[caption id="attachment_4600" align="alignright" width="200"]Local 888 member Jackie Bailey who works at the Boston Police Department, fought hard—and successfully—to ensure that members are granted a day off when called for jury duty.[/caption]

Jackie Bailey doesn’t give up. The Local 888 member and union steward at the Boston Police Department learned that a coworker was being denied a day off for jury duty, despite contract language to the contrary. So she decided to speak up.

"If you don’t stand for something you’ll fall for anything," says Bailey, who serves on the negotiating committee and worked with Local 888's Maureen Medeiros to bring the issue to arbitration.

The contract clearly stated that BPD employees required to report to jury duty "shall be granted a leave of absence, without loss of pay." Yet BPD labor relations specialists insisted the language actually meant something different, denying jury leave to BPD members.  "I'm a firm believer in standing up for what I know to be a fact," says Bailey.

An arbitrator agreed with Bailey, finding that the contract language was clear. To Bailey, however, this particular fight was about more than just contract language. "Most importantly fair and equal service to all members is something we stand for as union warriors."

Says Medeiros: "This is a good example of how the union can be strong and enforce our hard fought gains."