| History
The Police Association of New Orleans, or PANO, was the first police
union in the history of the Deep South. It was formed at a meeting
in the Police and Fireman's Holy Name Society Hall at Our Lady of
Guadeloupe Church in New Orleans on July 28, 1969. The Fourteen
Original members at tat historic meeting were: Irvin L. Magri, Jr.,
August A. Palumbo, Vincent J. Bruno, Joseph Gallodoro, Lester Carr,
Curt Lechler, Louis Munsch, Justin "Skeeter" Favaloro,
Tommy Leggett, Addison R. Thompson, Louis Jefferies, Xavier Viola,
Jules Crovetto, and Lynn Schneider. PANO's leadership began with
Irvin L. Magri, Jr. who was elected President. The results of that
ground-breaking meeting would soon rock the very core of municipal
government in city after city in the south, eventually touching
big labor, the New Orleans Waterfront, the Teamsters Union, chiefs
of police throughout the nation, and even a man who would serve
in President Carter's administration as a cabinet member, Mayor
Moon Landrieu.
Although the Firefighter's Union was formed in 1939, to took thirty
more years for the New Orleans police officers to organize. Once
the police union begun, however, it grew rapidly. PANO's membership
increased from the original fourteen members at that historic first
meeting in 1969 to approximately 750 members less than four months
later.
PANO was founded out of frustration due to poor working conditions,
substandard pay, low morale, and lack of attention to the backbone
of the New Orleans Police Department, the patrolmen and sergeants.
The founder and new president, Irvin L. Magri, Jr. argued for items
such as better base salary, additional state supplemental pay, better
equipment for street personnel including first aid kits for police
cars, shotguns on the dash with high-powered rifles available should
the situation dictate, shift differential pay, creating the rank
of Training Officer and/or Senior Patrolman (now incorporated as
Police Officers I, II, III, IV), changes in the State Civil Service
Law to allow Police and Fire representation on the New Orleans Civil
Service commission, better facilities at the District Stations (many
of the District Stations at the time were condemned), increased
uniform allowance, the ending of mandatory compensatory overtime,
increasing the pay detail rated, better and more effective ammunition,
etc.
At the time of PANO's birth, the salary of a New Orleans Police
Patrolman was $530 per month with state supplemental pay of $16,
$33, and $50, depending upon longevity. Only after five years of
active service with the New Orleans Police Department was an officer
allowed to receive the maximum state supplemental pay of $50. PANO
requested a raise in the base salary from $530 per month to $900
per month in order to bring it up to the standards of most southern
cities.
On November 7, 1969, and coinciding with the General Election,
the Police Association of New Orleans organized its first "sick-out."
Over six hundred (600) commissioned police officers participated
in a "Blue Flu" and the New Orleans Fire Fighters Association
joined the battle by organizing a "Red Flu." During this
time, members of the Internal Affairs Division of the New Orleans
Police Department and the Department's official surgeon forced their
way into policemen's homes in the "wee hours of the morning"
and while police wives protested, the "sick" cops were
ordered by their superiors to submit to medical examinations right
then in their own bedrooms. It should be noted that the New Orleans
Fire Fighter's Association reneged on their portion of the "Blue
Flu / Red Flu" action after the superintendent of the New Orleans
Fire Department fired the first sixty-eight (68) firemen as they
called in sick. The Fire Fighters Union, a member then of the AFL-CIO
and headed by the President, the late Joseph Sanchez, "threw
in the towel", but the Police Union "stuck to its guns"
and refused to quit!
The Superintendent of Police at the time of the birth of PANO was
Joseph Ignacious Giarrusso, the long time Chief of Police, who was
considered somewhat of a dictator and who had a hatred of police
unions. Giarrusso went to the District Attorney, Jim Garrison, and
demanded that Garrison charge President Magri with conspiracy to
commit malfeasance in office. District Attorney Garrison refused
and basically laughed the iron-fisted Giarrusso out of his office.
Shortly after the "Blue Flu", a large group of wives stormed
the office of the Mayor Victor H. Schiro. The Mayor overruled the
Superintendent of Police and granted amnesty to all the "sick"
police officers except Magri and Curt O. Lechler.
