Political Action Brings Recognition to 450 in Law Enforcement

Local 3372 in Lexington, Ky., demonstrated the strength of the CWA Triangle — political action, organizing and collective bargaining — by helping more than 360 corrections officers win CWA representation.  On Sept. 23, Lexington Mayor Teresa Ann Isaac granted recognition to more than 360 officers employed by the Division of Community Corrections under a new bargaining law.

Said local President Mike Garkovich, "Local 3372's 75/25 organizer has shepherded a bill through a Republican state senate allowing our detention centers to organize, (persuaded) a Republican Governor to sign it and now garnered recognition for CWA from our mayor. Next step, bargaining."

Local Executive Vice President Bryce McGowan, whose salary as an organizer is paid in part through CWA's 75/25 program, both worked with the corrections officers' internal organizing committee and lobbied at the state and local level to bring about recognition.

In April, Gov. Ernie Fletcher signed a bill to grant the corrections officers the right to bargain collectively.

Since then, "Basically, we just kept getting people to sign up until we got over 50 percent. We had a very strong internal organizing committee that made it happen," McGowan said.

The officers work at the Lexington Fayette Urban County Detention Center. They will elect bargaining representatives this month and prepare for negotiations with assistance from John Burpo, director of CWA's National Coalition of Public Safety Officers.

Political outreach also worked to win recognition in Nevada for 80 deputy sheriffs. Local 9111 Organizer Don Ruiz reported on Sept. 14 that deputies who serve as District Court bailiffs in Clark County voted to join CWA but hit a snag when their petition for recognition was denied by the state labor board, which determined they were not Clark County employees.

However, after meeting with CWA Representative John Doran on Sept. 19, District Court Chief Justice Cathy Hardcastle acknowledged the bailiffs as employees of the court and agreed to grant them union recognition.

"They want their bailiffs," Doran said. "The court is willing to work out an agreement to give the bailiffs what they want and to give the judges what they want for the courtroom."