Happy Labor Day

AFSCME Workhouse questions answered

I am getting emailed many questions from Hennepin County Workhouse AFSCME members. Just to be sure the word is spread beyond just the emailers I will post some of the answers here to questions and AFSCME misinformation..

Misinformation: AFSCME will get a raise but if you go to the MNPEA you won't.

Fact: Raises come from the County not the Union. The County typically offers every organized bargaining unit the SAME raise. Because AFSCME always lumps their essential Corrections Officers with the non-essential clerks and janitors you actually have a BETTER chance of getting a bigger cost of living adjustment with MNPEA. Consider that Hennepin County CO's are the lowest paid in the seven county metro area. You would not do worse than the county offer, but have a real good chance at doing better if you bargain as essentials with MNPEA.

Misinformation: Side agreements like our bid agreements will disappear.

Fact:  Those agreements are between the employer and YOU, the bargaining unit. Those agreements will remain intact. All of the side agreements we had as Teamsters carried over when we switched to the MNPEA. You can also negotiate NEW side agreements with the employer as MNPEA members.

Misinformation:  You will pay MNPEA $39 a check in dues.

Fact: Dues are only $39 a month and includes the Legal Protection Plan.

Misinformation:  The MNPEA legal plan only covers up to $5,000 and they decide who they cover and who they won't. 

Fact:  Right from the MNPEA website: 

I.  Criminal Charges – Trial & Defense: Complete legal representation (all attorneys fees paid) for criminal charges (including DWI and Criminal Traffic matters- meaning where jail time may be potentially be imposed), whether job related or not, on duty or off duty, within the State of Minnesota.  Covers all attorneys fees for all stages of representation, from pre-charging to sentencing. 

The $5,000 number comes from the part of the MNPEA Plan covering other expenses:

Additionally, all costs (costs are not attorneys fees- these are expenses the firm pays out of pocket or advances to the client’s case) incurred by the Firm shall have a maximum coverage of $5,000 per case.  Cost may include, but are not limited to, online legal research fees, mileage (excluding Fowler’s mileage), filing fees, copy expenses, fax expenses, obtaining police reports, expert witness fees and retainers, depositions, statements, fingerprints, collection of physical evidence, hiring private investigators, etc.  For costs in excess of $5,000, the Member shall be personally responsible. 

There are several MNPEA members who have used this plan for things ranging from DWI, Disorderly Conduct, Domestic Assault and even a fire pit that got out of control. They did not spend a penny.

Also consider how much you would spend to defend yourself from an inmate allegation of sexual misconduct under the PREA.

Misinformation: We will wait until after the contract is settled. After all the AFSCME State Corrections Officers got a 3% and 3% cost of living. We don't want to jeopardize that. 

Fact:  If you wait until after the AFSCME contract is settled you will not be able to drop them for 2 years. The open period for contracts is between 120 days and 60 days before the contract expires. For Hennepin County that means you can only change exclusive reps in September and October every two years. Again, the County will offer everyone the same raise as a starting point.

Changing Representation should not be taken lightly.  Ask yourself these questions:

Does my business agent represent the rank and file concerns or the larger political ones of the Union?

Does my Union back me when I have a grievance?

Does my money go to overpaid fat cats and politicians rather than arbitrations for member concerns?

Does the Union care about my shop, or are we lumped in with job classes we have nothing in common with?

If I am a Public Employee does my Union have Legal Representaion, because my job could depend on it?

Why hasn't my Union paid any attention to us until we started filling out cards to leave? 

Can I take another 2 years of AFSCME?

If you are happy with your current representation vote to stay.

If not, it's time to end a bad relationship, vote to join MNPEA and get the representation you deserve.

REMEMBER THIS IS A BLOG. FEEL FREE TO POST QUESTIONS ON THIS BLOG AND I CAN ANSWER FOR ALL TO SEE. YOU CAN POST ANONYMOUSLY. 

An Open Letter To AFSCME Members Seeking To Join MNPEA

Let me preface this by saying that I am a CO and a Union Steward. I am a member of the MNPEA, not an employee. This is based on my experience of us Hennepin County Detention Deputies decertifying Teamsters Local 320 two years ago and us than certifying the MNPEA as our exclusive rep.

