📜 THE FULL TRACK RECORD: 10 Years of Proven Advocacy

Candidate for AFGE Local 506 President: Fernando Lopez

During his service as Vice President at USP 2 for 8 years and Acting President for 2 years, Fernando Lopez focused relentlessly on defending members' rights and enhancing officer safety and career security. Unlike the current inactive leadership, Fernando has a history of achieving definitive wins—even against the Agency's strongest resistance.

💰 CAREER & FINANCIAL PROTECTION

These are the wins that put money in your pocket and secured your career.

  • Staff Retention Bonuses: Successfully fought management to secure Retention Bonuses to keep experienced, quality personnel at Coleman, recognizing the hard work you do every day.

  • Suspension Reversals: Overturned Multiple 30-Day Suspensions in arbitration, saving careers and preventing significant financial loss for affected members.

  • Probationary Staff Protection: Achieved reinstatement and prevention of termination for numerous probationary staff members who were treated unjustly by local management.

  • Fairer Leave Access: Successfully challenged arbitrary management decisions regarding leave, ensuring officers retained the ability to use unscheduled annual leave in accordance with the Master Agreement.

🛡️ SAFETY & WORK-LIFE BALANCE

These are the victories that addressed critical safety issues and improved the quality of life for our officers.

  • Secured Personal Vests: Took on the Agency to secure personal Bullet Proof Vests for BPT Staff, prioritizing officer safety with critical, personalized gear.

  • Revamped Work Schedules: Led the fight for the revamping and creation of new compressed work schedules, giving officers more flexibility and valuable time with their families.

  • Challenging Unsafe Staffing: Aggressively filed grievances against unsafe practices, including management leaving housing units with inadequate staffing (one officer instead of the required two), holding the Agency accountable for a safe workplace.

📢 TRANSPARENCY & MEMBER ENGAGEMENT

These steps were taken to ensure the local leadership was accessible and accountable to the members.

  • Created the Local 506 Facebook Page: Established this critical communication channel for the first time, ensuring instant transparency and direct member access to Union leadership and information.

  • Launched the Coleman Newsletter: Developed the local newsletter to keep staff accurately informed of Union progress and important items being worked on, countering management rumors.

THE LOPEZ COMMITMENT

"I could list more, but those of you who know me know how I operate and the results I achieve. I am now Retiring to be Retained by you as an UNTOUCHABLE advocate. If you elect me, I will use my freedom from management retaliation to ensure every single one of these rights is protected, and that you get the Retro Pay you are owed."