UNINO VOTE

I hear the union vote will be upon us shortly. Here is a little interesting reading to get you thinking before the vote:


Once again, the PBA has published misleading information and tried to pass it off as fact. As I read the literature that came in the mail today, I was disgusted with the PBA’s desperate attempt to salvage their “failed” union. This mailer made me feel glad that I dropped the PBA back in October. It was quite frankly, ridiculous!
The flyer begins with the statement, “Sheriff Gee means well…The Sheriff says he’ll give you a lawyer so you don’t need PBA legal defense…but what happens when you need to sue the Sheriff’s Office?” First of all, how many times does someone sue the Sheriff? Next, the flyer raises the question, “What if I’m not popular with management? Who decides to give me a lawyer or deny me legal representation?” It is in the best interest of the office to defend you! If you let the PBA represent you and they lose, YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY JUDGMENTS AGAINST YOU! If the office defends you, the office will pay the ENTIRE AMOUNT! Why would you take the risk of allowing a PBA attorney to defend you, when you can have a BETTER ATTORNEY at your side for free?

The next thing in the mailer stated, “What if my case is complicated, time consuming and very expensive? Will the Sheriff’s Office really invest hundreds of thousands of dollars defending one Deputy?" The PBA answered this question by saying, “The PBA will pay your legal defense costs in criminal AND civil cases. PBA has spent millions defending our 36,000 law enforcement officer members in Florida. We will never leave you high and dry.”
HMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM…Maybe we should ask former deputies Brock, Connors and Choy if they agree with this PBA claim. One of the board members reportedly stated during the Brock case that the PBA was not going to be spending any more money on him, and HE WAS DROPPED! Doesn’t that sound like they “left him HIGH AND DRY?” Let me explain something, the Sheriff’s Office has a long history of defending its employees. I can think of two cases that clearly illustrate this point; namely, Madiedo and Fitspatrick. Both of these cases are public record, so they can be discussed openly. Both of these cases involve deputies who clearly made bad decisions. The office defended BOTH of these deputies, who were clearly at fault, and even paid the judgments against them. (Over 60k for Fitspatrick and 100k for Madiedo) Not only did the office pay for their defense, the office paid the penalties!!! I CHALLENGE ANYONE TO NAME ONE INSTANCE WHERE THE PBA PAID A JUDGMENT FOR ONE OF ITS MEMBERS!!! Why would you take the risk of letting a PBA attorney defend you? Could you afford to take the risk…I couldn’t!
According to the PBA By-Laws, “The right to determine whether a member is entitled to legal representation by an Association attorney shall be initially determined by the Charter President and is a power reserved to the Charter.” This clearly does not sound like a guarantee to me! It sounds to me like the PBA Charter Board decides your fate, and can drop you at any time…ask Brock! Another important issue involves representation. The PBA guarantees you representation during certain administrative proceedings…NOT AN ATTORNEY! Recently, the Detention Chapter President showed up to represent a patrol deputy in a disciplinary hearing! Are you kidding me!!! What does a Detention Deputy know about the policies and procedures of patrol? Just like many of us would not have a clue about detention policies or procedures, there is no way that a detention representative will be familiar enough with our procedures to be of any assistance. Is this who you want representing you?

I realize that the PBA is in crisis mode right now. This week, the two most respected Board Members resigned and actually quit the PBA. With hundreds of members steadily dropping the union, our future is quite clear. By the end of next month, Sheriff Gee will finally have the opportunity to prove himself. I truly believe that our office will be a much better place without the union and we can start to come together as an agency.

Be safe everyone!

SCAB

scared of someone speaking the truth?

This isn't the Sheriff's office it's Plant City PD and we need the union here!!!!

