Why Chuck Bit Mike
      To The Editor: Since the Staten Island Zoo gets a lot of city funds, technically the groundhog is a public employee and is expected to make TV appearances with politicians trying to divert attention from their slash-and-burn budget policies.
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Unions Must Fight Back
      To The Editor: After reading Tommy Hallissey's article in The Chief, "Say Crisis Is Not What It Was in Mid-'70s But Neither is Labor" (Jan. 30 issue), I thought I was living in a parallel universe. My recollection of that time, while not completely different, is different enough, especially regarding the labor "leaders.
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Tate is Toussaint Lite
      To The Editor: In response to The Chief story about Curtis Tate being more inclusive (Feb. 6 issue), you couldn't be further from the truth. Upon the fatalities of Daniel Boggs and Marvin Franklin, TWU Local 100 President Roger Toussaint removed Carlos Albert, the Division Chair of Track, from the investigation hearings.
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Reforming Stop-and-Frisk
      To The Editor: No fair-minded person would deny that the New York Police Department has done an excellent job in fighting crime since (at least) around 1994 when then-Police Commissioner William Bratton and his team began using the extra cops from the Safe Streets, Safe City program (thanks to Bill Clinton,
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EMS Course Discriminatory
      To The Editor: I'm writing to you about an active Equal Employment Opportunity Federal lawsuit I have against the City of New York regarding an FDNY Emergency Medical Service matter. I was fired on Nov. 24, 2006, about six weeks before the end of my probation, due to the failure to pass the EVOC—Emergency Vehicle Operating Course. At that time, I was 56 years old.
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Judge Guild Case on Merits
      To The Editor: I am responding to two recent articles, "Tech Guild Leader Sues Over False Charge" (Jan. 30 Issue) and "Tech Guild Feud Continues Over Officers' Legal Fees" (Feb. 6 issue), to clarify what was printed and so that there is no confusion about where I stand.
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Fort's Misguided Enemies
      To The Editor: While Civil Service Technical Guild President Claude Fort is working very hard to protect his members and his union, people like Behrouz Fathi, Uma Kutwal and Jon Forster have been conspiring for years to detract from him.
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Need Taylor Law Reform
      To The Editor: (The following letter is being published here at the request of its author): Open letter to all Public Union Leaders: As public employees, we should have one defined main mission in 2009: TAYLOR LAW. The New York State Taylor Law is anti-union and anti-American. The basic principle of America is civil liberty.
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