The student becomes the teacher
Longport Local 363 State Delegate Chris Ricciotti brings lessons learned to the NJ State PBA Executive Board
■ BY JOSHUA SIGMUND
Sitting in a ballroom at Trump Plaza, in between sessions of a State Delegate’ s Conference some years back, then-Longport Local 363 President Chris Ricciotti had a problem.
“ I had an issue where manpower was at an all-time low; morale was at an all-time low,” he recalled.
Ricciotti had never
NEW EXECUTIVE BOARD MEMBER CHRIS RICCIOTTI LONGPORT LOCAL 363 personally met then- State PBA President Mike Madonna or then- Vice-President Tony Wieners, but that didn’ t stop the leaders from taking time to impart their wisdom on his small organization that day in Atlantic City.
“ Here I was, president of a 13-member Local, and they took time out of their day to tell me how to handle my situation,” Ricciotti related.“ We sat there for three hours. I was impressed.”
That was merely one example of the master classes on union management Ricciotti received from many esteemed and tenured PBA leaders, including Frank Calabrese, Dominic Cappella, John Campbell, Keith Bennett and notably his then-Local 363 State Delegate, the late Tommy Adams. He is excited to bring that knowledge and impart it to others as the newest member of the NJ State PBA Executive Board having been sworn in at the June state meeting.
“ I had the honor and pleasure of learning the ropes under( them),” attested Ricciotti.“ Those guys showed me how to keep the brotherhood of a union together in its best times and at its worst times. They presented the reality that you’ re never going to make everybody happy but they were able over the years to show me how to deal with a troubled member. They showed me how to take that guy and how to groom him into a member in good standing. They showed me how to be able to talk to any member and get the union’ s point across. And they showed me a wealth of knowledge about how unions are run and how members should act not only behind the scenes, but also in the public eye.”
Ricciotti’ s 16-year law enforcement career spawned from his job as a Longport 9-1-1 dispatcher. He graduated the Academy in 2000, became the Local 363 President in 2006 and moved up to State Delegate in 2010 when Adams was promoted to sergeant.
“ It was overwhelming at first,” Ricciotti admitted.“ Here I am taking over at the state level for a guy that had been doing it for 16 years. He was on the State Executive Board and well known throughout every Local in the state.”
But through his position on the Cape-Atlantic County Conference Executive Board, as well as being a regular at each year’ s PBA Convention and Mini Convention, Ricciotti began to make a name for himself in his own right, and served as an example of how far being active in the PBA can take you.
“ I say to everyone, make sure you come to the meetings and go to the conventions every year,” he recommended.“ They’ re free, and the
NJ State PBA President Pat Colligan gives new Executive Board Member Chris Ricciotti the oath of office at the state meeting on June 28 in Atlantic City.
speakers are great. And it doesn’ t matter what county you’ re from; if you close your eyes and listen to the issues other members have, they’ re all the same.
Ricciotti’ s ascension to the E-Board came practically in the blink of an eye. On a Friday afternoon – June 24 to be exact – Ricciotti picked up the phone to find Executive Vice-President Marc Kovar on the other end.
“ I need to ask you something,” Kovar said.“ Are you ready to join the Executive Board?”
Ricciotti replied simply,“ I said it would be an honor and a privilege to represent the 32,000 members of the State PBA.”
To that end, Ricciotti promises to be always accessible to his members.
“ I tell people if any issues come up, my phone is on 24 / 7, and if you have a question or problem, call me,” he pledged.“ I’ ll get you the answer or find someone who can get it.” d
20 NEW JERSEY COPS ■ JULY 2016