Local Spotlight: Morris Township Local 133
The road to Local stability
Morris Township Local 133 recounts how it went
from struggling to success
For months, I remember thinking to myself,
“I simply have to get more involved in the PBA.”
After getting the nod from the membership, I
thought to myself, “what now?”
I had a few years of experience as president of
a local nonprofit, but as often occurs in our line
of work, there was little or no smooth transition
when taking over leadership of Morris Town-
DAVID
KOSAKOWSKI ship Local 133. I had so many questions buzzing
around in my head. When should we send out
MORRIS
TOWNSHIP information for the annual fund drive? How do
LOCAL 133 we raise additional monies? How do I contact the
PRESIDENT State PBA office if I have any questions? And that
was just the beginning.
When I was elected president of Local 133, I started by reach-
ing out to my friends and co-workers that I remember as the
“hardcore” union guys. These are the women and men I looked
up to when I was just a dispatcher: Doug, Stan, Elvis, Furby,
Brian…These were a few of my first phone calls for advice and
guidance. I worked with some of them in my own department,
and others I knew from my second job. My first admission to
these guys: “I don’t really know what’s gotta be done.”
I could picture them looking at their incoming calls and
thinking, “Oh God, this guy again?” One thing’s for sure, though;
they always picked up. Lesson #1 to self: Confide in those Local
members you have always looked up to. The folks who impact-
ed you when you sat in the back of the PBA meetings thinking,
“I better not raise my hand to speak.” They are always ready and
willing to provide guidance.
I found myself surrounded by a number of young, eager PBA
members who would speak up at meetings and send me text
messages about their willingness to help out. Some had fund-
raising ideas, some had community service ideas and some
were just willing to do whatever needed to be done. And there
was plenty to be done.
One of our newly elected trustees, Diego, offered to kick off a
Charity Mania Super Bowl raffle right away. It was on relative-
ly short notice, but it was the first of several fundraisers that
we would undertake because our savings account had taken a
beating after negotiating a contract under the 2-percent cap.
We had accumulated significant legal and accounting fees
while negotiating that contract, and one of our members also
had endured a lengthy “union free speech” legal battle.
While our new vice president began to plan our first-ever 5K
fundraiser, we scheduled an appointment with members of the
NJ State PBA Executive Board. Our Local e-board joined me for
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Part of Morris Township 133’s effort to make the Local stronger was hosting
a 5K run fundraiser.
that meeting, and we really didn’t know what to expect. I know
I personally felt like a high school student who had just been
called to the principal’s office.
The truth of the matter is that the meeting couldn’t have
been more productive. We put everything on the table, all of our
problems and questions, and State PBA President Pat Colligan
and his associates provided us with answers. One of the first
orders of business was to attend the New President’s Class at
the State PBA office.
The class was fantastic, taught by a panel of well-respected,
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