BTU leader gets national post with AFT
Loretta Johnson, the longtime co-president of the Baltimore Teachers Union, has been elected executive vice president of the American Federation of Teachers, making her the No. 3 official in the nation's second-largest teachers union.
For the time being, Johnson will remain in the post she has held since the 1970s, overseeing the BTU's paraprofessionals chapter, representing teacher's aides and other educational assistants.
She began working as a teacher's aide in the city in the 1966, earning $2.25 an hour with no benefits, according to a biography provided by the AFT. To improve her work situation and that of her colleagues, she unionized the city's paraprofessionals and negotiated their first contract in 1970.
In the AFT election, Johnson ran unopposed on a slate with Randi Weingarten, the outgoing president of the United Federation of Teachers in New York City, who will serve as the AFT's new president.
The outgoing president, Edward McElroy, is retiring. AFT's outgoing executive vice president, Antonia Cortese, was elected secretary-treasurer on the Weingarten slate. Johnson is also president of AFT-Maryland.
Baltimore
Police Department
McLarney to head homicide unit
The Baltimore Police Department announced yesterday that Terrence P. McLarney, a widely respected 32-year veteran, will be promoted to be the new commander of the city's homicide unit.
McLarney has held the position in an acting capacity since May when Maj. Frederick Herman Taber Jr retired.
McLarney is popular with the detectives because of his intellect, his vast experience investigating murders and his even temper. He has worked in the unit for 19 years, holding the rank of detective, sergeant and most recently lieutenant. His squad was profiled in Homicide, a book by former Sun reporter David Simon.
McLarney said he expects to make no significant changes in the 75-member unit. "There is no secret to all of this," McLarney said. "It always comes back to hard, standard, basic investigative methodology. I believe in pounding the pavement, talking to people. And it all comes down to crime scenes, physical evidence and witnesses."
Detectives assigned to the homicide unit are considered the department's best investigators. In addition to killings - Baltimore has one of the highest murder rates in the nation - they investigate police-involved shootings, extortions, kidnappings and politically sensitive cases.
