What A Correction Officer Should Know

What a Correction Officer Should Know

Good bye Dan Lang

The funeral for Dan Lang, former Detention Deputy (1998-2001) will be held Saturday, June 6, 2009 at St. Francis Xavier Church at 9 - 3rd Street NW, Downtown Buffalo, MN . The visitation will take place from 1100-1400 hours. The service will be from 1400-1515. Interment will follow the service at the St. Francis Cemetary.

Daniel James Lang
May 20, 1966 - Tuesday, June 2, 2009


Daniel James Lang, 43 of Buffalo, MN passed away suddenly June 2, 2009 due to a motorcycle accident.

He was born on May 20, 1966 to Violet and James Lang in Mankato, Minnesota.

Dan is survived by his loving sons: Travis and Justin and their mother Beverly Lang, brother: Mitchell Lang, mother: Violet Lang and many other relatives and friends.

He was preceded in death by his father, James Lang.

A veteran of Wright County Sheriff’s office for over 5 years and formerly of Hennepin County Sheriff’s office, Dan was a very dedicated officer.

Dan enjoyed family vacations, watching sports – especially his two boys playing hockey, boating and most of all riding his motorcycles.

Visitation will be held at St. Francis-Xavier Catholic Church in Buffalo, Saturday June 6, 2009 starting at 11:00 AM. A Mass of Christian Burial will be at 2:00 PM followed by interment at St. Francis Cemetery. Luncheon following interment at the American Legion in Buffalo.

Obituary from Peterson Chapel

Class Action Grievance Filed

Class Action Step 2 Grievance Filed June 3rd, 2009

All grievances for denied and deleted overtime before and after shift have been denied at step 1.

Teamsters Local 320 has combined them into a class action grievance for all affected Detention Deputies and Detention Techs.

Steward Announcement

We have a couple of openings for Union Steward. Self nomination forms will be mailed to all full members homes in the next 2 to 3 weeks. I strongly encourage junior employees to get involved.
Techs, there will no longer be a tech only steward but you are still able to be a steward like the rest of us. Put in!

Hennepin County Taxpayer Watchdog

There's a new blog you might find interesting. The Hennepin County Taxpayer Watchdog.
http://www.taxpayerwatchdog.org/

It's run by Hennepin County Board member Jeff Johnson. He describes it as, "A blog dedicated to the taxpayers of Hennepin County."

He gives out a Golden Hydrant Awards to County tax dollar wasting programs.

Interesting!

Week 1, 28 Day Debacle

The first week of the 28 day schedule is behind us. So far it's been a total debacle. Unlike what was said at the Labor Management Meet and Confers and said at the jail squad meetings, that our shift was to start and end in the locker room, management instead demanded that we be dressed before and after shift on our own time. Conveniently those who could do something took vacation!

In the meantime, overtime put in before shift for dressing and even overtime put in for time after shift waiting to be relieved was deleted!

I filed a formal complaint with the County and hopefully we can resolve this next week.

Keep following orders and putting in for overtime. Keep filing grievances.

Also this next week our business agent and I will be filing a grievance to restore the 1.5% inconvenient work schedule pay we gave up in 2002 for the Holiday arrangement that is now nullified by the 28 day 8 hour schedule.

SOLIDARITY

Inmate Dirty Deeds for your viewing pleasure!

Anyone working in our profession will find much of this familiar!

NOTICE

TEAMSTERS LOCAL 320 DETENTION DEPUTIES AND TECHS

UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE BE AT THE SIGN IN BOARD AT THE START OF YOUR ASSIGNED SHIFT PER ORDER OF THE FACILTY COMMANDER. PUT IN FOR 15 MINUTES OF OVERTIME. IF OVERTIME IS DENIED FILE A GRIEVANCE.

AT THE END OF YOUR SHIFT YOU SHOULD BE OUT OF YOUR UNIFORM AND LEAVING THE LOCKER ROOM. IF NOT ALLOWED TO LEAVE YOUR DUTY STATION BY SUPERVISORY ORDER OR LATE RELIEF. PUT IN FOR 15 MINUTES OF OVERTIME. IF OVERTIME IS DENIED FILE A GRIEVANCE.