So as I see it PCPD needs a union hmmmmmmmmmm. Lets see if we use guest 3's logic then there is no chance the union will mess with or screw up anything with a 70 (union) member dept. because they inly screw things up at a 3,000 plus member dept. HCSO is in the process of a decertification vote but i guess that shouldn't make us stop and think. The union has lost some of it's top board members and yet that shouldn't make us stop and think. The union has been moving along at a snails pace with our vote and has been so forthcoming with information and answering our questions so that shouldn't make us think. hmmmmmmmmmmmmm. We have to meet with a member of the fire dept. so they could tell us about their union because our choice for a union won't think of doing that but I guess GUEST 3 is right we should just vote them in so they can screw us officially instead of just unofficially.

It appears you are mixing facts. If you are charged criminally for something you did while on duty, you should be defended by a lawyer paid for by the dept. It doesn't always work that way though (see Armand). Just because the dept pays for an attorney, doesn't mean it will help you (see Dixon).

The PBA does help you when you are terminated or punished by PCPD for questionable reasons (happens frequently).

Instead of pointing only at HCSO, look at TPD. Many officers have been punished or terminated wrongly and regained their jobs. HCSO has terminated deputies only to have to reinstate them. Talk to many of the older deputies who were there under Sheriff Henderson and prior to the union coming in and see what they have to say. Without a union, you have few rights to employment. Many agencies without a union, including PCPD, skate the edges of the Policemans bill of rights. If an officer is punished or terminated, he has a right to request a hearing. However; if the chief disagrees with the finding, he does not have to reverse the punishment or termination.

The only one who benefits from a Police Dept without a Union is the Chief of Police and the City. The Chief of Police is free to make any deal he wants regardless of whether it benefits the officers. The City benefits from the fact they can terminate the Chief of Police if he does not do what they want (provide a low budget with few benefits which keeps costs down).

I hear the union vote will be upon us shortly. Here is a little interesting reading to get you thinking before the vote:


Once again, the PBA has published misleading information and tried to pass it off as fact. As I read the literature that came in the mail today, I was disgusted with the PBA’s desperate attempt to salvage their “failed” union. This mailer made me feel glad that I dropped the PBA back in October. It was quite frankly, ridiculous!
The flyer begins with the statement, “Sheriff Gee means well…The Sheriff says he’ll give you a lawyer so you don’t need PBA legal defense…but what happens when you need to sue the Sheriff’s Office?” First of all, how many times does someone sue the Sheriff? Next, the flyer raises the question, “What if I’m not popular with management? Who decides to give me a lawyer or deny me legal representation?” It is in the best interest of the office to defend you! If you let the PBA represent you and they lose, YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY JUDGMENTS AGAINST YOU! If the office defends you, the office will pay the ENTIRE AMOUNT! Why would you take the risk of allowing a PBA attorney to defend you, when you can have a BETTER ATTORNEY at your side for free?

The next thing in the mailer stated, “What if my case is complicated, time consuming and very expensive? Will the Sheriff’s Office really invest hundreds of thousands of dollars defending one Deputy?" The PBA answered this question by saying, “The PBA will pay your legal defense costs in criminal AND civil cases. PBA has spent millions defending our 36,000 law enforcement officer members in Florida. We will never leave you high and dry.”
HMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM…Maybe we should ask former deputies Brock, Connors and Choy if they agree with this PBA claim. One of the board members reportedly stated during the Brock case that the PBA was not going to be spending any more money on him, and HE WAS DROPPED! Doesn’t that sound like they “left him HIGH AND DRY?” Let me explain something, the Sheriff’s Office has a long history of defending its employees. I can think of two cases that clearly illustrate this point; namely, Madiedo and Fitspatrick. Both of these cases are public record, so they can be discussed openly. Both of these cases involve deputies who clearly made bad decisions. The office defended BOTH of these deputies, who were clearly at fault, and even paid the judgments against them. (Over 60k for Fitspatrick and 100k for Madiedo) Not only did the office pay for their defense, the office paid the penalties!!! I CHALLENGE ANYONE TO NAME ONE INSTANCE WHERE THE PBA PAID A JUDGMENT FOR ONE OF ITS MEMBERS!!! Why would you take the risk of letting a PBA attorney defend you? Could you afford to take the risk…I couldn’t!
According to the PBA By-Laws, “The right to determine whether a member is entitled to legal representation by an Association attorney shall be initially determined by the Charter President and is a power reserved to the Charter.” This clearly does not sound like a guarantee to me! It sounds to me like the PBA Charter Board decides your fate, and can drop you at any time…ask Brock! Another important issue involves representation. The PBA guarantees you representation during certain administrative proceedings…NOT AN ATTORNEY! Recently, the Detention Chapter President showed up to represent a patrol deputy in a disciplinary hearing! Are you kidding me!!! What does a Detention Deputy know about the policies and procedures of patrol? Just like many of us would not have a clue about detention policies or procedures, there is no way that a detention representative will be familiar enough with our procedures to be of any assistance. Is this who you want representing you?

