Bio: John Burpo

Director John Burpo is the Director of the CWA Law Enforcement Division - the National Coalition of Public Safety Officers. He is involved in major police and corrections organizing drives throughout the United States, negotiates collective bargaining agreements on behalf of law enforcement locals, and oversees all professional activities of the NCPSO. He has been active in fighting prison privatization in corrections units represented by CWA.

Mr. Burpo is recognized nationally as a major contributor to the law enforcement labor movement in the United States. In his long career, he has worked in many states to organize law enforcement officers, negotiate agreements, represent officers and groups in arbitration proceedings, directed local referendums related to labor-management confrontations, and directed political campaigns. He is one of the co-founders and for many years served as executive staff leader of the Combined Law Enforcement Associations of Texas (CLEAT), an organization that is viewed as a model for other police labor organizations in the United States.

Mr. Burpo wrote the seminal treatment of law enforcement labor organizations in 1971 - The Police Labor Movement - Problems & Perspectives. He has more recently co-authored a second book - Police Association Power, Politics, & Confrontation (Charles C. Thomas, 1997), which many law enforcement labor organizations in the United States use as a guide to build and use power for the benefit of their members. Additionally, he has lectured to labor and management groups frequently throughout the United States on law enforcement labor issues.

Mr. Burpo is a graduate of the University of Tennessee (cum laude), University of Tennessee School of Law, and Northwestern Law School Police Legal Advisor Program.