Once your current Union discovers that you are filling out cards to leave, the propaganda begins. Teamsters sent out a mailing telling us we could lose our seniority, benefits and that the contract would be non-existent until it was negotiated from scratch with the new Union. 

Fact: The contract is between you and the employer. The ONLY thing changing is who you have to represent your interest in your part of the contract. 

Every aspect of the contract between you and the employer stays the same.

Once the Bureau of Mediation Services (BMS) has your cards authorizing an election they will mail out a ballot to every member of your bargaining unit. Each individual will vote in the privacy of their home and mail the ballot back to the BMS.

The BMS will set a date to count the ballots. On that day witnesses from the MNPEA and AFSCME will watch the BMS count the ballots. Whoever gets at least 51% of the ballots returned will be your groups Exclusive Representative. Teamsters Local 320 only got one vote when we voted them out.

Representation changes hands at midnight that night if the MNPEA wins, and your legal coverage begins. If the MNPEA loses then nothing changes with you and your current Union.

Prior to the election your present Union MUST continue to represent you in grievances, discipline, etc. If they do not they are open for a Failure to Represent Lawsuit. Larger Unions have been known to threaten members. That is not legal. 

Once the change was made with us, the MNPEA held Steward elections (some of us had been removed as Stewards by Teamsters) then we proceeded to negotiations.

I really hope the Hennepin County Workhouse CO's come over. You are essential employees and have been forced to bargain with the non-essentials. To my knowledge AFSCME never gave you a contract arbitration. If you chose the MNPEA you will bargain only with and as essential employees. Your salary will not be comparable to the non-essentials.

If any of you has a questions feel free to email me at wade.laszlo@gmail.com

In solidarity,

Wade Laszlo

Detention Deputy Down

LODD: PHOENIX, AZ

Detention Officer Jorge Vargas
Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office, AZ
EOW: 8/8/2013

Officer Jorge Vargas was murdered Thursday morning at 4 am, after being shot in the driveway of his Arizona home while he prepared to head to work.

It appeared that Officer Vargas might have been working on his truck since the hood was up and the driver-side door was open. Vargas was found on the ground beside that truck.

Officer Vargas was an eight-year veteran of the department's Custody Support Bureau in the jail’s food factory, but he often came into contact with inmates.

Officer Vargas is survived by his loving wife, his 5 year old son and his parents.

God comfort his family, friends and partners during this difficult time...Pray God accepts his soul...

RIP Brother...

http://www.azfamily.com/news/Suspect-in-West-Phoenix-shooting-on-the-loose-218830801.html

Officer Safety Warning

There are people who are knocking on the doors of the Hennepin County Detention Deputies, Techs and Dispatchers from AFSCME. We believe they have improperly obtained non-public data to do this. There is an ongoing investigation being conducted by the Hennepin County Sheriff's Office.

WARNING: One of the people going to our homes is a CONVICTED SEX OFFENDER. The victim was just 14 years old. We do not know the criminal  backgrounds of the rest of them. USE CAUTION IF THEY APPROACH YOUR HOME.

This the sex offender's mugshot:

Click here for his most recent picture.

Just yesterday a Maricopa County Detention Deputy was murdered in his driveway as he prepared to go to work. Use Caution.

There is a special meeting being held Monday. Please attend, it is posted on the bulletin boards at work.

MNPEA Legal in Action

Last night I received a call from one of our stewards at the Hennepin County Jail. There had been a critical incident. He called the MNPEA 24 Hour Hotline. In no time at all Rob Fowler and another MNPEA attorney were on scene to be with our members as they gave statements to investigators.

Thanks again Rob and MNPEA.

Ryan Hanson, AFSCME, Publish Corrections Officers Addresses

This is Ryan Hanson. He is an organizer with AFSCME. His card has been left at the homes of  our Hennepin County Detention Deputies and Dispatchers.

