2024 Corrections Officer of The Year from the Minnesota 100 Club

 Congratulations HCSO Detention Deputy Abdiraham.

DOC gives Hennepin County Jail a 2 week extension

CBS News is reporting that the Hennepin County Jail now has until December 5th to reduce the jail population from 839 to 600.

The main problem is low staffing to inmate ratios. 

There are many factors all of which leads to a snowball effect. These conditions exist in almost every Jail and Prison in the State.

CO's were forced to work massive overtime during the pandemic and were ordered to take the 'jab' or be fired. Many chose to leave. Those who stayed, even though labeled frontline workers, did not receive the frontline worker pay because (drumroll) they made too much money due to the excessive OT to qualify. A large number of them contracted Covid due to close proximity to inmates in jails.

The fewer the staff the more the forced overtime, the more forced OT the more burnout and sick calls which leads to even more OT.

At the State level HR 1234  changed the way disability is applied. Billed as a Police and Fire Bill it also affected CO disability in a negative way.

Correctional Officers/Detention Deputies are constantly compared to less dangerous jobs like dispatch and probation. Evident from repeated efforts to add those job classes to the PERA Correctional pension intended for a high risk job supervising inmates. See the MNCORA Blog for numerous examples.

CO's are assaulted and even murdered with little consequence at times. Let's take Joseph Gomm the Stillwater Prison CO murdered by an inmate with a hammer in 2018. The legislature denied the family's claim for compensation and only awarded them a $60,000 workers comp claim!

As in all Public Safety jobs CO's are viewed in a negative light these days. It's not a glamorous job, but it is necessary.

There is no simple solution but their pay did not keep up with inflation. As the saying goes, "money talks and bullshit walks." A hefty raise would help attract and retain CO's. Certainly a better option than letting criminals walk free to reoffend.

How to grieve the vaccine mandate

 Hennepin County has ordered all of it's employees to get the covid vaccines by April or face termination. This is wrong on many fronts, medically, morally, legally and contractually. Other employers have already lost in court their forced vaccination mandates. Here's how to do it at Hennepin County. This will be specific for the MNPEA Detention Deputy Contract but is easily adaptable to them all. 

TALK to the MNPEA Lawyers and Stweards!

Here's the link to the Agreement (contract) https://www.hennepin.us/-/media/hennepinus/employees/labor-contracts/mnpea-vv-2019-2021-final.pdf

Article One section one states this is ...the Complete Agreement between the parties...

Detention Deputies worked through the entire Covid 'pandemic.' They worked even before the vaccines were available. At this point many if not most have had Covid contracted in the jail and carry natural immunity. Also at this point any who wanted the vaccine have had it. The County is coercing the rest on pain of being fired. It is now fact that the vaccines neither prevent, nor stop the spread of Covid so mandatory vaccination seems pointless.

So here's my sample grievance. I would advise MNPEA members to talk to the MNPEA lawyers and Stewards  to better craft it for you. Also VERY IMPORTANT, if more than one signs on it can be done as a class action grievance covering the entire bargaining unit.

GRIEVANCE (Sample)

Date__________

Name______________________________________________

I __________________ am not willing to take the Covid 19 Vaccinations being mandated by the Employer Hennepin County.

Section of Agreement violated:

Section one Article One. This was not negotiated and as such cannot be ordered. It must be negotiated.

Furthermore the Mandate ignores natural immunity. Religious exemptions, medical exemptions and bodily autonomy must be recognized.

Grievant signature:                                                                    Union Representative:

Supervisor/Employer Signature:

 

Use whatever form MNPEA has now and talk to your Steward. Furthermore this opens up Hennepin County to lawsuits. There are known injuries to have occurred from the vaccine and if Hennepin County insists on mandating there may be financial consequences. 

Is Hennepin County willing to reimburse an employee for time off due to temporary side effects? Long term conditions such as blood clots, Bells Palsy, Myocarditus, strokes, death...? I'd make sure I had a guarantee in writing. While they may argue these are rare, they happen and if forced and they happen to you will the County step up?

Links:

https://www.mprnews.org/story/2021/12/23/judge-halts-vaccine-mandate-for-st-paul-city-employees

https://abcnews.go.com/Health/wireStory/chicago-drops-police-union-lawsuit-vaccine-mandate-81507548

https://nypost.com/2022/01/21/texas-judge-blocks-biden-vaccine-mandate-for-federal-workers/

Hennepin County Detention Deputies on YouTube

Looks like Sheriff Hutch is promoting the Detention Deputy position in Hennepin County. Very refreshing to see. Also I see the new Sheriff allows people with tattoos! Very glad to see the old policy go away!

Hold on to your Wallet!

Recently many of you (and me) received a letter from the MMRA (Minnesota Municipal Retirement Association).

They talked about "cuts" to your pension's COLA from 2.5% to 1%, but for $5 a month they would fight for your raise!

