Pay Raises

Tick-Tock

Still no union response?

You have revealed yourselves as the gutless cowards you are.

Actually the union gave us the step plan which to some was a 20 percent payraise for one year for some . It raised the top out pay nearly 6500 dollars. It allowed deputies the opportunity to take there cars out of county for the first time. Gave a minimum 2 hour court time. Pushed the administration to reimplement the detective class and develop a master plan. It changed the rules involving I.a. investigations. The union wasnt perfect but what is.

Actually the union gave us the step plan which to some was a 20 percent payraise for one year for some . It raised the top out pay nearly 6500 dollars. It allowed deputies the opportunity to take there cars out of county for the first time. Gave a minimum 2 hour court time. Pushed the administration to reimplement the detective class and develop a master plan. It changed the rules involving I.a. investigations. The union wasnt perfect but what is.

You mean the sheriff gave us the step plan. Gee promised to do that long before any union pressure. Same with the detective and master programs. The sheriff gave it to us, not the union. The union could scream, cry and stomp its feet but it couldnt have forced the sheriff to do anything he didnt freely choose to do.
Oh and the internal affairs changes were the result of changes in Tallahassee and had nothing to do with that union.
Nice try. You have yet to name one thing the union can force the sheriff to do for you (aside from collecting your dues and attending golf tournaments on your behalf).

I could give a rats a@# about whether we have a union or not, but the fact is that we DO NOT have a union right now and most people are extremely unhappy with the way things are going right now. There is no positive communication from the top down and morale is lower then low in the patrol section. Despite the fact that the patrol section is dangerously understaffed, this administration continues to pull bodies for non-priority positions. These are the facts....and thats all we have to go by right now.

[Average Joe]

Actually the union gave us the step plan which to some was a 20 percent payraise for one year for some . It raised the top out pay nearly 6500 dollars. It allowed deputies the opportunity to take there cars out of county for the first time. Gave a minimum 2 hour court time. Pushed the administration to reimplement the detective class and develop a master plan. It changed the rules involving I.a. investigations. The union wasnt perfect but what is.

You mean the sheriff gave us the step plan. Gee promised to do that long before any union pressure. Same with the detective and master programs. The sheriff gave it to us, not the union. The union could scream, cry and stomp its feet but it couldn't have forced the sheriff to do anything he didn't freely choose to do.
Oh and the internal affairs changes were the result of changes in Tallahassee and had nothing to do with that union.
Nice try. You have yet to name one thing the union can force the sheriff to do for you (aside from collecting your dues and attending golf tournaments on your behalf).

You are misleading on several points. You are correct that Sheriff Gee promised the pay plan and the master step. But when the PBA came along he was the one that refused, not the PBA. Sheriff Gee went back on his word. Many felt that his thinking at the time was more to do with an ego and did not want the PBA to get too much in the first contract. If what you say is correct, then why did he wait for his second term in office to deliver?

As for the law changes in regards to I.A. investigations. Sheriff Gee opposed the bill that gave officers more rights every time the House and Senate bills came before a committee. It was the police unions that were able to push the bill through. One of those unions was the State PBA, which the HCSO chapter was a part of.

HCSO went as far as sending high ranking staff members to Tallahassee in a unsuccessful effort to try and keep Florida Leo's from having more "Rights". This act alone tells people all they need to know. I want so badly to support the current staff, but seem to become disheartened almost weekly with some new action or inaction brought to light.

So what youre saying is if we didnt have the union here doing our collective bargaining then the changes in Tallahassee wouldnt have taken place? Think carefully about that before you start attributing effects to causes.

Gee gave us the step-plan etc voluntarily. If you think he didn't, please tell us what the PBA did to force him to do something he didnt choose to do. Maybe if he didnt have to play the negotiation game he would have given it to us sooner...none of us know. What we do know is that the union could not force the sheriff to do anything he did not willingly choose to do.

And once more, ANY LEADER WORTH A DIME, should not have to be FORCED to do THE RIGHT THINGS............P E R I O D :!: :!:

[Average Joe]

So what youre saying is if we didnt have the union here doing our collective bargaining then the changes in Tallahassee wouldnt have taken place? Think carefully about that before you start attributing effects to causes.

Gee gave us the step-plan etc voluntarily. If you think he didn't, please tell us what the PBA did to force him to do something he didnt choose to do. Maybe if he didnt have to play the negotiation game he would have given it to us sooner...none of us know. What we do know is that the union could not force the sheriff to do anything he did not willingly choose to do.

No, it was asked what did the PBA do. You made it sound like they did not do a thing. All I said was that they helped push along the new legislation as the State PBA is also apart of the local chapters. Sheriff Gee did not do one thing to protect you, in fact he did just the opposite. Bring up the committees that heard the bills and you will see who was there to speak for and against the legislation.

As stated, Sheriff Gee did tell all in the Sun Dome meetings about his ideas for pay and new programs. He had the ability to start the programs then, he did not. During the 1st contract negotiations the PBA asked for these plans and the Sheriff's negotiators said a flat "NO". However the PBA did at the end get the step plan in place. Please tell me why it took Sheriff Gee over 4 years to implement his plans.

As you and I know the Sheriff has the ultimate authority and can just about do what he wants. I was not and never would be a PBA member. However I did see that they could be useful to any administrator. The Sheriff could use them, just as the TPD administration has used them, to assist in getting the BOCC to agree with issues the Sheriff wants. Everyone could had worked together, but onside chose not to. To me it was nothing more than an ego trip of pure power.If you do not believe that ask the average deputy that works the street. Look at the SOP's that have been coming from the SOC. Many feel that there is a power trip going on at 2008, a power trip that we have not seen since Malcolm Beard. But even he and the two Sheriffs that followed were respected by the majority of the troops.