PANO continued to grow and prosper after the "Blue Flu"
of 1969 in spite of relentless harassment of the Police Union. Joseph
I. Giarrusso, in one of this last acts of vengeance, transferred
six Executive Board Members to walking beats at night on crime-ridden
Dryades Street without police radios. At the time, on of the highest
crime rate areas in the Crescent City was Dryades Street, notorious
as a haven for narcotics pushers, armed robbers, and other dangerous
criminals. Giarrusso sought to break the back of the Police Union
leadership and to take these men out of the areas where they were
elected to represent their peers. PANO struck back quickly. In a
tactical ploy against a very anti-police union administration, Magri
requested that all available off-duty officers report on a volunteer
basis to Dryades Street and walk with their brother officers who
had been transferred there. The once crime-ridden decayed avenue
known as the "crime alley" of New Orleans would now savor
basically then police headquarters. Junkies, burglars, and stick-up
artists fled the area in droves as two hundred ticket-writing zealous
centurions patrolled in force. This unexpected maneuver by Magri
and PANO caught the top brass of the city, including the Mayor and
the Chief of Police, completely off guard. Within three weeks of
the experiment, the Superintendent of Police canceled the walking
beat.
A tremendous victory was won when the first collective bargaining
contract in the history of the south was signed on September 13,
1973. PANO prospered in spite of the obstacles and undertook a leadership
role in organizing other police unions throughout the south.
On August 15, 1970, Police Superintendent Joseph I. Giarrusso retired
from the New Orleans Police Department., and Clarence Giarrusso,
the older brother of Joseph was the newly appointed Superintendent.
Vincent Bruno took over the leadership of PANO after Irvin Magri
was illegally fired on April 25, 1975 for criticism of the administration.
(Magri eventually won his lawsuit on May 18, 1981 and was reinstated
retroactively to the rand of Police Sergeant with all back pay.)
Bruno headed PANO until 1980 when Ron Cannatella was elected President.
Mardi Gras 1979, PANO made history with the first "Police Strike",
led by Vincent Bruno and the local Teamsters Union. Over one thousand
police officers were on strike for 16 days, canceling Mardi Gras
for the first time since World War II. Poor communications and representation
by the Teamsters Local resulted in cops ending their strike with
literally nothing accomplished except unity and restored benefits.
After the strike, at a General Membership meeting in early 1980,
Vincent Bruno proposed reaffiliating with the AFL-CIO, but the membership
called for his resignation. Bruno and his executive board resigned
and an interim board of trustees took over that night. Ron Cannatella,
Dan Henderson, James Broussard, Carol Weigand, and John Johnston
took over the task of putting PANO back on track. PANO was no longer
a Teamsters affiliate, but an independent police organization.
On May 15, 1980, the Police Association of New Orleans elected Ron
Cannatella as President. Also elected were Dan Henderson, 1st Vice
President; John Marie, 2nd Vice President; Elizabeth Joseph, Treasurer;
Cindy Duke, Recording Secretary; Robert Davis, Sergeant-at-Arms.
Within 30 days, the newly elected Board would fight a lawsuit filed
by the past board claiming they were illegally seated. The courts
dismissed the suit by stating that the action was fair and the wishes
of the membership. In August 1980, the updated constitution and
bylaws were ratified. Ron Cannatella and his newly elected Board
were committed to rebuilding PANO and restoring professionalism
and integrity lost during the strike. The priority of the new PANO
was represent the legitimate interest and rights of all police officers,
no matter what race, creed, or color. The momentum continued to
grow! A district/division representative board was instituted. PANO
had its first radio show, hosted by then Vice President John Marie.
The PANO paper, The Star and Crescent, was brought back to life.
Cannatella and his Executive Board immediately met with Mayor Dutch
Morial in an attempt to open communications with the new PANO and
enter a bargaining agreement.
Legal representation increased, with then Attorneys Sidney Bach
and Jerry Wasserman. PANO began aggressively testing the legal
system for remedies not resolved by the Civil Service system.
Those tenacious court battles reversed numerous issues that the
City Administration had forced on its police, and continues to
still do so. The first major win was the sick leave law suit.
Because of PANO's intervention, officers would no longer have
to have in excess of 100 days to receive compensation when retiring.
Under the reins of Superintendent James Parsons and PANO's persistence,
the Police Officer II, III, and IV became a reality.
Ron Cannatella and his Executive Board, was able to change public
perception of PANO as positive influence in government. He gained
the respect of not only the City Council and some Administrators,
but he became well respected throughout the state government arena.
Cannatella opened positive communications with the news media
and the citizens themselves.
in 1980, the Annual PANO Christmas Dance was revitalized. Awards
were given in honor of Peter Bergeron, the first PANO member killed
in the line of duty. Officer Bergeron's badge still symbolizes
all police officers who risk their lives, and is honored in our
Association's logo - Badge # 1544.
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