IUPALocal5

This page is used to support and advocate for the hardworking and professional Alexandria Police Officers.

[IUPALocal5 @IupaLocal5]

One way to show you value an employee is to provide a competitive wage. Alexandria does not do this for its first responders. This is why the police officers do not feel valued by those at City Hall. Special thanks to @7NewsDC for the coverage. https://t.co/hyKbcbzaNs

[IUPALocal5 @IupaLocal5]

Question: What is missing from this picture?

Answer: Police applicants.

We had a test scheduled today for those interested in becoming a police officer.

NOT ONE PERSON SHOWED UP.

This is what happens when the City doesn’t provide a competitive compensation package.

[IUPALocal5 @IupaLocal5]

Attached is a letter from the International President of IUPA, Sam Cabral.

[IUPALocal5 @IupaLocal5]

In October, we shared a list of 𝐑𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐑𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐏𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐧𝐠 for the FY23 budget. These strategies will be a big step in resolving our staffing and training concerns. Council should add these common sense solutions to the budget!

[IUPALocal5 @IupaLocal5]

Rest In Peace, Officers Painter and Jefferson.

https://t.co/sf6RTI33tB

[IUPALocal5 @IupaLocal5]

Less than 15%. That’s how many officers live within the City. Half of those only do so because they receive a discounted rent due to their profession. Why so few? Because they are not provided a salary that commensurates with the cost of living. This is plain wrong!

[IUPALocal5 @IupaLocal5]

Stop by one of our meet and greets this week to learn more about why IUPA is the best choice to advocate for APD officers during collective bargaining.

[IUPALocal5 @IupaLocal5]

We sent the attached letter to Council to ask that they demand that the City Manager's and HR Offices do their part and work in good faith. Alexandria police officers are exhausted and deserve to be treated with respect; being ghosted by City staff is not the way to do so.

[IUPALocal5 @IupaLocal5]

Today's press releases are just a snippet into the amazing work being done:

✔️ Arrest for December's homicide
✔️ Arrest for the subject who drove into two firefighters
✔️ Incident involving a barricaded subject suffering from a mental health crisis resolved peacefully

[IUPALocal5 @IupaLocal5]

Don’t want to spend the evening in jail or a hospital? Then plan ahead!

If you intend to drink alcohol this evening, you should also plan to find a designated driver. Please do not get into a vehicle with an intoxicated driver either.

[IUPALocal5 @IupaLocal5]

Merry Christmas, especially to the dozens of officers working today to keep Alexandria safe.

We've scooped up this burglar bright and early! Now we're hoping for a quiet Saturday.

[IUPALocal5 @IupaLocal5]

Less talk and more action
In fiscal twenty three
Pay a competitive wage
Is the magic key

Respectfully submitted,
Your next poet laureate

[IUPALocal5 @IupaLocal5]

Roses are red
Violets are blue
We’re in a staffing crisis
And we’re reaching out to you

Because City Hall
Doesn’t care about our stress
We’ve been begging for years
To get out of this mess

[AlexandriaVAGov @AlexandriaVAGov]

The City is in search of a new poet laureate to promote an appreciation of poetry as an art form, creative writing and reading of literature, and literacy through poetry. Nominations due Jan 10. Details: https://t.co/EZ8JtOUJRs.

[IUPALocal5 @IupaLocal5]

And yet we remain
At the bottom of the list
Just pay us our fair share
Is what we persist

We’ve lost more than thirty
Officers just this year
Fix the pay issue
Or more will disappear

[IUPALocal5 @IupaLocal5]

𝐋𝐄𝐓'𝐒 𝐁𝐄 𝐂𝐋𝐄𝐀𝐑: We need help. Our officers are overworked and exhausted.

In the last twenty four months, part 1 crime - the most serious criminal offenses - has risen 17% in Alexandria City while staffing within the police department has declined 10%!

[IUPALocal5 @IupaLocal5]

Chief David Baker is a well-respected police executive with decades of law enforcement experience. He knows first hand what works in Alexandria and he fully endorses IUPA’s Reinvest in Policing strategies for the FY23 budget.

[IUPALocal5 @IupaLocal5]

Falls Church, like Alexandria, is suffering from a major staffing and morale crisis. To rectify it, their City Council voted to provide a 12% across the board increase to their officers. Keep in mind, their starting pay was ALREADY ahead of ours.

What say you, Alexandria City?

[IUPALocal5 @IupaLocal5]

Earlier this week, IUPA Local 5 board members met with incoming Council members Alyia Gaskins, Sarah Bagley and Kirk McPike. We recognize the importance of building relationships and open communication. We shared our members' priorities and concerns and look to working with them!