Dear Editor:
For the head of the Lincoln Club of San Diego to compare public labor union bosses, and by extension our members who risk their lives in their service to San Diego, to drug addicts is highly offensive to the San Diego Police Officers Association and our members. “Under Pressure, Mayor Bows Out Without a Fight” (VOSD, July 14, 2010).
The president of the Lincoln Club has apparently done a poor job of keeping up with current events. After receiving only two raises in the past eight years and agreeing to additional benefit cuts, it is evidently clear that City politicians are not “beholden to” or bullied by the San Diego Police Officers Association. Or is taking our lumps while continuing to protect the community under difficult economic times the current definition of bullying?
The comparison to drug addicts by a major San Diego business organization is over the top at a time when our officers currently work in an understaffed department, accepted pay cuts to help the City budget and are under threat from the City Attorney who wants to force officers to pay for the disability plan that protects them and their families when they are shot or severely injured in the line of duty. Additionally, San Diego Police Department officers are paid far less than other comparable agencies and many of our members are taking home less money today than they were four years ago.
Abraham Lincoln often spoke of honoring those in service to others, and Mr. Zane ignores those ideals of the man from whom his organization is named.
It is our hope that those respected San Diego business leaders who support the Lincoln Club do not share the same offensive feelings about those in service to our city as the head of their organization.
Brian R. Marvel
President
San Diego Police Officers Association