This sounded like a money making scam to me so I contacted them and asked what they were doing for PERA Correctional Plan members. The response was, " MMRA is restricted to represent only PERA General members. "

Fact: the PERA Correctional Plan cost of living raise is still 2.5%. 

This raises several questions.

1. Why did they send this to PERA Correctional Plan members?
2. How did they get our addresses?
3. Why are they soliciting money from the PERA Correctional Plan members?

The 'why' seems to be a way to scam people into paying $5 a month for nothing!

How they got the addresses is a mystery. PERA does not give those out. My guess, a former Union of ours (not MNPEA) sold them the addresses.

The 'why solicit' is it's just a way to skim money from people they will never assist.

To sum this up. The PERA Correctional Plan's COLA is 2.5%. The MMRA does not lobby for you.
Why should any retiree have to pay someone to 'protect' the pension they paid into for years?
That is your Union's job. 

Of course we know Teamsters, AFSCME and LELS were perfectly happy to reduce  the PERA Correctional Plan to 1.5%. Only MNPEA fought the cut, and won.

So if you received this letter from MMRA, throw it away!

2019 Retirement Benefit Increases Announced

2019 Retirement benefit increases announced

October 12, 2018

Good news for retirees

Retired members of the PERA General Plan will receive a 1.4 percent increase in their PERA retirement benefits, effective Jan. 1, 2019.

The 1.4 percent increase reflects 2018 legislative changes to PERA’s retirement plans. The General Plan cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) will be equal to 50 percent of the increase announced by Social Security. Social Security announced a 2.8 percent benefit increase for 2019. The 1.4 percent increase is good news for PERA retirees since the previous increases were at 1 percent for many years.

Members of the Correctional Plan will receive a 2.5 percent increase in their PERA retirement benefits, effective Jan. 1, 2019. This increase is a result of the legislative change calling for the Correctional Plan COLA to be equal to 100 percent of the increase announced by Social Security, with a maximum 2.5 percent increase.

The Correctional Plan can provide a larger increase to plan members since the plan is relatively better funded than the other plans PERA administers.  In the future, the Correctional Plan COLA maximum could be reduced to 1.5 percent if the plan’s funding status declines.

The Police & Fire Plan members will continue to receive a 1 percent increase in their PERA retirement benefits.  The Police & Fire COLA is not currently tied to an inflation index.

Source: MNPERA.org

I again must point out that AFSCME, Teamsters Local 320 and LELS all had agreed to the lower 1.4% for the Correctional Plan as "shared pain".  And that without ever bringing it to their members! 

Hutch campaign manager attends MNPEA meeting

Sheriff Hutch's campaign manager attended the last MNPEA union meeting. Here is a synopsis from some members who were there.

WADE!!! In a nutshell, this is what D. B. told me. Hutch's campaign guy is Austin Sable out of Radio. According to him, Hutch wants to return to a more traditional Sheriffs Office with a predominately Civilian staff while focusing on Jail, Radio and Records/Courts. Stanek over-extended Radio's service perimeter while not providing the staff and resources needed to handle it. There are 15 stations manned while a 16TH goes unmanned. Although Waterways is still a mandate, he sees no real issues there. and I would agree. Seems that most, if not everybody out there is content. He wants to see that budgeted moneys go to where they are appropriated to go. The last two idiots were notorious at asking for money to fund 'this' and end up spending it to fund 'that.' We both have seen plenty of BS. He also wants to address both retention and incentives for both new hires and existing staff. I am hoping he takes a more reasonable and sensible approach to hiring. This 'mass hiring' approach that Stanek had a love affair with is neither practical or economically sound. There is a balance between paying your existing staff OT (far cheaper) and hiring new staff (more costly). A approach that would benefit everybody. Finally, he is open to Labor Groups. He both appreciates and recognizes Labor Groups. I realize this is all lip service so far, but it sounds promising. If I were speaking directly to him, I would put it this way.."Dude, you are in a very good position. Stanek had taken just about everything away from us. If you could restore even some of it, you could be viewed very favorably. Do you want a good movie or a bad movie??? It is totally up to you!" 

I forget to mention, he is all about Mental Health and not servicing ICE. I am not sure what he is after with the Mental Health thing. I do hope we don't continue to warehouse inmates for these M/H institutions. Once committed, send them!!! We should not be sitting on them. As far as ICE is concerned, not sure what he means by that either. He could mean we are not going to warehouse inmates for ICE while they drag their feet on what they are going to do. I would agree with that. 

I REACHED OUT TO SHERIFF HUTCH TO WRITE AN UNEDITED MESSAGE IN THIS BLOG TO DETENTION DEPUTIES.

Dave "Hutch" wins as Hennepin County Sheriff

Congratulations Dave Hutchinson on your victory in Hennepin County as Sheriff.

As a retiree with over 25 years in that Department I wish you luck. There is a lot of rebuilding to do after 12 years of Richard Stanek.