These issues were dealt with at the Labor Management Meet and Confers but apparently were not passed down to the Jail Administration. Those who can straighten this out are out town and this may not be settled until next week. 8 hours work for 8 hours pay!

Wade Laszlo,
Chief Steward Teamsters Local 320

Corrections News and Views Volume 1

28 day cluster fuck

This, the first day of the 28 day 8 hour schedule has begun as a cluster fuck. I ended up on the phone with a lieutenant at midnight after members were told they were to be signed in at the start of their shift. Then today I get a call about an email from the jail Captain telling us to be at the sign in board at the start of our shift.

This is my email response to the Captain:


Captain,

Everything has changed since the implementation of the 28 day 8 hour schedule. The employer shortened our day to 8 hours from 8.5. We will not give the employer that extra half hour for free. At the Labor Management Meet and Confers the Hennepin County Labor Relations, Chief Deputy Carlson and Inspectors Roberts and Martin were informed that our day begins in the locker room pursuant to the unanimous Supreme Court decision regarding uniforms. At those meetings Inspector Roberts said that we will be expected to be in the locker room at the start of our shift and at our duty station 15 minutes later. Apparently this information was not passed on to you. This is not a contract item, this is not negotiable, this is Federal Law.

"Therefore, the time, no matter how minimal, that an employee is required to spend putting on and taking off gear on the employer's premises is compensable "work" under the FLSA."http://www.dol.gov/esa/whd/FieldBulletins/AdvisoryMemo2006_2.htm

If you require our members to be dressed at the start of the shift we will expect 15 minutes of overtime every day.

Wade Laszlo
Chief Steward Teamsters Local 320

Members, do not disobey any direct orders. Follow them and put in for overtime. Then file a grievance if the overtime is denied. The 8 hour day is their schedule!

Real cost saving for the County

The State will finally end the sending of short term offenders to the county jails. For 6 years the State has been sending it's inmates to the County Workhouse and only paying $10 a day for housing, food and medical!

Read the story here.

Teamsters Local 320 says, No Give Backs!

As local governments ask for "give backs" Teamsters Local 320 Business Agent Tom Perkin's says "no."


Both Ramsey County and Washington County have asked Teamsters Correctional Officers to re-open signed contracts to take away wages. Both were told "no," by our B.A. Tom Perkins. A signed contract is a contract.


To Hennepin County we also say no give backs. Four years ago we sat in Sheriff McGowan's office with Hennepin County Labor Relations and were asked to accept 0% in cost of living wages for two years. We were told this would be a "once in a lifetime" request. Unlike the licensed deputy association, we agreed to this and did not arbitrate (they lost). We, the largest jail in the upper Midwest, fell behind in wages to most smaller metro area jails. Our incomes were also decimated by rising health care costs and gasoline prices. In short our real income shrunk dramatically.


This last contract we finally got a cost of living adjustment and will not give it back! Especially in light of the fact the county will most likely offer a 0% cost of living raise this next contract round.

What about the County Board's furlough program? We will not participate. Asking you to "give back" three days is equivalent to a three day suspension for being a public employee! Not to mention Sheriff Stanek's new schedule that requires us to work fifteen more days a year for the same wage! We are essential employees that keep dangerous people off of the street. We are not tax payer leaching pencil pushers as Governor Pawlenty would have some believe. Nor glorified security guards as others would have you believe. Corrections Officers have higher injury and workers compensation rates then police.

We will not reopen a signed contract. We can't control what the County offers us this year in negotiations, but I'll be damned if we give back money that's been agreed upon. Money we will never make up for in the future. We provide the public a vital service and are not the cause of government waste.

Walmart's War On Workers

Arbitration Update

The arbitration for excessive discipline given for a misdemeanor DWI is moving ahead. The list of arbitrators should be picked in the next 2 to 4 weeks. Teamsters Local 320 has made this a priority. Our business Agent Tom Perkins said that it is being moved forward quickly because time off like this for a one time DWI is unprecedented and unheard of in ANY other jail. Our B.A. said that the Stanek administration was again given a chance to reduce the discipline and avoid arbitration.

Up Coming Events

MNTLEL Public Safety Stewards Training May, 6th.

Stewards call 612/378-8700 to reserve your spot. Location: Radisson Hotel, Roseville

Members 28 Day Informational Meeting.

