n August I spent a very interesting weekend in Cambridge, Massachusetts, participating in an event known as the Police Union Leadership Seminar, co-sponsored by Harvard Law School and the monthly publication for law enforcement officers, American Police Beat.

Invited to the annual seminar are the so-called “big 50,” police union leaders from the nation’s 50 largest cities — the New York City PBA being, of course, the largest of them all. The four-day conference explored such diverse issues as political action as a tool to build power, the implications of the proposed changes in the Fair Labor Standards Act, and other important concerns confronting today’s police unions.

I learned a lot from these discussions. I also learned something that confirms that our current strategy is correct: Many of the nation’s other police unions think so highly of some of the things we’ve been doing to represent our members that they’re emulating us.

At the risk of sounding immodest, let me quote Tom Nee, president of the 2,000-member Boston Police Patrolmen’s Association, who participated in a two-hour seminar on leadership. “We represent members who are different from most people,” said Nee, “men and women of courage and commitment. They go out there to protect the rest of us, chase people down dark alleys, run toward danger rather than away from it.”

Nee went on to say that it takes a special breed of person to represent such a special breed of people. The leadership of the New York City PBA, he said, is fulfilling that role: “Pat Lynch is kicking butt down there in New York. He’s being extremely aggressive. That’s what he’s expected to do, and that’s what he’s doing. He’s provided a model for all the rest of us.”

Ron DeLord, president of the Combined Law Enforcement Associations of Texas, discussed “political action as a tool to build power,” and the tangible examples he presented to illustrate that theme featured quite prominently some of the New York City PBA’s past advertising campaigns. These included the “Most People Wouldn’t Take This Job for a Million Bucks” subway poster campaign that we launched in the year 2000 and the “No Wonder NYC Can’t Hire Cops...” Times Square billboard that we put up in 2001.

It seems that our media campaigns have not only made an impact here in New York but have also attracted the attention of our colleagues across the nation.

Of course, it’s nice to know that our PBA is considered a role model but that shouldn’t and won’t make us complacent. We will continue to devise innovative strategies to represent our members the way they deserve to be represented. We intend to continue working very hard to improve the lives and livelihoods of our members and their families. In other words, we intend to continue serving as a role model for other police unions across the nation.

    Patrick J. Lynch, President