He, along with Hennepin County Workhouse Corrections Officer Dale Blom, Minnesota  State Patrol 911 Dispatcher Megan Hennessey, and Minnesota DOC Stillwater Prison Corrections Officer Bill Stephens are visiting our homes with lists they claim are "public information." 

I then must ask the question. How would Minnesota State Correctional Officers, Minnesota State Patrol 911 Operators and Hennepin County Adult Corrections Facility Corrections Officers feel if their names and home addresses were published? As fellow Corrections Officers isn't this a major security violation? How unnerving would it be to your family to have two strangers at their door asking for you by name as a CO? Do you really trust a Union that thinks this is OK?

Would you have a problem if your private data was passed out for people to knock on your door? 

This tells me AFSCME has no respect for workers, and especially no regard for the safety of Corrections Officers.

IMPORTANT NOTICE

AFSCME people have been coming to members doors. If they/when they show up get their name, a picture if you can and ask how they got your address.

Let a steward know we are compiling a comprehensive list of everyone they have visited at home or called.

The information they are using is not public.

There will be a meeting in the near future with a VERY important announcement.

AFSCME in your kitchen

GoAnimate.com: AFSCME+in+your+kitchen by theunholy666


Like it? Create your own at GoAnimate.com. It's free and fun!

Knock, knock

The Hennepin County Workhouse Corrections Officers are strongly considering joining the MNPEA. The advantage would be that rather than being lumped in with the non-essentials as AFSCME always does, they would finally bargain as essential employees. The Hennepin County ACF Corrections Officers and the Hennepin County Detention Deputies could bargain as the majority of the Essential Hennepin County Employees and it wouldn't matter what the non-essentials settled for.

 AFSCME Union reps are calling our members and even knocking on our doors. Scared? They should be. All of the Arrowhead AFSCME corrections groups have already joined MNPEA. .See the full list of MNPEA groups  here. Of course one must wonder where they got a list of Corrections Officers names, addresses and phone numbers. Also, in States like Wisconsin over 40% of AFSCME's bargaining units went FAIR SHARE. Why? They don't represent their members. While AFSCME members have endured wage freezes and cuts, AFSCME CEO's, er Leaders took hefty salaries. For instance,.Intl. President Gerald Mcentee made a cool $1,121,988 in 2012. Go to Union Facts.com to see all of their salaries. You'll get the point.

Let's compare representation:

MNPEA Dues - $39 a month, including the Legal Protection

AFSCME Dues-1.5% taken out of every check.

MNPEA Legal Plan- Full on and Off Duty protection, no extra cost.

AFSCME-NO LEGAL DEFENSE! As a Corrections Officer why would you risk criminal and legal action out of your pocket? Especially in the era of the PREA (Prison Rape Elimination Act).

MNPEA, Attorneys at Internal Affairs interviews

AFSCME, Not

MNPEA, Attorneys at Step 2 Grievances

AFSCME, Not

MNPEA, 24 hour hotline. Attorneys available for all critical incidents, day and night.

AFSCME, Not

Maybe AFSCME should spend less on CEO size salaries and politicians and more on members.

Workhouse Corrections Officers, every contract they force you to bargain with non-essential employees. By law, you could have bargained separately, and should have. As essentials you have no right to strike, instead you have the right to binding arbitration. AFSCME has NEVER arbitrated your contract.

One more point. For years us Detention Deputies wanted to be in the same bargaining unit as the Workhouse CO's. We had two obstacles. Teamsters Local 320 and AFSCME. They had a "no raid" clause and required whoever decertified the one to go a full year non-union before joining the other. Get rid of the last obstetrical. Join MNPEA!

Arbitrator Picked

The Arbitrator has been picked for the Sick Time Grievance. It is former Hennepin County Judge Harry S. Crump.  I will keep you posted on the date. The issue is that the Hennepin County Sheriff's Office arbitrarily created a 96 hour sick time limit in June of 2011 without negotiating it, then enforced it retroactively one year. Since then people have been written up for taking sick family members to hospitals, pregnancies even using fitness for health!!

The weird part is, is that at a time the County became self insured the Sheriff's Office is forcing people to go to the doctor on monitored sick leave.

