Go to www.spokeo.com and type in your name in the search box. This database will, in most case, give your address, your spouse’s name, a map to your residence, and often a street level view of your residence .

The site also provides with some other “personal”  information that does not always seem accurate, but the major issue is the map to your residence. Just because you are a police officer and have your information blocked from the public does not mean you can’t be found on this site.

Make sure you check and have your information removed. If you pull your information up and click on the privacy at the bottom of the page you can follow the directions to remove it yourself.

These and many other questions are answered in  a free booklet available from Foote, Meyers, Mielke & Flowers.

Just call 1-877-221-6333 or e-mail info@foote-meyers.com and we’ll send you this handy pocket guide.

Not knowing your rights can cost you benefits; contact is today!

Aurora police union files labor complaint against city, mayor

The Aurora police officers union has filed an unfair labor practices complaint against the city and Mayor Tom Weisner, claiming the city bargained in bad faith and the mayor cut officers as payback for the union picketing a City Council meeting.

The complaint was filed with the Illinois Labor Relations Board on Thursday. It accuses Weisner of ordering eight officers to be laid off after dozens of officers protested at a November council meeting.

“That’s complete First Amendment retaliation,” said Tim O’Neil, attorney for the Association of Professional Police Officers, which represents the rank-and-file officers.

According to the complaint, the city and the union met Sept. 22, 2010. At that meeting, the city offered a pay freeze for 2011, except for “step increases” to officers who were promoted or reach certain years of service, the complaint says. For 2013, the city offered a 1 percent across-the-board pay increase with step increases, the complaint says.

In the previous contract, the union agreed to about $875,000 in concessions for 2010 and gave up a scheduled 2.5 percent raise. The union has steadfastly refused to consider concessions for 2011, saying the city has misspent money. Both sides mutually agreed to seek mediation in mid-October.

In late October, according to the complaint before the Labor Relations Board, Alex Alexandrou, the city’s chief negotiator, requested a meeting with union leadership. At that meeting, Alexandrou presented a new demand: 10 percent salary or benefit cuts. If the union did not accept the cuts, 22 to 25 officers would be laid off, the complaint says. The complaint argues this is the first time the city discussed layoffs or concessions.

“(The city) did not bargain collectively in good faith with APPO,” the complaint says. “All through the contract negotiations of 2010, there had been no mention of concessions, givebacks or layoffs.”

Walk-out at council

With the city facing a projected $18 million deficit, city leaders have asked all employees to give back the equivalent of 10 percent of their wages. With 85 percent of the city’s general fund going to personnel costs, city leaders said they had no other options to balance the budget.

On Nov. 22, several officers protested while the aldermen considered laying off police officers.

A group of about 250 marched through downtown before ending up at City Hall. Many went inside for the council meeting, but many stayed outside, making noise that could be heard from the second-floor council chambers. Weisner responded at the close of the meeting, but police did not stick around to hear it. Shouting and jeering, officers and supporters walked out of the council chambers while Weisner was speaking.

Eight days later, layoff notices were given to eight officers. The complaint argues that these layoffs were as a result of the union’s picketing.

“Weisner retaliated by threatening layoffs and, ultimately, laying off eight fine police officers,” the complaint says. “Mayor Weisner has manifested his spoken intent to ‘break the Union.’”

City response

A written response from the mayor’s office Friday called the union’s allegations false and baseless. The mayor’s office says the union continues to ignore the economic crisis the city is facing. Going into 2010, the city had not laid off any officers while eliminating 80 positions elsewhere in the city. But the mayor’s office said the union “steadfastly and arrogantly” refused to discuss any contract modifications.

“Why APPO has chosen the counterproductive path of confrontation and denial is a mystery to city leaders,” the statement released Friday said.

The mayor’s office also said the city’s labor contract with the union allows for police layoffs when necessary.

“APPO leaders did not file a contract grievance over the layoffs and never offered to give up a single penny to save the jobs of their fellow officers,” the statement said. “This is not the first time APPO leadership has chosen to run to the State Labor Board and the media rather than deal with difficult contractual labor issues the way every other employee group does — at the bargaining table, in good faith, with an open mind. The Labor Board has rejected APPO’s prior efforts to drag a state agency into a labor-management dispute, and we expect the Labor Board will once again see through APPO’s rhetoric.”

O’Neil called the city’s response “pure garbage.”

“The facts speak for themselves,” he said. “They’re in writing. They made a pay raise offer.”

Illinois Labor Relations Board Executive Director John F. Brosnan said the union’s complaint will likely be investigated by labor relations employees for about 60 days. If investigators find there might be a violation of the Labor Relations Act, it will go to an administrative law judge who will make a ruling after hearing arguments from both sides.

Brosnan said last year nearly 1,000 labor complaints were filed, mostly by unions rather than individuals.