HPOA President Gary Hargis (right) and CWA / NCPSO Executive Director John Doran.  CWA officially accepts NAPSO as CWA Local 9110.

Rick is originally from the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania area.  He received his B.A. degree in 1977 from The Ohio State University and his law degree in 1980 from Western State University College of Law in San Diego, California.  Rick moved to Las Vegas in 1980, at which time he joined one of Nevada’s largest and most distinguished law firms.  For more than 25 years, he worked with firms emphasizing insurance, self-insured, personal injury, medical malpractice, contracts and business litigation. 

For the past decade, Rick has been spending a substantial amount of time working with police and fire personnel involving disciplinary, wrongful termination, labor/management and civil rights issues.  Rick is qualified to represent peace officers during all phases of interrogation and hearings pursuant to Nevada’s Peace Officer Bill of Rights, and includes representation at Internal Affairs interviews; pre-disciplinary and pre-termination hearings; arbitration hearings; actions filed on behalf of peace officers and fire personnel before Nevada’s Employee-Management Relations Board (EMRB); lawsuits filed for peace officers before state and federal courts; and he provides on-scene representation for Officer Involved Shootings and other critical incidents.  He also represents public safety Unions in contract negotiations and he consults with them regarding political action and organizing issues. 

It was as a result of his experience and success in representing law enforcement personnel that the California Organization of Police & Sheriffs (COPS) asked Rick to become its full time representative when it opened its Nevada office in May 2008.  In September 2009, COPS transitioned to the Nevada Association of Public Safety Officers (NAPSO), where Rick is currently the Executive Director and Chief Labor Representative for that organization.  

In addition to hundreds of Internal Affairs interviews and disciplinary hearings involving law enforcement, Rick’s experience includes participation in more than 1,000 jury and bench trials, arbitrations, mediations and other hearings in the state and federal court systems and before administrative agencies in Nevada.  He has written and lectured on issues involving peace officer rights, insurance claims practices, trial preparation and general civil litigation strategies.    

John's first experience with a Union was in 1972 when he returned from his military duty in Vietnam to work for his hometown fire department in North Carolina. When he was reprimanded for his union activities, John pursued a new career path where, for the next three decades, he worked to organize those looking for fair treatment in the workplace and a better quality of life.

What started in a local fire department led him becoming president of the state firefighters union in North Carolina. Since then, John's career hilights have included organizing correctional officers across the southwest, starting a state workers union in Oklahoma and organizing private sector unions which include bargaining numerous private and public sector contracts.

Living in northern Nevada and based out of Sacramento, CA, John travels throughout the United States advising NCPSO/CWA affiliates on their organizing issues, helps develop media strategies, and provides guidance on bargaining matters.

John is already working with leaders across the country in non-bargaining states to develop legislation that will grant public safety workers collective bargaining rights, in anticipation of the passage of the federal collective bargaining bill for all public safety officers.  Once passed and signed into law, HR 980 will require significant changes in state laws to provide for collective beargaining between public safety officers and their employers.

Resistance is anticipated from groups that traditionally fight bargaining rights or any type of worker rights in the workplace. John is already working with key NCPSO/CWA affiliate leaders in order to prepare for these legislative changes in the next two years. John is working with affiliates to establish their political action and lobbying programs in order to help promote these public safety legislative changes.

Don is from Glendora, California (Los Angeles County). He attended the Rio Hondo Police Academy in the summer of 1984 and graduated with his Class #70 at the age of 21. He was hired by the Montebello Police Department and worked the Patrol Division. During his tenure he served on the Montebello Police Officers Association board and was a strong advocate of the MPOA movement.

During this time, Don worked tirelessly on the Montebello Police Activities League, donating approximately 1500 hours per year to the youth of the community. Don also was honored with multiple Medals of Life Saving. Unfortunately after 15 years of service, his career was called short, with a forced medical retirement, due to a foot pursuit gone awry.

Since that time Don worked tirelessly defending the rights of law enforcement officers in California, Nevada, Arizona and Utah. He has walked the halls of the United States Senate advocating the rights of all law enforcement officers throughout our great country and he will continue to defend the rights all who choose to serve as law enforcement officers.

Don currently serves as an Organizing Coordinator for the Communications Workers of America, AFL-CIO, and their law enforcement division, the National Coalition of Public Safety Officers. He has negotiated millions of dollars in salary and benefits increases for law enforcement associations and he remains in high demand during contract negotiation sessions. He is also in high demand as a strategy consultant during times of conflict or political unrest for police associations.