Veteran's GI Bill OJT Meeting Date Set

Click on the picture to enlarge.

A meeting has been set for March 27th, 2008 with the Department of Labor and Industry, the VA's Field Representative for the State Approving Agency for the OJT Program and the Sheriff's Administration.

Hopefully the issue can be resolved and the OJT benefits restored to our vets.

Brown Leather Maintenance

Here's a how to, for those of you who need to know how to properly maintain your brown leather.

You'll need:


Fiebings brown leather dye (Available for about $8.95 at any shoe repair shop)

Nail Polish remover (Must contain acetate)

Brown Shoe Polish

I recommend doing all of your brown leather at once so the shade is consistent, unless of course you're talking about a new item.

Step 1: Strip off old polish with the nail polish remover. Use a damp a paper towel or cloth. (Remove belt buckle first if dying belt, it unsnaps)

Step 2: Using supplied applicator apply Fiebings brown dye over leather.

Step 3: Drink beer and/or smoke a cigar while dye dries.

Step 4: Apply a couple coats of brown polish and you're in business.

**This is a great time to use Brasso on your belt buckle and snaps.

Time lapse for steps 1 and 2 is about 30 minutes.
Keeping a good coat of polish on your leather gear will look good and extend the amount of time needed between dye jobs.

This also works for black leather using Fiebings black leather dye.

Veterans Still Cut From GI Bill's OJT Program By HCSO!

Last week I pulled down the post entitled: HCSO Not So Veteran Friendly after a call last Monday from someone I respect in the Teamsters saying the administration wanted to work to resolve the issue.

A week has gone by. The issue is not resolved. The administration has not even talked to our lawyers, the vets, our business agent, or myself so HCSO Not So Veteran Friendly is back up.

I find it regrettable that at the same time:

U.S. Senator John McCain's presidential campaign today announced its Minnesota Leadership Team. Congressman Jim Ramstad (R-03) and Hennepin County Sheriff Rich Stanek will serve as Co-Chairs of John McCain's campaign in Minnesota,

the Sheriff's Office, under Campaign Co-Chair Sheriff Rich Stanek, would choose to drop out of participation in the GI Bill's OJT program for his detention deputy employees.

Senator McCain's positions on veterans are clear:

PROVIDING VETERANS WITH THE BENEFITS THEY HAVE EARNED

John McCain strongly believes that it is our duty as a nation to provide our veterans, who dedicated their careers, risked their personal safety, and sometimes sacrificed their lives in order to protect us, with the benefits that we have promised them and that they have earned.

John McCain has voted consistently to increase funding for veterans' benefits, recognizing that the people who serve our country should get priority over the disgraceful amounts of spending on corporate subsidies and wasteful pork barrel spending. He also pushed for various initiatives to ensure that veterans who are eligible for benefits know what they are entitled to and have the resources to obtain their benefits.

Maybe we'll see some trickle down values.

You can contact the McCain Campaign at http://www.johnmccain.com/Contact/

Blood Borne Pathogens Bill Utilized For First Time!

This week an inmate was forced to give a blood draw after spitting in the eyes and mouth of one of our detention deputies. The inmate refused to give a blood test after a doctor determined that a "significant exposure" had occurred and the jail administration utilized the Blood Borne Pathogens Bill's expedited method to force a blood draw.

Hats off to the Hennepin County jail administration for utilizing this and saving our member and his family months of worry and possible unnecessary treatment.

This was possible due to the Blood Borne Pathogens Bill written and lobbied by Teamsters Local 320!

The history is that a few years ago a member of ours in the last half hour of a 12 hour shift ended up in a bloody confrontation with an inmate. Our member spent several hours at the hospital and two things happened, first the Sheriff's Office refused to pay overtime for the time at the hospital, and second the inmate refused to volunteer a blood sample. A grievance was filed and won, now if you get hurt at work and end up needing medical care you get paid for your time.

Then we wrote the Blood Borne Pathogens Bill. In a nutshell, if an inmate gives a corrections officer a significant exposure to their blood or body fluids and refuses to volunteer for a blood test then the facility commander can order a blood draw. This was authored and lobbied for by Teamsters Local 320. Our business agent Tom Perkin's worked with our lobbyist Bob Johnson and got the job done. The cost to our local was $65,000, the benefit to our members is priceless.

The bill took effect in July of 2006. To my knowledge this is the first time the law has been used in Hennepin County. Thank you Teamsters Local 320 for passing this bill that makes our dangerous job safer for all corrections officers. Thank you Hennepin County Sheriff's Office for your support.

What Happened to the Veterans Issue Post?

There is a behind the scenes effort to resolve the issue going on. The Veterans Issue Post is TEMPORARILY down while these efforts take place. Should the issue resolve itself in a positive way the post will disappear forever.

Hitchin' the Wagon

The McCain campaign has announced: U.S. Senator John McCain's presidential campaign today announced its Minnesota Leadership Team. Congressman Jim Ramstad (R-03) and Hennepin County Sheriff Rich Stanek will serve as Co-Chairs of John McCain's campaign in Minnesota.

Hopefully Senator McCain's leadership on veterans issues will rub of!

I must have accidently posted this picture from when he endorsed Giuliani for President!

From Corrections USA-Assaults on Correctional Officers

There are no accurate statistics on the number of correctional officers assaulted by inmates. Some Department of Corrections do not keep records and others under-report. Correctional officers are routinely gassed, assaulted, injured, and sometimes killed in the line of duty.
To see a glimpse of the dangerous environment we work in behind the walls, please read the following news accounts:

Assaults, August 2007

Source: Corrections USA

HCSO Not So Veteran Friendly

Up until now I have kept this off of the blog and out of the public eye. As many of you know from our egroup the Hennepin County Sheriff's Office unilaterally dropped out of the GI Bill's OJT (On the Job Training)program for veterans. This is a program that costs the Sheriff's Office nothing because the veterans have paid into this as part of their military service. It's a way to attract and retain good employees at no cost to the Sheriff's Office.

In a nutshell, it pays a veteran a certain amount of money each month after returning to civilian life while they are gaining experience/training on the job. Kind of like a deferred compensation program for vets, it's their money. The Sheriff's Office had two year agreements with some of our veterans and the Veterans Administration to participate in this program. Many detention deputies have participated in this program over the years. Suddenly the Sheriff's Office has opted not to participate. While this is voluntary on their part it makes no sense. How often can you attract and compensate good employees at no cost to your bottom line?

The nastier part is that two of our veterans received letters from the VA over Veterans Day weekend informing them they were dropped, despite signed two year contracts. The Sheriff's Office didn't have the decency to tell them themselves.

The Department of Labor even went to the HCSO and met with them in an attempt to get them to continue with the GI Bill program. The Hennepin County Sheriff's Office re-affirmed their request to cancel, claiming that detention deputies are fully trained/qualified after 3 months!

Team Legal attorney's have been assisting our veterans with this struggle. I can think of few things lower then screwing over veterans, especially during a time of war.

Nominations For Union Steward

A nomination sheet will be posted for anyone interested in being a Teamsters Local 320 Union Steward.

You must be a full dues paying member to be eligible- no fair share.

The sheet will be posted through 3/14 at 1430. All interested members must put their own name on the sheet.

What does a steward do?

Stewards are on the front line every day, working directly with members to make sure contracts are enforced, workers' rights are not being violated, and the workplace is a safe place to be. You are the face of the union, and your role as communicator is critical to solidarity and membership participation. (Teamsters IBT)