May 7th 12:30 PM and 3PM at Broadway Pizza, Minneapolis (union members only, no fair share).

Making sense of chaos

The Sheriff's Admin and County Labor relations met with every bargaining unit in the Sheriff's Office to try to make some sense on how this is 28 day schedule to be implemented.

This was our Teamster input:

1. Days off must be primarily decided by seniority. To make things less burdensome for our newer employees everyone should be required to work at least one weekend a month. *Dog watchers who put in for 2 or more days off together should be granted those for recovery time. Also we asked that each member be given 2 "dot" days each 28 day period for days you absolutely have to have off, i.e. getting married, etc.

2. 8 hours work for 8 hours pay. Our day begins and ends in the locker room.

3. We expect the 1.5% inconvenient work schedule pay we gave up for our present holiday arrangement to be restored with the implementation of the 28 day schedule on May 24, 2009. Article 3, sections 2 and 3 of our Agreement.

4. We expect 10% of our staff to be allowed off on Vacation per day.

In addition,
*Because the schedule changed after the Prime Time Vacation bid, Prime Time Vacation for 2009 should be honored in the manner it has been implemented for the past 30 years. In other words the 3 days before and after Prime Time Vacation should be allowed as regular days off. OOOVVVVVVOOO

IMPORTANT: They will attempt to accommodate every one's off days they put in that are adjacent to their prime time vacation THIS year only. When we are able to submit our preferences it is vitally important that you write in the remarks section that this is part of your vacation

Federal Law-You Must Be Paid For Putting On Your Uniform

The Supreme Court unanimously upheld that you must be PAID for time spent putting on and off your uniform!

"Therefore, the time, no matter how minimal, that an employee is required to spend putting on and taking off gear on the employer’s premises is compensable “work” under the FLSA."

http://www.dol.gov/esa/whd/FieldBulletins/AdvisoryMemo2006_2.htm

What is being done

(This is post has been rewritten to reflect what I'm putting out in a newsletter and cleaned up a bit. 4/4/09)

The Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office is exercising their right under Article 10, section 3 of our Agreement to change our schedule from the current 6/3 to a 28 day, 8 hour schedule.

The Sheriff has decided to implement this schedule despite unanimous opposition. When asked if we could poll our members about alternate schedules they might prefer to this they responded with, "We are going to an 8 hour schedule and will entertain no other options."

The Administration has been told 8 hours work for 8 hours pay. By federal law our day BEGINS when we ENTER the locker room.

We will file for overtime every time we are relieved late.

*Their entire schedule is based on the belief you will show up early and stay late for free. They then take the half hour you now get paid for, you work it for free and they take that time and convert it into more work days for you. They want an 8 hour schedule with no overlap, give it to them!

We expect the 1.5% inconvenient work schedule pay we gave up 10 years ago to get the holidays the way they are to be restored now that management has changed the schedule.
We are stating that everyone must work at least one weekend a month. This will make it easier for everyone to get weekends off.

We are asking that dog watch deputies who put in for 2 or more days off together get them as they need recovery time.

We are setting up a meeting so we can earn and use comp time.

We got Chief Deputy Carlson to commit to allowing (10%) 6 off a shift for vacation.

This is how Holidays will work under their new schedule:

If you work a Holiday you get time and a half for that Holiday. You no longer bank or cash out deferred holidays, you must take a different day off during the SAME 28 day period. So for example if you work Veterans Day, Thanksgiving and the Day After Thanksgiving you would get time and a half for those three Holidays and HAVE to take 3 different days off that period, so you'd get 11 days off that period.

28 Day Schedule is coming

The 28 day/8 hour schedule is coming. The Sheriff's Office has said it will be implemented May 24, 2009. This is management's right under Article 10, Section 3 of our Agreement. This move has many implications on other parts of our Agreement and we will keep you posted.

The Union discussed the possibility of 10 hour shifts or 12 hour shifts on a 28 day schedule but management, "will not entertain other options" for us or any other bargaining unit at this time.

It was expressed unanimously by our business agent and all stewards that our members were not in favor of this change but it is their right and they are determined to go ahead with it.

Website updated up and running

Our Detention Home website is up and running. I've changed the look. Check it out.