My advice, surround yourself with good people!



https://minnesota.cbslocal.com/2018/11/07/by-the-numbers-dave-hutchinson-tops-stanek-in-race-for-hennepin-co-sheriff/?fbclid=IwAR3ow1Tr-geMrX5TrTw1IGSjO5QZG4FFic7GpO-88xT1gMphHMAEMCBgnXM

Surge in Hennepin County Felony Cases

"felony charges in Hennepin County are up in all types of crimes, including a 63 percent jump in murder charges, and 15 percent increase in drug charges" -Star Tribune

FULL STORY 

Hennepin County Facts for Contract Negotiations

This post is derived from a comment I posted on Richard Deal's previous post about 12 hour days. Certain people are commenting anonymously and I'm entertained...anyways that led to this:

We are the largest jail in the State. The most dangerous jail in the State.

We are the lowest paid in the metro area, yet we have the highest paid Sheriff in the State and the highest paid County Commissioners in the State.

The Sheriff could give all of us more money by law and the County Board would have to pay it. Sheriff McGowan once gave an extra one percent to the licensed deputies over and above what detention and AFSCME got. Sheriff Stanek doesn't roll that way.

They have turned the HCSO into a farm league for the other local law enforcement agencies. Today I looked at our seniority list for Detention Deputies. Out of 182 Detention Deputies, 70 are under 2 years experience! That's almost half of our staff with under 2 years experience.*

That number speaks for itself. I conclude this is either by design or poor management, or a combination of both. 

They obviously want it this way. After all, the highest paid must be the best and the brightest.

$158,905 a year salary

So what is Sheriff Stanek's salary? In 2014 it was $158,905 a year! 

By contrast Governor Dayton's 2014 salary was $119,850!  

Hennepin County Sheriff Rich Stanek makes $39,055 more than the Governor!

The Hennepin County Commissioners make $104,703. Also the highest paid in the State.

Now, one could argue that Hennepin County is, next to the State of Minnesota, the largest Government in the State, with the largest population and largest tax base. Such a large entity requires large salaries to attract and retain the best and brightest. 

Hennepin County Board salary
$104,000 a year

So why did they allow the Detention Deputies and Workhouse Corrections Officers to drop to the lowest paid in the seven county metro area? 

We run the largest jail with 839 beds and about 44,000 bookings a year and are the lowest paid. The highest paid, Ramsey County only houses 500 inmates.

Hell even the little Brooklyn Park Police lock-up pays more than Hennepin County does. They start at $23.10 an hour and top out at $30.10. That's starting pay $5 an hour higher then Hennepin, and a higher top pay. Oh, and they get there in 3 years, Hennepin County gets to their lower top pay in 8 years...unless there's wage freezes of course.

So Hennepin County and Sheriff Stanek, we do lead in one thing. The race to the lowest paid in our profession, led by the highest paid. 

Let's keep up the good work and do it again this time! Woo hoo!

*Seniority numbers edited 10/16/15

Florida Prison's Can't Keep Staff

An article in Correctionsone.com states they have "hired over 2,200 correctional officers in the last year, but lost another 1,400 to turnover."

and

“Our agency is paying for the training and so they work for our department for two or three years and then leave,” she told the House committee. “The agency is unable to attract and retain a professional and high-quality staff.”

Why you might ask?

The article answers that, "Their review found that the Florida Department of Corrections lost 7,600 officers from 2012 to 2014 and the primary reason was pay."

Sound familiar? Hennepin County pays it's Detention Deputy's at the jail and it's CO's at the workhouse the lowest wages in the seven county metro area.

They can't figure out why there is such high turnover or overtime!

Union Meeting issues

At tonight's Union meeting I had a chance to meet the new stewards from radio. They seem like a good bunch interested in their members needs. Sadly it sounds as if the issues brought up at the last contract negotiations are still unresolved for them. Hard to get vacation time, hard to get a break from your desk and forced in on off days. I wish them well in trying to improve things.

Issues we discussed were the possible shift in the tattoo policy from admin. It is being said that those with tattoo's may have to wear long sleeves. Great for new employees, but current staff with visible tats should be grandfathered in.

The rumor is also out there that once again the admin may be changing uniforms. Which made me ask where we were with the brown leather grievance. After all, three of us paid our portion and the employers part and have yet to be reimbursed. Sadly, after 5 months since the grievance, arbitrator names are still not being struck.... see my April 5th post. The contract says we are only liable for $65 a year. That means three of us wouldn't pay a dime if the employer changed the uniform again this year...if anyone actually followed or enforced the contract.

Also discussed was the grievance over unpaid night shift differentials. The stewards will be putting something out for the members to decide on. Our BA suggested a sunset clause, then it could be reopened during negotiations..of course that would require the employer to actually  negotiate....not just settle with AFSCME and jam it down our throats then try to do something different later.....

color me jaded

yawn

Picket Hennepin County, May 6th