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Breakfast with Herb & Mike




Employee health, safety and wellness is in the spotlight. Finally. As the seemingly endless supply of potential employees has exhausted, evidenced by the low unemployment rates nationwide, employers have needed to enhance their benefit offerings and up their game. At The Northeast Group, we pride ourselves on being a forerunner in this arena of Total Worker Health. Herb sheds light on a different time. The Breakfast with Herb and Mike journey continues…


Mike: What was it like when you started out on the Plattsburgh Police Department in 1959 — four years before I was born?


Herb: The job was difficult. The pay was low, the hours were long, there were no health benefits, no retirement plan. We smoked in the station and in the patrol cars. We frequently drank too much. We worked at the pleasure of the chief and if we had issues, the answer was to suck it up. We didn’t know any other ways to handle the stress of the job in those days.


Mike: What about when you had a call to handle — like domestic violence or drunk and disorderly. What usually happened? Did you have any crisis intervention training?

Herb: We had no training. If there was a violent situation, we had our night sticks and guns. We would demand surrender and tackle people if we had to. We could use straightjackets and then bring them to jail. There was no one to call for assistance, but despite all of that, I loved being a police officer and it made me the man I am today.


Mike: When I was growing up, I didn’t always love being the police chief’s son, but it gave me an insight into your world. Tell me more about your job. What about security? I remember being in Middle School and walking over to the police station on Pine Street. I could walk right in. The door was never locked.


Herb: Any focus on safety and security was limited. We did training at the gun range and we were careful with our firearms, but when it came to things like seats belts in patrol cars and hearing protection at the firing range, there was nothing. I wear hearing aides today because of all the time I spent at the range.


Mike: When I first entered the workforce as a truck driver in the early 1980’s there weren’t many regulations. What was it like when you opened the printing business?


Herb: In the early days, we didn’t have the focus on safety and wellness you have now. Employees smoked on the job. I don’t mean taking smoke breaks. I’m talking about ash trays at their work stations. We had little training in the handling of chemicals in the dark room, the presses had limited safety guards and anyone who was willing was allowed to drive a forklift. You’ve made significant changes in our company, much of it fueled by finding your way into recovery in 1990.


Mike: At Northeast we’ve developed a philosophy that recognizes productivity is enhanced by improving the overall wellness of our people. We understand that our employees are an essential part of our family business.


Herb: Through COVID and even now when good employees can be hard to find and hard to keep, your approach has certainly proven successful. I am pleased that Strictly Business chose to feature information about supportive workplaces and I hope our readers will find ideas in this issue that can enhance their businesses.

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