The Green Mile

The PBA has yet again pushed another police agency into a merger with PBSO. The last was RPB but they failed to learn a valuable lesson from that merger.

From what I have heard from those officers from RPB PD, the transition to the SO has been overwhelmingly positive; with a few exceptions.

The PBA, unless I have been misinformed, had no say, input or were they privy to the contract that was being formed until after the merger was complete. There were small pieces of information given to the bargaining unit reps. but only as a courtesy not out of obligation nor rule of law.

The Village of RPB and the SO negotiated and settled on a contract that included salary, assignment, seniority and pension. Rumor has it that Bradshaw made a few errors, in favor of the officers luckily, that he vowed not to repeat.

The merger turned out to be great for those men and women, but that is not a to say it will be for us. We did not accept the contract which means, again if I have this wrong forgive me, they can now impose any contract they wish; of course within the guidelines of the Fair Labor Standards Act.

I believe they can negotiate our salaries, holidays, days off, shifts, and just about anything else without consulting with our union reps. Dr. Johnson has not been accepting of our requests before this and I do not think he will care anymore, perhaps less now, that he does not need to please us or actually, placate us any further.

The only hope that we have is Bradshaw himself to stop down the blood letting that Johnson may try to inflict upon us. Bradshaw appears to be a smart man who I am sure does not want 170 + disgruntled knee capped deputies working for PBSO.

I am certainly not a fan of the idea of being part of PBSO, but it appears now that I do not, as well as the rest, have a choice if the numbers are right for Bradshaw and Johnson.

Based on what I know of the RPB merger, you would have thought someone from the leadership of the PBA would have asked what kind of role the bargaining unit would have, if any, during the contract work?

I hope I am wrong and that someone sets me straight. I don't want be at the mercy of Dr. Johnson yet again where this time he can sell us off like chattel for a bargain price.

Wish us all well and good luck. I am crossing my fingers that Bradshaw will make a deal that will satisfy Johnson's ego and keep us as close to the way we are operating now.

Enjoy your Spring Break!

Jethro Dumont aka The Green Lama

It is refreshing to hear from someone who is educated. Our future is unclear. A few who wanted to go to PBSO (But could not pass the criteria) have messed it up for the majority at the PBCSD. The flyers were a bad idea, the timing and planning was poor, the PBA took leadership a little late, but I don't find fault with the PBA, they did what they could do, moral of the story...you don't send three angry car salesman to negotiate a contract with lawyers. We can only hope for the best. You witnessed how quick the salesman published their spu, attacking other members of the PBA. Many of them have long histories of deceit, here are two recent examples.

(1).
"I respect Chief Kelly" and would never do anything to hurt him.
Your unorganized attack on Johnson, and the School Board, just destroyed the guy.

(2). Calling up a member who you know did not get promoted to SGT. and
congradulating him on his promotion is vicious.

I hope the contract between Johnson and Bradshaw is sympathetic, because at this point, in terms the salesman will understand, "We are dogs with no teeth". Next time their is an election for PBA reps. Please don't vote for the ones that bark the loudest, but the ones that are smart enough to know when to bite.

It's a shame you don't have what it takes to come out and show your true colors and let Officers konw who you are!!!!!!!!! As I have told YOU before and the other Officers that if I say it I own it, so let me clear the air. So you don't think you have something on me. The post you made and the statements you put to show what a bad man I am go like this. The part about hurting the Chief you state
''Your unorganized attack on Johnson, and the School Board, just destroyed the guy.''
Well it was't just me, but 87 members of the Union, and again if you posted your name I bet your, 1 of 87, but that's not working for you now so let me jump over the fence and see if the grass is GREENER (not PBSO green but lawn green).
Then there is the
''Calling up a member who you know did not get promoted to SGT. and
congradulating him on his promotion is vicious.''
Yes, I did that and did he tell you that was 2 to 3 weeks before they named any SGT, or and that he didn't even put his name in to be a Sgt. or again you only hear the parts you want to hear.

SO HERE IS MORE STUFF FOR YOU TO THROW ON THE WALL TO SEE IF IT STICKS. I SAID I WOULD NOT BE PART OF ANYTHING THAT HURT THE CHIEF. IF YOU READ THE POST THIS AM YOU WOULD SEE SOME HOW IT CAME UP FOR A POSSIBLE VOTE ON THE CHIEF, THIS WILL NOT HAPPEN WHILE I'M A PBA REP. IF IT DOES I WILL QUIT AS A PBA REP, AS THIS WASN'T AND SHOULDN'T BE THE ROAD WE GO DOWN.