I realize that the PBA is in crisis mode right now. This week, the two most respected Board Members resigned and actually quit the PBA. With hundreds of members steadily dropping the union, our future is quite clear. By the end of next month, Sheriff Gee will finally have the opportunity to prove himself. I truly believe that our office will be a much better place without the union and we can start to come together as an agency.

Be safe everyone!

apparently YOU are mixing facts! ask cotnoir how much he paid for his legal defense. zero

WHY DONT YOU GOTO TAMPA, OR HCSO SINCE THEY ALREADY HAVE A UNION AND ALSO MAKE MORE MONEY. IF YOU DO THAT IT WILL SOLVE YOUR PROBLEMS. OH, THAT'S RIGHT NO ONE WILL HIRE YOU SO WE ARE STUCK WITH YOUR COMPLAINING HERE

WHY DONT YOU GOTO TAMPA, OR HCSO SINCE THEY ALREADY HAVE A UNION AND ALSO MAKE MORE MONEY. IF YOU DO THAT IT WILL SOLVE YOUR PROBLEMS. OH, THAT'S RIGHT NO ONE WILL HIRE YOU SO WE ARE STUCK WITH YOUR COMPLAINING HERE

Why do people turn this into personal attacks? Everyone needs to grow up, and vote the way you want to vote. Educate yourselves. Don't listen to one person. Talk to many. Develop your opinion based on solid facts, not possibly twisted information or "so and so said". No matter what your position is on this issue, we are all in this together. Work hard, work together, and be safe.

WHY DONT YOU GOTO TAMPA, OR HCSO SINCE THEY ALREADY HAVE A UNION AND ALSO MAKE MORE MONEY. IF YOU DO THAT IT WILL SOLVE YOUR PROBLEMS. OH, THAT'S RIGHT NO ONE WILL HIRE YOU SO WE ARE STUCK WITH YOUR COMPLAINING HERE

Why do people turn this into personal attacks? Everyone needs to grow up, and vote the way you want to vote. Educate yourselves. Don't listen to one person. Talk to many. Develop your opinion based on solid facts, not possibly twisted information or "so and so said". No matter what your position is on this issue, we are all in this together. Work hard, work together, and be safe.

People, look at it this way. 2008 is a very important year for America i.e. presidential election. When you vote, you vote for the best candidate in favor for what you as an American see important for this nation, a great leader and etc..... In addition, you must educate your self in order to make a informed decision on which candidate you want to vote for. This will help you cope with how the nation is ran for the next four to eight years and could possibly save you from complaining, because you took the time to educate yourself. This year is an important year for Plant City P.D., from what was said in the previous post, educate yourself and make an informed decision when voting. The biggest thing to remember is to educate yourself. You will definitely make a better decision with knowledge of what a Union can do for this department and what it can not do. Do not compare to HCSO, because we are not them nor Tampa. We are Plant City Police Department. Stay safe and ROCK THE VOTE........ :devil: