New York, NY – Expectant Traffic Enforcement Agents, along with friends and family waited in happy anticipation of their upgrade from Level I to Level II at a Special Operations Traffic Enforcement Division ceremony in midtown Manhattan, this week.
The soon-to-be anointed had more to be glad about than simply their hard-earned raises and expanded duties. In his first term, recently re-elected Local 1182 President Syed Rahim successfully secured a long list of gains for members. Among them, a new step plan, negotiated annuity and pay raises for new hires after one year. The union leader also challenged the City practice of using TEA’s to do out-of-title work without extending additional pay. Local 1182 TEAs have even obtained new, more effective windbreakers.
These proud graduates will continue to face the many challenges with which a TEA is charged. After Rahim congratulated the graduates, Deputy Chief of Transportation Mike Pilecki and Assistant Chief John Cassidy both spoke with empathy of the annoyances and outright dangers TEAs are faced with every day on the job.
“Members of the public can get nasty, can get a little physical,” at times, Cassidy said. “People have little patience. They don’t care about the black box, they care about ME…they are the most important people in the world,” when it comes to moving aside for other vehicles or heeding the directions given by agents. The assistant chief called Local 1182 TEAs “unsung heroes” who are part of crime-fighting, adding, “the job that you guys do is a phenomenal thing.” Cassidy then urged on the new newly-minted Level II TEAs. “Let’s get it done,” he said.
The assistant chief called Local 1182 TEAs ‘unsung heroes’ who are part of crime-fighting, adding, ‘the job that you guys do is a phenomenal thing.’
Sadly, many motorists fail to realize that TEA’s are actually part of the NYPD, and that many of them have performed heroic acts fighting crime and saving lives. In one recent case, an agent apprehended a hit-and-run driver responsible for the death of a child. In another incident, a female TEA saved the life of a police officer seriously hurt in a vehicular accident.
President Rahim enjoys an outstanding relationship with the NYPD, as evidenced by his opening remarks in which he lauded Local 1182’s comrades in law enforcement. Pilecki and Cassidy, in return, complimented Rahim’s leadership. That kind of mutual respect and cooperation is no small thing. And is, in fact, crucial to maintaining and improving the flow of traffic, keeping pedestrians safe… and ensuring that New York City retains its reputation as the greatest city in the world.
