Free The People WNY

Donate

Enough is enough. The people are mobilizing and need your support. We are in need of materials, bail money and anything else to protect us. To contribute to efforts towards the fight to defund the police please donate through cash.app: $FreeThePeopleWNY or Venmo: @FreeThePeopleWNY

MEMBERSHIP

Coalition members are primarily organizations and some individual organizers who are working on a campaign or providing services for those impacted by any aspect of the criminal justice system, and aligns with the coalition mission and principles. Others who align with our principles but don’t fall into one of these categories are welcome to work with the coalition in various capacities, but can’t be listed as official members.

Join us at one of our monthly meetings, on the first Thursday of every month at 3 pm. Contact us by emailing info@freethepeoplewny.com to receive the meeting info. If you are interested in becoming a coalition member, please fill out a membership form.

Want to dig into the work for justice at the state, county or city level? Join a Working Group!

State level: Tanvier@ppgbuffalo.org
County level: Denise@voicebuffalo.org
City level: cparra@citizenactionny.org

FREE THE PEOPLE
WESTERN NEW YORK

Donate

Enough is enough. The people are mobilizing and need your support. We are in need of materials, bail money and anything else to protect us. To contribute to efforts towards the fight to defund the police please donate through cash.app: $FreeThePeopleWNY or Venmo: @FreeThePeopleWNY

MEMBERSHIP

Coalition members are primarily organizations and some individual organizers who are working on a campaign or providing services for those impacted by any aspect of the criminal justice system, and aligns with the coalition mission and principles. Others who align with our principles but don’t fall into one of these categories are welcome to work with the coalition in various capacities, but can’t be listed as official members.

Join us at one of our monthly meetings, on the first Thursday of every month at 3 pm. Contact us by emailing info@freethepeoplewny.com to receive the meeting info. If you are interested in becoming a coalition member, please fill out a membership form.

Donate

Enough is enough. The people are mobilizing and need your support. We are in need of materials, bail money and anything else to protect us. To contribute to efforts towards the fight to defund the police please donate through cash.app: $FreeThePeopleWNY or Venmo: @FreeThePeopleWNY

MEMBERSHIP

Coalition members are primarily organizations and some individual organizers who are working on a campaign or providing services for those impacted by any aspect of the criminal justice system, and aligns with the coalition mission and principles. Others who align with our principles but don’t fall into one of these categories are welcome to work with the coalition in various capacities, but can’t be listed as official members.

Join us at one of our monthly meetings, on the first Thursday of every month at 3 pm. Contact us by emailing info@freethepeoplewny.com to receive the meeting info. If you are interested in becoming a coalition member, please fill out a membership form.

The People’s Contract: Toolkit

The People’s Contract: Toolkit

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Community Demands For A New BPD Contract

NON-NEGOTIABLES

New Disciplinary Procedures

Common Sense Overtime And Court Time Reform

New Disciplinary Procedures

  • No extra protections for disciplining or firing officers beyond what is required by state law
  • Complaints must be investigated and officers disciplined by an independent civilian oversight body as proposed by the Buffalo Police Advisory Board

Common Sense Overtime And Court Time Reform

  • No officer should be paid for more hours than they actually work and should not earn more than time-and-a-half for overtime. Total overtime and court pay should be capped at $10,000 a year per officer.
  • No extra protections for disciplining or firing officers beyond what is required by state law
  • Complaints must be investigated and officers disciplined by an independent civilian oversight body as proposed by the Buffalo Police Advisory Board
  • No officer should be paid for more hours than they actually work and should not earn more than time-and-a-half for overtime. Total overtime and court pay should be capped at $10,000 a year per officer.

No Free Passes

Residency Requirement

No Free Passes

  • Police should be held accountable by superiors with regular (at least quarterly) evaluations. Poorly performing officers should not be promoted or receive raises.
  • All promotions and rewards should be made on merit, not seniority

Residency Requirement

  • If Buffalo residents pay your salary, you need to live in the City of Buffalo. All BPD staff should be required to live in the city for the duration of their employment.
  • Police should be held accountable by superiors with regular (at least quarterly) evaluations. Poorly performing officers should not be promoted or receive raises.
  • All promotions and rewards should be made on merit, not seniority
  • If Buffalo residents pay your salary, you need to live in the City of Buffalo. All BPD staff should be required to live in the city for the duration of their employment.

NOTHING ABOUT US WITHOUT US

No New Contract Without Robust Community Input

  • The City Law Department should send out a survey requesting public comment on community priorities for the union contract and should negotiate accordingly
  • Mayor Brown and the Common Council should hold listening sessions explaining the contract process and should hear the community’s priorities and act on them
  • When a new contract is proposed the full contract should be made public and at least 3 hearings should be held before the Common Council votes on the contract
  • The old contract should be reorganized into a coherent document and a summary of the major provisions should be written in simple language and posted on the city website. Any new contract should follow the same format

ACTION: TOOLKIT

Why it matters

So many aspects of policing are influenced by the police contract – yet residents have virtually no input over what is in it! During COVID one of the only ways elected officials hear from their representatives are by phone, email and social media, so this is how city legislatures hear from YOU what matters to YOU.

Call or email Corporate Counsel (the City’s lawyer) Tim Ball:

Phone: (716) 851-4343

Email: tball@city-buffalo.com 

Sample Script:

As a Buffalo resident, I’m very concerned about a police contract being negotiated with no public input at all. In your negotiations with the police union we need the following changes:

  • No extra protections for police from being disciplined or fired beyond what is required by state law
  • All investigations of complaints and disciplinary actions should be done by an independent civilian oversight board
  • Overtime and court time pay should be capped at $10,000 a year per officer and they should only be paid for the hours they actually work
  • All new officers should live in the City for the duration of their employment
  • All promotions and rewards should be given based on merit, not on seniority
  • All officers should have ongoing performance reviews, at least quarterly

The police work for US. They are paid by OUR tax dollars and WE, the people, deserve to decide when, how and if we are policed.