to Covid-19. We understood and agreed to the payout set forth by MSA with the stipulation that all handlers would be able to use their 2019 accrued PTO as vacation time NOW. We encourage you to use your earned 2019 PTO time in the upcoming months.

Please keep your family healthy and safe and please wear a mask.

Easter

Dear Handlers

At this most holy time of the year we are asking all of you to heed the warnings. Stay at home and wear a mask or face covering when going out. Please keep yourselves and your families safe from this unprecedented sickness that is tearing through our neighborhoods and affecting the old and young.

Please stay safe,
Bill Beaury

Covid-19 Update

Dear Fellow Handlers,

We hope this finds everyone and their families healthy and safe. In these extremely trying times, we are going to encourage all members who have had their hours significantly reduced or have none at all to seek unemployment benefits.

We have been in contact with MSA management who have been working extremely hard to pave the way for every member in every state to be able to keep their K-9 companion, collect their training pay, stipend, and be able to collect unemployment benefits.

For that, we thank MSA management for the time and effort it took to work this out.

Please stay safe and healthy,

The Union Board

MSA's Response to Covid-19

On March 13th, Joe Nacarlo sent the following letter to MSA's management team:

Good Morning,

It is our hope that everyone in MSA's and our membership's families are healthy and safe.

As we are all aware, the circumstances regarding Covid-19 are still developing. What does MSA's management have planned to keep the handlers and EDC's safe?

Also, as the various work sites close due to the health emergency, will our handlers be entitled to apply for unemployment? To many of our new handlers and former military members, MSA is their only source of income and a reduction in hours could be detrimental to their families.

We would appreciate a timely response to these very important questions.

Thanks
Joe Nacarlo
United Federation of K-9 Handlers

Today, we received the following response:

Joe, as you mention in your note, the circumstances around Covid-19 are changing quickly, almost by the hour. We continue to monitor the situation throughout the day and night, and adjust our plans as necessary. I’ll highlight a few specific actions we have taken or plan to take:

• We are continuing to reach out to clients and trying to reassure them of our ability to meet their needs, and to continue to reinforce the importance of maintaining a risk management strategy, which includes EDCH, at their sites, during these unsettled times.

• We have instructed our schedulers to distribute hours among EDCH. While some clients are reducing posts due to the closing of venues or canceling of events, we are fortunate that we have a diversity of businesses which allow us to still maintain posts.

• We are exploring the possibility of availing “Shared Work” Benefits to our Handlers. Similar to unemployment benefits, many large states, like CA, NY, and IL offer some form of benefits when employers have to reduce hours but do not want to lose well skilled employees. We are trying to learn more and identify what qualifies and disqualifies someone from these benefits, but we are hopeful this may be an option.

As we know more, we will continue to share. Please let me know if you have additional questions or concerns. Thanks.

You can find information about the Shared Work Program in your state at the following links:

New York State
California
Illinois
Florida
Massachusetts
Texas
New Jersey
Washington State

We'll continue to be in contact with MSA regarding solutions and safety measures regarding Covid-19. In regards to the "Shared Work" program mentioned, New York State law requires that the Shared Work Plan must be approved by a collective bargaining agent (the Union). When the plan is received from MSA, we will post the pertinent details here and solicit feedback from the membership.

If you have any suggestions or comments you'd like us to pass on to MSA anonymously, please email us at info@nopaymsa.com.

Corona Virus

I wanted to connect with you in light of the Corona Virus situation that is rapidly evolving. As the spread of the virus increases the likelihood of affecting our worksites and quite possibly our colleagues, we want to ensure that appropriate precautions are taken to maximize the safety of our members and keep an open dialogue with you.

With the postponement of all sports, concerts, theaters, and the closing of many offices throughout the nation, many of you will lose a substantial amount of hours. We are in contact with MSA to find a solution to this as quickly as possible.

Stay Safe,
Bill Beaury