The contract is clear on what you can use sick time for, not how much can be used.

IN THE NEWS

Corrections Corporation of America Loses Four Prison Contracts This Month

This is an interesting read. Private prisons billing the State for posts they weren't manning.

What happens when Internal Affairs is Wrong?

What happens when Internal Affairs is wrong?

Well, it just cost the California Department of Corrections about $1,000,000 and "Now the California Correctional Peace Officers Association wants the investigators investigated."

Full story here: The Sacramento Bee

I've been a Union Steward probably longer then a lot of you have been in Corrections. I've sat in Internal Affairs investigations where they were just fact finding, but I've also sat in ones where it appeared there was a pre-determined outcome they were steering towards. 

I also have personally been involved on two occasions when our own Internal Affairs has violated our members Garrity Rights. 

I can only advise, never go to Internal Affairs without contacting our MNPEA attorneys. If you get a letter to go to I.A. call 651 287-8883. Do not go alone. 

Do not be pressured to give a statement without representation because they are in a hurry. It is your contractual and legal right.

Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/2013/06/04/5468605/judge-says-witnesses-evidence.html#storylink=cpy

Results of Steward Election

The following members were elected Steward in the Hennepin County Detention Deputies Unit:

       1.  Phil Miles

       2.  Wade Lazlo

       3.  Ben Ebbers

       4.  Jason Herlitz

       5.  Mike Smith

       6.  Newton D'Taillefer

       7.Ted Westerdahl

Thanks for your support. We are here for you!

May MNPEA member meeting

There is a MNPEA member meeting

on Thursday, May 9 at 6 PM

2233 N Hamline Ave 

Roseville, MN 55113

The meeting will be in the basement meeting room by the swimming pool.

MNPEA also is passing on that it is National Correctional Officers Week.

We also would like to welcome the Edina Police Dispatchers Unit!

Steward Election Ballots

Look in your mail boxes. Union Steward election ballots will be in all MNPEA member boxes. Choose up to 7 names.

March 15th Grievance Hearing

Today our attorney, a grievant and myself met with the employer for a Step 2 Grievance hearing regarding the 16 hour rule and the Tattoo issue.

16 Hour Grievance: This arose because a night shift deputy was written up for violating the 16 hour rule, when in reality he hadn't. As you know we are not allowed to work more than 16 hours of overtime in a seven day period.

He worked 16 hours between a Thursday and the following Wednesday. He then signed up and worked the first 4 hours on a Friday. Because a night shift begins at 10:30 PM and runs until 6:30 AM, the payroll system counted it as if he worked it on Thursday rather then Friday he signed up for. Never mind the same system correctly paid him for the same thing a couple of months ago.

Management has 10 days to make a decision. I think our case was well presented.

The Tattoo issue: There's nothing that doesn't make my stomach churn about this. The Union position is that this is a new condition of employment and therefore needs to be negotiated. Per our Agreement.

The employer position is that Sheriff Stanek has the right to set grooming standards, per a lawsuit Sheriff Omodt won in District Court in the 80's over mustaches and fingernails. Therefore they believe, the Sheriff has the authority, they won't hear the grievance and if we want to pursue it we can go to court.

The Union position is that Tattoos are not "grooming," and therefore should be negotiated as a condition of employment.

I did bring up our displeasure at the fact that the Detention Deputy they let go under the Tattoo policy was denied unemployment because the County told the State Unemployment Office she was "fired for misconduct." The County said that she has since appealed and is now receiving unemployment.

So here we stand.

Reminder:

The sheet to self nominate for a Union Steward Position is up on the bulletin board until March 23rd. Get involved!

The jail experience from a customer point of view

This blog post was forwarded to me. It's a first hand account of a blogger who had the misfortune of getting a "tour" of our facility. He describes his experience from the squad car on. It's entertaining, accurate and enlightening from a jailer's perspective. The writer is not a regular, just a guy who didn't take care of some business and ended up at our facility.

I encourage you to read it and smile:

So I Went to Jail Last Night.

