Shelby County Deputies Unanimously Vote to Join Teamsters
Posted on: Tuesday, 16 January 2007, 15:00 CST
MEMPHIS, Tenn., Jan. 16 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Nearly 300 officers from the Shelby County Deputy Sheriffs Association voted unanimously to affiliate with Teamsters Local 667 in Memphis, Tennessee, gaining the backing and resources of the 1.4 million member union.
The association sought out Teamster representation after the Sheriffs Department indicated its desire to make changes to the association that would weaken its ability to effectively represent the officers' interests. The unit spoke with one voice, voting 296-0 to affiliate the two labor organizations.
The sheriff also has attempted to gut the memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the county and the 398 officers that are part of the association, making changes to the grievance and disciplinary processes, including eliminating some administrative hearings substantially weakening officers' protections, overtime after 40 hours and adding language that weakens the structure of the Deputy Sheriffs Association.
The difficulties the association has experienced during negotiations has coincided with the Memphis Police Department withdrawing from joint law enforcement efforts with the Sheriff's Department.
Henry Perry, President of Teamsters Local 667, said the union can provide resources to the deputy sheriffs they wouldn't have access to prior to the affiliation.
"We don't think the answer to rising crime rates is to take rights away from the very people who put their lives on the line every day fighting to protect us," Perry said. "We've reached out to the sheriff and hopefully we can get this issue resolved in a way that is mutually beneficial to all parties involved."
According to Perry, the association's MOU expires in less than two weeks and the labor organization plans on asking the county for a 60-day extension as a cooling down period while the parties try to work out the details of a new agreement.
Organizing law enforcement workers on a national level is an important initiative for the union, and the Teamsters are prepared to offer any support necessary to resolve this dispute.
"We're mobilizing resources to Memphis and preparing to counter any anti- union behavior by the sheriff," said Jesse Case, National Campaign Coordinator for the Teamsters Law Enforcement League.
The Teamsters, who also represent 1,200 officers in the Davidson County Police Department, represent over 1,400 law enforcement agencies across America.
Teamsters Local 667
CONTACT: Galen Munroe of International Brotherhood of Teamsters,+1-202-624-6904
Web site: http://www.teamster.org/
Source: PRNewswire-USNewswire
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