Lee County Sheriff's Office members start effort to form uni

Lee County Sheriff's Office members start effort to form union

By Rachel Myers
rmyers@news-press.com

Members of the Lee County Sheriff’s Office are mobilizing in hopes of forming a union — a move never before made by the agency.

Cecil Pendergrass, President of the local Florida Police Benevolent Association, said today a number of the approximately 100 PBA members from the sheriff’s office had requested moving forward with the process.

It is the first time such an effort has ever been made.

While he hasn’t heard direct complaints regarding the sheriff, Pendergrass said there has been concern with regard to protection of benefits, salaries and their rights as law enforcement officers.

Last year, Sheriff Mike Scott announced there would be no raises for deputies due to financial distress. Pendergrass said there is concern that pay and other benefits could be further cut if there aren’t specific protections in place.

Further, he said there is concern for protection of their due process rights.

“A lot of it has to do with what happened to the Ferrante brothers,” Pendergrass said. “People are scared that no one is safe, and they could get pushed out, too.”

Pendergrass was referring to former Chief Deputy Charles Ferrante, who was second in command and his younger brother, former Capt. Dominick Ferrante, who oversaw special operations. The captain resigned in March amid the sheriff’s allegations of untruthfulness and the chief deputy retired in April amid allegations of bullying.

Pendergrass said some have raised concerns as to the validity of the process of those investigations.

“If you put everything under contract, in black in white, then there is more accountability,” Pendergrass said.

Sheriff Scott said there is accountability as it is, and said while he neither supports nor would hinder a unionization effort, he does not believe those agencies that have unions are any better off. :devil:

“People are scared that no one is safe"

Amen brother.

If you are not Happy then leave. The union Will Not do anything for you. They will only take your Money!

If you are not Happy then leave. The union Will Not do anything for you. They will only take your Money!

Have you worked for a union agency before? Did you have a bad experience? Please tell us what you didn't like about your union.

Lee County sheriff's deputies want to unionize

By RACHEL MYERS
rmyers@news-press.com


Lee County sheriff's deputies are petitioning a Tallahassee employment commission in an effort to unionize –– a first in the history of the agency.

Cecil Pendergrass, president of the Gulf Coast chapter of the Florida Police Benevolent Association, said Tuesday several of the approximately 100 PBA members from the sheriff's office requested moving forward with the process.

The sheriff's office is the only major local law enforcement agency that has yet to join a union -Fort Myers and Cape Coral have been unionized for decades.

"It puts their rights, their salaries, their benefits all in black and white," Pendergrass said of the deputies. "It's security for them."

Sheriff Mike Scott said he does not support a unionization effort but would not hinder it.

"I am neither promoting nor thwarting this effort," Scott said. "If they want to pursue it collectively, that is their prerogative. But I would say that as I look to other agencies that have unions, I see extremely comparable salaries and benefits."

Some unionized law enforcement employees, such as those in the Florida Highway Patrol, have even lower pay, he said.

Why now?

In the last few weeks, Pendergrass said he has been approached by several Lee deputies who expressed desire to unionize. While he hasn't heard complaints about the sheriff, Pendergrass said there has been concern about protection of benefits, salaries and rights as law enforcement officers.

Last year, Scott announced there would be no raises for deputies because of budget shortfalls. Pendergrass said there is concern pay and other benefits could be further cut if there aren't protections.

"Collective bargaining gives them more leverage," Pendergrass said.

The sheriff said a union will not help to generate and ensure funding that's not there.

"In these economic times, if someone thinks that they can come in as strangers and better negotiate with our county commissioners and say, 'We'd like to give our people raises,' if they think people in Tallahassee will have better luck than we've already had, that's flawed thinking," Scott said.

Pendergrass said there is usually a fear of retaliation associated with joining a union, and for years, he said sheriff's employees had been hesitant.

But recent concern for protection of due process rights prompted several to press for union protection, he said.

"A lot of it has to do with what happened to the Ferrante brothers," he said. "People are scared that no one is safe, and they could get pushed out, too."

Pendergrass referred to former Chief Deputy Charles Ferrante, who was second-in-command, and his younger brother, former Capt. Dominick Ferrante, who oversaw special operations. The captain resigned in March amid the sheriff's allegations of untruthfulness and the chief deputy retired in April amid allegations of bullying.

