CCPOA.org - 5150 Hotline Archive : November 21, 2007

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CCPOA - 5150 Hotline from Lance Corcoran

5150 update - Nov. 21, 2007
Hello and thank you for calling the CCPOA 5150 hotline. Today is Wednesday, November 21, 2007, and here is the latest from Sacramento:

We continue to wait on the Public Employees Relations Board or PERB to rule on our outstanding Unfair Labor Practice charge against the state. Around the middle of the month PERB contacted CCPOA asking for some clarifications to our original claim. CCPOA filed an amended complaint at the beginning of this week. And, while we remain hopeful, it is important to point out that all of the members of the current PERB were appointed by the Arnold administration. So this fight may continue for some time.

One point that many members need to remember is that CCPOA like many peace officer groups has had extended periods without a contract in the past. There is an anti-labor movement in this country right now and we aren't the only ones who have experienced trouble at the negotiating team. Since we cannot strike legally, we are stuck in the quagmire of the Ralph C. Dills act which does not provide for arbitration when the parties are stuck at impasse. As I have state before, we are in some new waters and we know that there are some who have questioned how we got here. For the complete story on how we got here check the messages from President Mike Jimenez on CCPOA.org it's quite a story. And, here's something to think about, since the 2001 contract CDCR and DJJ have hired anywhere from 1700 to 2000 new officers a year. This means that nearly 13,000 of our rank and file members no nothing but the best contract we ever negotiated. Us old timers need to remind folks of the 1991 5% pay cut, the 3 years for 1995 - 1998 without a contract, and of course 7k. Bottom line, there is a saying, Anyone can hold the helm when the seas are calm - well, in this case the seas are stormy and we are lucky to have a Captain and Executive Council who have been through stormy seas before. That being said, here are just a few of the issues we are working on to protect the members of Unit 6:

1. Restore MOU protection - this goes without saying. We are working every legal angle that we have available to get the best contract for our members without massive givebacks. The state has determined that they want to take us back more than 20 years with respect to working conditions. We are not interested in buying a ticket on that time machine and will continue to fight for the best for our members - both rank and file and supervisory.

2. Protect the 3.0 at 50 - there is a County Supervisor out of Orange County that is challenging the legality of the retroactive application of 3.0 for peace officers. We are actively involved in the legal defense of this vital benefit. Correctional Peace Officers work a tough, dirty, blue collar job that takes an incredible long term toll on our lives. We fought hard for 3.0 and we are going to fight hard to protect it.

3. Protect the DJJ - the assault on the DJJ continues and we are fighting to turn the tide. At a recent Little Hoover Commission hearing DJJ was compared to the Juvenile Rehabilitation Administration from Washington State. Everyone was of the mind that Washington had it right and California had it wrong. Well, let's take a look at the two - In Washington the average age of their offenders is 16.5 years, in California 74% of the DJJ population is 18 or older. Washington has a total 29 murderers, California 113. Robbery - Washington 129, California 672, Rape and sex crimes - Washington 142 commitments, California 320. I mean we have no problem with comparisons but let's make them fair. We are working hard to get this message out. And while CCPOA is all for rehabilitation and redemption - when a juvenile commits a heinous crime you can rest assured that the family of the victim doesn't want to hear that the poor youth was just misunderstood. They want justice.

4. Overcrowding and Understaffing - California remains 46th in the nation with regard to inmate to staff ratios. If we were to get the same ratio of inmates to staff that exists in the state of New York we would need to hire over 25,000 correctional officers in California. It is our goal to not only improve staffing ratios but also alleviate overcrowding. Avenal was designed for around 2600 inmates and now holds over 7000.

5. Enhanced training - CCPOA is working through AB 890 by Assembly member Aghazarian to reinstate CPOST. We currently have virtually no oversight over Department training and the Department lost its accreditation of the apprenticeship program. We go to court in early December regarding this very issue and will continue to work for the passage of AB 890.