AGAIN YOU HAVE MY NUMBER FEEL FREE TO CALL ME IF YOU HAVE A QUESTION ABOUT SOMETHING THAT I SAID, I WILL TELL YOU THE TRUTH WILL YOU. EDUCATED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!??????

I am on the fence on if PBSO will be a good thing or not. I am excited to see what the PBSO offers, if they actually do. I am of the wait and see opinion. I think we will get more cash but no cars. If it get this far, it will be interesting at the meeting, to accept or not, to see who comes and then who votes for and against. I hope it is not secret ballot.

I still do not understand why things are so nasty. If you are going to attack someone then man up and put your name to it. It seems John knows who you are anyway. I still do not see the need to be this nasty. John is not the front guy on the PBA actions anyway. If the PBSO brings us in they are going to have to pay us more. (You can’t pay much less). I also am not sure how things could get much worse. We all heard in the meeting about how bad the supervisors are and how it is not fair how they are picked. So maybe things might get better. I came to work here to be able to spend more time helping instead of always being behind the stack. I don’t see that changing as long as I stay in the school system. The retirement stays, we may pull in some seniority so the only difference is the time off. Well, I am guessing they offer vacation time and comp time. So instead of overtime bank your hours. Unless you are one of the guys that do not work overtime so you are just here for the schedule. If that is the case I hear Home Depot and Wal-Mart are hiring, you can work when you want.

That article in today's Palm Beach Post was uncalled for. If the PBA reps are not trying to hurt Kelly then who athorized the printing. Someone needs to be accountable, as this is not the voice or intent of the union membership. Maybe you really don't want to hurt Kelly, JH, but someone does, and are doing a pretty good job. If your not part of this, please step up or step down. If the District is in negotiations with the Sheriff, what do we gain by hitting Kelly. I think the damage is done. Someone on the PBA please get this train on the track before it becomes a train wreck.

I am on the fence on if PBSO will be a good thing or not. I am excited to see what the PBSO offers, if they actually do. I am of the wait and see opinion. I think we will get more cash but no cars. If it get this far, it will be interesting at the meeting, to accept or not, to see who comes and then who votes for and against. I hope it is not secret ballot.

I still do not understand why things are so nasty. If you are going to attack someone then man up and put your name to it. It seems John knows who you are anyway. I still do not see the need to be this nasty. John is not the front guy on the PBA actions anyway. If the PBSO brings us in they are going to have to pay us more. (You can’t pay much less). I also am not sure how things could get much worse. We all heard in the meeting about how bad the supervisors are and how it is not fair how they are picked. So maybe things might get better. I came to work here to be able to spend more time helping instead of always being behind the stack. I don’t see that changing as long as I stay in the school system. The retirement stays, we may pull in some seniority so the only difference is the time off. Well, I am guessing they offer vacation time and comp time. So instead of overtime bank your hours. Unless you are one of the guys that do not work overtime so you are just here for the schedule. If that is the case I hear Home Depot and Wal-Mart are hiring, you can work when you want.


I know two things you stated are incorrect. I can say all of us in Royal Palm are very happy. The same deals would be given to you like staying in the school in order to keep your seniority. After two years, you can go elsewhere with seniority. Also, School Police will be getting take home cars as road Deputies do. 170 officers driving to and from schools and home in a marked unit shows a strong presence. School police would be like a city, and all sworn law enforcement officers aside of Bailiffs get take home cars. PBSO has been a great experience. Residents of Royal Palm are still in shock of how much better or service is now. Good luck and as always stay safe.

I knew nothing of this till I read Jason's post this AM. Like you and most of the other members, we were told that Chief Kelly wasn't a or the target. I will put my money where my mouth is. I WILL NOT VOTE FOR THIS OR WILL NOT ASK ANYONE ELSE TO VOTE FOR THIS. AS FAR AS I'M CONCERNED THIS SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN PUT IN THE POST. I DON'T KNOW WHY IT WAS DONE, BUT I WILL CALL PBA IN THE MORNING TO SEE WHAT HAS CHANGED FOR THIS TO BE PUT ON THE TABLE.

I will also try to set a meeting for next week to get some info out to the Officers.