Pendergrass said some have raised concerns as to the validity of those investigations.

Still, the union would represent only those of a sergeant rank and below, and Pendergrass said some members felt more comfortable approaching the union idea now the Ferrantes no longer work at the agency.

"If you put everything under contract, in black, in white, then there is more accountability across the board," he said.

Scott said there is accountability in the form of civil service boards. He said both Ferrantes hindered the due process by resigning and retiring -a charge both brothers, who say they were forced out, deny. The PBA would not represent employees who had resigned or retired -only those potentially disciplined or fired.

The process

Pendergrass said the paperwork has been mailed from the PBA on behalf of the Lee deputies to the Public Employees Relations Commission in Tallahassee.

Once the paperwork is processed, a packet of literature will be mailed to each deputy, who will have the opportunity to vote on whether to conduct a vote. There must be a 30 percent return to move forward with the second vote.

This is all done anonymously, Pendergrass said, and if the decision is made to move forward, there must be a 51 percent majority for the agency to become unionized.

If that happens, collective bargaining could happen before the end of the year. In that process, union representatives meet with county commissioners to outline a one- or three-year contract that spells out everything from deputy salaries and benefits to the grievance process.

The process does not cost taxpayers, and union members pay for it themselves through member dues, which Pendergrass said averages $20 a month.

The sheriff's office has 1,067 sworn deputies; it was not immediately known how many are at the rank of sergeant or below.

A commission representative could not be reached for comment.

Its about time, my brothers, its about time.

Mike loves to say it is all about accountability and honesty, right? Let him put his money where his mouth is and support our union.

Sheriff Mike Scott said he does not support a unionization effort but would not hinder it.

"I am neither promoting nor thwarting this effort," Scott said. "If they want to pursue it collectively, that is their prerogative."

If Mike isn't going to hinder the efforts, why did he send out that ridiculous email? No pressure, right? Let's look at a couple of points he talked about.

State of the art facilities. Are YOU happy to have a brand new Charlie District Substation and a wonderful Aviation Department, but no raises for two years? Can you feed your kids or pay for their school with a picture of the Aviation Department? Easy to talk when you're the only one in the agency to get a raise, right?

Teachers Unions Teachers will never be asked to kill someone in the line of duty, make a split second decision that costs someone their life or their freedom, or potentially kill or maime someone in a car crash running to a "hot call". The teacher union example is not valid.

Auto makers Very cute. WTF do the auto makers in Detroit have to do with deputies in Florida?

Our fellow agencies First, imagine how bad off FMPD or FHP would be if they didn't have their unions? Why do they still keep their unions? It is just as simple to dump a union as it is to get one. Why does every other law enforcement agency in the state have a union? Are we doing better than all of them? Is Mike Scott somehow smarter than every other cop in Florida?

Job protection from lay offs Lets just say I can't believe he even went there. We've had more cops fired under Mike Scott than in the history of the department. At least in the last eleven years that I can speak of. I'd like to see the media research how many employees have been canned lately.

Don't be fooled by this guy. He's trying to pressure every one of us to not bring the PBA in to protect our rights. I agree with Mike on one thing. We all need to educate ourselves about this issue. The only reason he doesn't want a union is because it would prevent him from just doing whatever he wants to do.

My Brothers and Sisters in Green,

I want you to keep a close eye on how Cecil handles the PBA move for you. He needs to take it to the next level and spell out per the Policeman’s Bill of rights how the Ferranti’s and Ciresi were violated. The Sheriff said that he could not conduct an investigation on your Chief because the Chief was sick, we all know that’s bull and the Sheriff should have interviewed all the witnesses coming to a conclusion with or without the Chiefs statement per FSS 112.532. As far as his brothers polygraph that’s a sham, when have you ever heard of a polygraph without an internal investigation and when have you ever heard of a polygraph without a polygraph report? Also when have you ever seen a member demoted with a $21,000.00 hit for no reason?

I like Cecil, he’s a great guy and have known him for years but the truth is he is golfing buddies with the Sheriff. If he does not do what is right here and fights hard pointing out that the Ferranti’s and Ciresi’s right were totally violated per FSS 112 and the back door deals cut with former County Manager Stillwell concerning your raises than come over to FOP with the Cape PD you will be well represented.

FOP GUY

Sheriff Mike Scott said he does not support a unionization effort but would not hinder it.