6. Stop Privatization - we need to solve California's prison crisis inside California. With forced transfers to out of state prisons, the state needlessly buts correctional officers in danger. The privates do nothing but bring down our entire profession - they believe anyone can be a correctional officer for minimum wage - we know differently.

7. Protect the Integrity of Unit 6 - We want the vacancies filled - but we don't want the wrong person hired. The department recently contracted out the process of background investigations. We have serious concerns regarding none peace officers, non CDCR staff doing backgrounds. There is nothing worse than hiring the wrong person to be a peace officer. They drag us all down.

8. Competitive Pay - we have to maintain competitive pay with other law enforcement agencies if we are going to attract and retain good people. This has always been a priority for CCPOA and we will continue to fight to make sure our members are among the highest paid in the nation.

9. Healthy Workplace - The places that we work are infection factories. MRSA, TB, HIV, Flu, and the common cold are everywhere. CCPOA is working to ensure that we have healthier places to work. Additionally, we are working to ensure that should you become infected that it is a presumption that you got the infection on the job.

10. Lastly, the 2010 Governors race is right around the corner and CCPOA is in a position to have a strong impact on the outcome. CCPOA also announce last week our opposition to Proposition 93 on the February 2008 ballot. This is the proposition that would extend the terms of the existing leadership of the legislature anywhere from 50 to 100%. This is the same leadership that gave us AB 900 which seeks to put another 16,000 inmates in already dangerously overcrowded prisons. 93 is a lie and we urge all members to vote NO.

These are just a few of the issues we continue fight for and against for our members. Of course health care and the rising costs of keeping ourselves and our families healthy is also at the top of the list. But the state is not making it easy - just this month the state stopped deducting dues from fair-share members. Yep, if you go fair-share right now you pay nothing - but before some start to think that they can save some money by going fair-share here's what you lose. Since you pay nothing, you get NOTHING! If there is any allegation or investigation made for a non-paying member after November 1 - you have no representation. No Job Steward, no legal, no nothing. Here's a little more of what you lose:

CCPOA Primary Dental, Western Dental, the CCPOA Vision plan (that's the $120 frame allowance and the 2nd pair of glasses), the 20,000 life insurance policy, the $5,000 accidental death benefit, the Basic CCPOA legal defense fund - so if you are sued by an inmate and the state doesn't defend you it's on you, and the Basic Family Legal Plan through Caldwell Legal.

Actually, we would like to thank the DPA for stopping the collection of Fair-Share because since the word got out on everything that is being lost, our membership has actually gone up. It seems many fair-share members did not realize what they were losing and have decided to become full dues paying members. If you are a fair-share member and wish to become a full member you can find our member application on our web-site ccpoa.org. In order to reinstate you will need to mail a check for 159.74, which is 2 months dues, with the application to CCPOA at 755 Riverpoint Drive in West Sacramento, CA 95605. You will need to go to personnel before November 30, with your union application and fill out a dental form which is STD 692 and a vision form STD 700 and re-enroll in the CCPOA dental and vision plans. You will need to make copies of all 3 documents and fax them as soon as possible to the Insurance Trust at 916-779-6355 in order to avoid a break in coverage. You can mail a thank you card to DPA is you desire.

Well that's all for now. Some supervisors have left messages wanting more in depth information on supervisor issues. CCPOA has always and continues to work for all correctional peace officers both supervisory and rank and file. Everything that we are working on is for the benefit of all members of Unit 6, S06 and R06.

It's the day before Thanksgiving and behalf of all of us at CCPOA we wish you the best of holidays. As bad as it sometimes is, it important to remember that we are blessed to live in the greatest country in the world - please take a moment to remember our troops serving in foreign lands who are in harms way and thousands of miles away from their friends and families. If you need proof that we live in the greatest country in world - just think about this - even the people that hate the USA live here. After the beep you can leave a message if you want. Take care and have a safe shift.

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