Wait there's more (I got the link from the first comment on this post):

So I Went to Jail Last Night: Bonus Track

Tattoo Gate-Hennepin County Sheriff's Office

This is a real life example of my Semper Fi Don't Apply post.  Star Tribune reporter, Rochelle Olson wrote a story about Ryan Stevens and several other Hennepin County Sheriff's Office applicants who were turned away simply because of the new "no visible Tattoo" policy. 

From what the article presented, Mr. Stevens seems an ideal candidate. He already works in the field as a Corrections Officer with the Minnesota Department of Corrections and has a degree in Law Enforcement. 

Our Union, the Minnesota Public Employees Association (MNPEA) has an active grievance against the Sheriff's Office regarding this policy. The reason being that Sheriff Stanek has suddenly made Tattoos a condition of employment without negotiating it in violation of our contract. Unfortunately, unilateral action without regard to the contract seems to be a hallmark of this administration.

Sheriff Stanek's Personal Information Officer is quoted in the Star Tribune article saying in response to the Tattoo issue: 

"Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Lisa Kiava said the priority is the safety of the people in the jail. About 70 percent of the male inmates have used illegal narcotics in the hours before they are arrested and some are drunk while they are being booked. She said another 30 percent are mentally ill.

"We are working with a challenging population," she said"

What the hell kind of response is that? The Sheriff's Office response doesn't even address the issue. Maybe the Sheriff is still stuck in gun control talking points mode. 

Many of us long term Detention Deputies and the Licensed Deputies have ink. It's never been an issue. The article even states that the Sheriff's Office is the only Hennepin County Department with such a policy. It's not an issue at the County Workhouse or Juvenile Center. This appears to be Sheriff Stanek's personal issue.

Policies such as this will only make it increasingly difficult to hire good people. The Sheriff's Office must already overcome the fact that the Hennepin County jail has the lowest starting pay of any seven county metro area jail (even though it's the largest and most dangerous), employees must pay a lot of money to park downtown and the current schedule makes it almost impossible to get weekends off until an employee has been there for five years.

Good luck Mr. Stevens, you seem a good candidate and I'm sure you'll find a good job in the field. The loss is on the Hennepin County Sheriff's Office that let a potentially good employee slip away over something as trivial as tattoos.

Semper Fi? Don't Apply!

Hey Marines and other veterans. Proud of your service? Did you get a visible tattoo on your arm?

Well you are not welcome to work for the Hennepin County Sheriff's Office!

The Hennepin County Sheriff's Office in Minnesota will not hire you. They have a new no visible tattoo policy and are enforcing it with a vengeance for their new hires and perspective hires.

This week a newly hired detention deputy of four months was walked out. She had a three year old tattoo on her arm that said, MPLS (short for Minneapolis).

They never noticed it during her back-grounding or training. Even though she wore a short sleeved polo shirt for training.

They didn't notice it until about 4 months into her employment. I'm told someone noticed it on her while watching a training film she was in. She was told to remove it or resign. She did neither.She offered to keep it covered. Not enough. This week she was walked out.

In discussing the tattoo policy at one of her hearings I asked about veterans with tattoos. I was told they had already turned some away.

So much for veteran friendly.

So I repeat, Semper Fi? Don't apply!


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Dean Enge hs passed

Dean Enge, worked at the Hennepin County Adult Corrections Facility (the Workhouse) as a Senior Corrections Officer for 26 years. He was the Chief Steward for their AFSCME Corectional Officers for many years.

Most of you will remember him as a Workhouse Transport Driver. I will always remember him as a Union Steward that worked hard for his members.

Rest in Peace. You will be missed.

See his obituary for full details.

Funeral services for Dean David Enge will be held on Saturday, February 2nd, 2013 at 6:00 P.M. at The Peterson Chapel in Buffalo. Pastor Phillip Jackson will officiate. 

A visitation will be held on Saturday, February 2nd from 4-7 P.M. Pastor Phillip Jackson will officiate.

Honorary Casket Bearers are all The Employees of The Hennepin County Adult Correctional Facility.

Arrangements for Dean Enge are by The Peterson Chapel in Buffalo. Online condolences may be made to www.thepetersonchapel.com