"I am neither promoting nor thwarting this effort," Scott said. "If they want to pursue it collectively, that is their prerogative."

If Mike isn't going to hinder the efforts, why did he send out that ridiculous email? No pressure, right? Let's look at a couple of points he talked about.

Why not post it? Not all of us are LCSO and have the displeasure of reading Scott's well reasoned letters to the troops... besides i could use a good laugh! Post it.

since Mikey isn't trying to hinder anything i'm sure he wouldn't have said anything that would be publicly embarrassing.

http://www.news-press.com/assets/pdf/A413434156.PDF

Especially like the closing comments about Cecil trying to hitch up. :devil:

How neutral. :devil: :devil: :devil:

BREAKING NEWS

The Sheriff's Attorney Just got a substantial raise along with sevral other Civilian supervisors while we are breaking our butts and losing houses. From what I hear the raise the lawyer got was the same amount taken from Carisi who was punished without cause, we need a union now not to mention promotions of people not even on the list. Ask why Liz in Finance just quit, everyone got a raise but her, this is just wrong and the rich just get richer like the Sheriff. :evil:

Dear Sheriff Scott,

We don't know why these big sillies are saying we want a union. No one said anything to us and we are just miffed about it. I know we have a rule about talking to the media, but gosh darnit we are just in a giant tiff about this so we had to speak to the newspaper. I was so mad I stomped my foot yesterday! I swear we are both ready to call someone a name. That Cecil Pendergrass is a big fat doo doo head!

Love,
Kevin and Brian.

XOXOXO

p.s. Please don't take us out of our cushy jobs.

I didn't know that Kevin and Brian were our shop PBA rep's let's make sure we clear everything through them from now on so they can check with the Sheriff and make sure it's OK. Better yet maybe we should just have the Sheriff be our PBA rep, being that he is trying to control the situation. :evil:


Dear Sheriff Scott,

We don't know why these big sillies are saying we want a union. No one said anything to us and we are just miffed about it. I know we have a rule about talking to the media, but gosh darnit we are just in a giant tiff about this so we had to speak to the newspaper. I was so mad I stomped my foot yesterday! I swear we are both ready to call someone a name. That Cecil Pendergrass is a big fat doo doo head!

Love,
Kevin and Brian.

XOXOXO

p.s. Please don't take us out of our cushy jobs.

I would tell them to get a union . I am a retired steel worker and so know first hand that it is a lot better having a union and not needing it than needing a union and not having one. Once something is done / taken away it is so very hard to get it back. Just my .002 , Davis Bradley Brown

I didn't know that Kevin and Brian were our shop PBA rep's let's make sure we clear everything through them from now on so they can check with the Sheriff and make sure it's OK. Better yet maybe we should just have the Sheriff be our PBA rep, being that he is trying to control the situation. :evil:


Thats just malicious rumor spreading. The sherriff doesn't care if we unionize or not. Thats what he said right? Right before he sent everyone an email pointing out all the bad things that unions do? He's obviously afraid of us becoming unionized which should be our first clue that we need to do it. Why is their even a debate about us getting a say in our own future here?

Have the P.E.R.C. cards come in yet? We need to get this show on the road!

BREAKING NEWS

The Sheriff's Attorney Just got a substantial raise along with sevral other Civilian supervisors while we are breaking our butts and losing houses. From what I hear the raise the lawyer got was the same amount taken from Carisi who was punished without cause, we need a union now not to mention promotions of people not even on the list. Ask why Liz in Finance just quit, everyone got a raise but her, this is just wrong and the rich just get richer like the Sheriff. :evil:

Who where the civilan supervisors who also got a raise and how much ? And why when we were told no raises this year. WE NEED A UNION.

Annmarie Reno, Cari Turner, Kathy Murray and Abbi Smith all got raises this is why Liz Handerhan resigned :mrgreen:



BREAKING NEWS

The Sheriff's Attorney Just got a substantial raise along with sevral other Civilian supervisors while we are breaking our butts and losing houses. From what I hear the raise the lawyer got was the same amount taken from Carisi who was punished without cause, we need a union now not to mention promotions of people not even on the list. Ask why Liz in Finance just quit, everyone got a raise but her, this is just wrong and the rich just get richer like the Sheriff. :evil:

Who where the civilan supervisors who also got a raise and how much ? And why when we were told no raises this year. WE NEED A UNION.