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NEW JERSEY COPS ■ DECEMBER 2014
2014 Valor Awards – Local of the Year
Taking Care of Business
Everybody is taking notice of the way they do things at 105
adversity as the local police departThe new offices of State Corrections
LOCAL OF THE YEAR
ments, but we just don’t seem to get
Local 105 in Trenton convey a welState Corrections Local 105
the credit we should,” said Steve Gass,
coming air, a mixture of camaraderie
a 26-year-plus Local 105 member. “But
or brotherhood that should be in every
with the leadership of Lance Lopez
union hall and an omnipresence of
and his administration reaching out to the communities, I
getting work done.
think they have done a fantastic job of bringing the Local up to
The first floor features a room with comfy couches where
the standards and status it should be.”
members can presumably share experiences and talk about
Lopez invited Gass and a number of long-time 105ers to
their concerns. There is always a Local 105 member around to
attend the Valor Awards and receive the Local of the Year award.
offer visitors a beverage and a bagel.
Doing so has been part of his strategy to bring everybody to the
Climb the stairs and enter what appears to be something like
table, as he calls it, and create a transparent organization for
a rec room that, upon closer examination, is truly a board
the members by the members.
room. Around the long conference table, Local 105 Executive
When he took over in 2012, Lopez said the first step was to
Board members are doing research, crunching numbers and
rebuild the executive board. He took what he admits might
doing what it takes to run the largest PBA Local in the state,
have been a bit of political risk, and, rather than advocating for
some 5,700 members strong.
the election of corrections officers he knew and worked with,
“They have become a much more professional association,”
he wanted to get board members w ho represented the juvenile
NJ State PBA President Pat Colligan submits as one of the reaand parole divisions as part of making sure that every member
sons State Corrections was named the 2014 Local of the Year.
had a voice.
“They run this Local like the business it should be.”
“I looked for everybody who felt they had something to bring
At the helm of this organization is Local 105 President Lance
to the table and brought them all in,” he explained. “Typically
Lopez, who brings a little Michael Bloomberg and a little Donin political elections you have people running against you.
ald Trump to the board room. Many Local members attribute
Obama brought in Joe Biden and Hillary Clinton and it worked.
the Local’s rise to professionalism and finally addressing the
We had to do the same thing. And it worked.”
issues truly important to state corrections officers to Lopez takWith a board of directors now in place that would make any
ing office in 2012.
business successful, Local 105 set out to rebuild its image. The
PBA members might see Local 105 officers and family memLocal struck out on a public relations campaign that featured
bers turn the Polar Bear Plunge into a splash party each Febbillboards on New Jersey’s major highways and television comruary or try to keep up with them across New Jersey’s highways
mercials that told stories about the work officers did inside the
and roads during the Special Olympics Torch Run. What they
prisons.
don’t see, what has turned 105 into the high-end organization
Lopez took it personal. He made sure that everywhere he
the State PBA needs it to be, is the Local Executive
was seen in public he was wearing his corrections uniform or
Board’s relentless effort to let law enforcement
apparel with Local 105 insignia. Members started calling the
throughout the state and the general public
Local 105 office in Trenton to express how the campaign
know that their members do more than turn
improved morale. And since then, the only time you see Local
keys.
105 members not wearing their uniforms or insignia is when
“We have the same responsibilities and
2014
Valor
awards