President, William Abernathie
Chief of Labor Relations, M. Eagleson
Senior Field Representative, Nancy Tate
Senior Field Representative, Mary Blanco

President's Message

April 2008

Negotiations Update

           The Specialized Peace Officer and Supervisory Unit negotiations team have all completed their training for this years negotiations. The information received during the training will benefit the entire negotiations process. I want to thank the team for their dedication to their unit and SEBA.

           The negotiations team met twice last month to finalize the proposals that will be submitted to the County. Steve Silver from our law firm of Silver, Hadden, Silver, Wexler and Levine will be the attorney representing the group during the negotiations.

           The Safety and Safety Management Units current contract expires on February 27, 2009. Those negotiation teams will start gearing up around August, 2008.

Upcoming legislation

           Legislation will soon be introduced which has the intent of blocking the release of law enforcement personnel information. This is a result of the two California Supreme Court rulings that allows for the release of public employee information. The Bill is AB 1855 and it is being carried by Assembly Member Portantino.

           Other state legislation being carried or watched are AB 2973, dealing with the use of a stun gun against a law enforcement officer, AB 2754, making MRSA skin infections a presumptive illness, and many more.

           There are two federal legislative issues still making the rounds. The first is dealing with the right to carry a firearm across the country. The law is clear about this, but there are still some unresolved questions about the licensing procedure. The second is the Social Security Fairness Act. This deals with fixing the reduction of benefits for safety members who end up with reduced social security benefits because of their safety retirement.

RateMyCop.Com

           There is a website that has been created for the purpose of soliciting information from individuals about contacts with law enforcement officers. The original lists of officers from various departments across the state are coming from the agencies themselves. PORAC is in the process of looking at both State and Federal legislation to block these types of sites. Research is also being conducted to determine if there are any legal avenues that can be taken.

Politics Are In The Air

           If it’s not bad enough with all the political news coverage going on today and for the next several months, the County of San Bernardino has three Board of Supervisor elections coming in June. Supervisor Josie Gonzales is running for the 5th District unopposed, Supervisor Brad Mitzelfelt is running for the 1st District with several challengers, and City Councilman Neil Derry is running against Dennis Hansberger for the 3rd District. The SEBA Board of Directors unanimously endorsed Ms. Gonzales, Mr. Mitzelfelt and Mr. Derry in this very important election cycle. All three individuals have been very supportive of public safety issues and law enforcement in general. I encourage SEBA members to get behind these candidates and support them in any way they can. The Board of Directors is committed to doing everything in its power to support these three very capable and deserving candidates, both financial and otherwise.

Patrol Assignment Policies

           The Sheriff’s Department is in the process of writing new policy and procedure for newly hired Deputy Sheriff’s regarding their ability to stay in a correctional facility their entire career if they choose. The Department has determined there is a shortage of Deputies who want to go to field assignments, which is causing a strain on available resources to be deployed to patrol stations.

           The Department has decided to implement a policy and procedure change similar to what the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department refers to as Rule 214. That number was the designation of the academy class when LASD made the change over.

           Our Chief of Labor Relations Mike Eagleson and I have met with Captain Fonzi about this and after obtaining legal advice from our law firm, it is believed to be a management right to implement this type of change. We have reviewed the language and have not found anything that would have a negative affect on current SEBA members. All current members would still be able to stay in a correctional facility as long as the would like to do so. If they were to transfer out of corrections and then want to go back, the same rules would apply that are in affect today.

President, William Abernathie
Chief of Labor Relations, M. Eagleson
Senior Field Representative, Nancy Tate
Senior Field Representative, Mary Blanco