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COVER STORY
NEW JERSEY COPS ■ JULY 2014
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not just about paying the dues.
“You don’t have to run for office to be
involved with the union,” President Colligan reasons. “You just have to lend a
hand. Let your Local leaders know they
are not going to be running a golf tournament with just two people to help
out.”
Who needs sleep?
At this point, many members might
be wondering what President Colligan’s
plans are to deal with the extreme challenges the PBA faces. If you want to
know what he’s thinking, know that he’s
been thinking since, oh, a few minutes
after he found out about the whole deal.
“When I couldn’t fall asleep that night,
my head started spinning,” he
explained. “I finally fell asleep around 2
a.m. I woke up at 3:30 and that was it. I
realized this is big business and I felt like
somebody handed me the keys to a
Macy’s. I ordered the Gucci belts, but the
roof is leaking and somebody needs to
take out the garbage.”
Despite all the ideas that spawned
that night, President Colligan will confirm that his first best idea was naming
Marc Kovar Executive Vice-President.
Kovar has closely followed Colligan up
the PBA ranks, and he knew Kovar’s
experience representing a Local in an
urban area such as Passaic combined
with his expertise gained running the
Collective Bargaining Committee would
make him the perfect complement.
“I’ve known Pat for 10 years. I know
how smart he is. I know how dedicated
he is to the PBA,” Kovar submits. “Knowing how his passion would lead us in the
right direction made me feel very confident about taking this position.”
Colligan adds that the virtue of having
Kovar as his wingman will allow them to
hit the ground running. Sprinting,
though, is probably more accurate. Their
first official Board of Delegates meeting
on July 15 provides an indication of how
fast they can move or want to move. A 9
a.m. Executive Board meeting and a
luncheon with the County Conference
chairs scheduled afterward is a historic
program for the organization.
“I was told that’s not something we
normally do; we always did it this way,”
Colligan said. “We’re not going to let ‘Tradition Stagnation’ become a problem.
We have too much to do.”
His idea list plays like his personality:
refreshing, uplifting, provocative. In
addition to planning to meet with every
elected official in the state legislature,
Mr. President is already calling for a PBA
day in Trenton. Members wearing their
union attire will spend the day at the
state house this fall wandering in and
out of meetings to let politicians know
how much of presence the PBA can
muster. He has other plans to rally other
labor unions in New Jersey together to
come up with a new strategy to take on
the common enemy.
You can be sure there will be more.
More ideas. More suggestions for how all
members can get involved. And, yes,
more one-liners.
“You will never have to worry about
me stabbing you in the back because I
will stab you in the front,” Mr. President
declares. “You will always know where I
come from. I want you to like me, but I
don’t need you to. We have the camaraderie. We have the brotherhood. Let’s
pick it up and start moving the football.”
No joke. d