Member,
On March 25th, 2024, Governor Hochul signed our Accidental ¾ disability bill for our peace officers. COBANC started this fight to right a wrong when it came to our peace officers getting permanently injured while performing their jobs back in 2014. Our bill had many supporters over the years but continued to get vetoed year after year. We finally took a step back and put a team together and got the other peace officer unions involved. First, we changed lobbyists by hiring Peter Meringolo in 2017, and suddenly it changed everything. Peter recruited the other unions and we had the clout we needed, but our bill still was vetoed year after year. We then had John Hewson of Fusco, Brandenstein, and Rada, rework the language, and lastly, Peter worked hard behind the scenes with Senator Jackson and Assemblywoman Pheffer-Amato to debunk the myth that this was just another pension sweetener.
This is the first bill for COBANC and will be displayed proudly in your union office. Although it seemed like this day would never come, COBANC and Peter never gave up and after 10 long years Governor Hochul righted a wrong and we cannot thank the governor enough.
Remember, if you are injured during your shift call us. It is very important to write the report correctly to protect yourself and your family.
In Unity,
Peter A. Piciulo
President, COBANC
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