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The state Supreme Court ruling clears the way for deputies here and elsewhere to try to organize. Some sheriffs are dismayed.
By JAMIE JONES, Times Staff Writer
© St. Petersburg Times, published January 31, 2003
The Florida Supreme Court on Thursday cleared the way for Pasco sheriff's deputies to organize a union.
In a 4-3 decision, the court reversed a 1978 opinion that banned deputies from forming unions.
Pasco deputies soon will resume their efforts to unionize, said Lt. Frank Laton, president of the local chapter of the Fraternal Order of Police.
"This is a positive step for deputy sheriffs around the state," Laton said.
In March 2000, 246 of Pasco County's 462 deputies told state officials that they wanted to vote on forming a union.
But their application, along with those of seven other sheriff's offices in the state, had been put on hold until the court's ruling Thursday.
Pasco deputies believe forming a union will help them bargain for higher salaries and ensure proper treatment in disciplinary hearings. A spokesman for Sheriff Bob White declined to comment Thursday, saying officials had not yet read the court's opinion.
Some sheriffs across the state were dismayed by the ruling, including Stephen Oelrich, sheriff of Alachua County and president of the Florida Sheriff's Association.
"We're disappointed," he said.
Unions will hinder a sheriff's ability to run an agency, Oelrich said. Because sheriffs are elected and accountable to taxpayers, they should be allowed to hire and fire employees as needed, he said. Unions will hinder that process, he said.
Jeff McAdams, a Gainesville police officer and committee chairman with the Fraternal Order of Police, said unions give deputies a louder voice.
"A lot of folks think unions are supposed to have an adversarial relationship with employers," he said. "But they're really supposed to bring the perspective of the troops together. Clearly, you get more things done as a group."
For decades, Florida deputies have been denied the right to form unions, although police officers have long bargained collectively. Officers with the New Port Richey and Port Richey police departments have unions. And some sheriff's deputies across the state have formed internal groups to make their wishes known to superiors.
A 1978 state Supreme Court decision held that sheriff's deputies,were not public employees and therefore not allowed to unionize. In 1997, the court appeared to sway from that opinion when it ruled that deputy court clerks were public employees and entitled to form unions.
That ruling caused law enforcement agencies statewide, including deputies in Pasco, to talk about forming a union. Pasco deputies met with representatives of the state Fraternal Order of Police and submitted an application.
But the state agency that certifies unions, the Public Employees Relations Commission, said it needed guidance from the state Supreme Court.
On Thursday, the court sided with the Coastal Florida Police Benevolent Association over Brevard County Sheriff Phil Williams, who did not want his employees to unionize.
Steve Meck, attorney for the Public Employees Relations Commission, said his office will wait for the Supreme Court ruling to become official, which typically takes 30 days. Then, his agency will schedule public hearings for the eight agencies whose employees submitted applications.
The state commission then will decide whether employees are eligible. If sheriff's supervisors want to unionize, they must form a separate branch from deputies, Meck said. Then, the agencies will vote, he said.
McAdams said the state Fraternal Order of Police soon will contact Pasco deputies about joining the union.
Said McAdams: "We're going to reach out to Pasco County."
-- Jamie Jones covers crime in Pasco County. She can be reached in west Pasco at 869-6245, or toll-free at 1-800-333-7505, ext. 6245. Her e-mail address is jjones@sptimes.com.