Disowned by their union, Lawrence County jail workers face new policies

Lawrence County jail corrections officers and cooks will have a new set of personnnel standards, now that they are non-union employees.

Some are to their benefit. For example, they will have four extra holidays per year, and the number of their vacation days may be more to their liking.

But they will have to dip into their paychecks to come up with 5 percent of the cost of their health care premiums.

The Lawrence County commissioners on Tuesday unanimously approved a list of personnel policy changes for the jail, which include the employees switching over to the county's health insurance plan under Blue Cross and Blue Shield and contributing to their coverage.

County administrator James Gagliano said the changeover in health care will mean a savings of about $25,000 to $30,000 a year to the county. The workers previously were covered under a different health care plan provided under their labor union, Construction and General Laborers Union Local 964.

However, the labor union management on Jan. 18 notified the 47 members of the jail's bargaining unit that after more than 40 years of representing them, the union was disowning them and the employees no longer would have a bargaining unit at the jail.

Setting what county officials believe is a statewide precedent, the union sent letters to the employees and to the prison board, notifying them of its disassociation from the jail workers. The union's decision affects 44 full-time corrections officers and three full-time cooks, and came as a surprise to the county commissioners and members of the county prison board.

The primary reason cited by the labor union in its letter to the workers was a growing mistrust between the bargaining unit members and the union's management.

The policy changes approved Tuesday go hand in hand with other proposed changes that will be detailed at a special meeting of the county salary board, scheduled for 8:30 a.m. Friday, according to County Controller David Gettings.

Gettings, who also is the county prison board president, told the commissioners that the jail worker policy changes are in light of the union's action. He and Warden Brian Covert and the county's special labor counsel, Michael A. Palombo, worked together on the policy revisions, so the county can "effectively and efficiently run the jail."

The jail employees no longer are covered under a bargaining agreement. Their previous pact had expired Dec. 31 and they were in the process of negotiating a new contract. The jail workers recently had rejected the most recent offer of the county for a bargaining agreement, which included acceptance of the county's health care plan. Gettings said the jail workers wages and other policy matters concerning wages are among items for consideration at Friday's salary board meeting.

The health care plan change will go into effect March 1, Gagliano said.

The new policy changes are:

•Effective this week, all corrections officers shall begin the bidding process for shifts — midnight, daylight or afternoon — beginning with the most senior full-time officer and ending with the least senior full-timer.

•Beginning Monday, a work schedule rotation will consist of a 7-6-7-hour and a 7-7-6-hour rotation to provide equalization for all employees.

•For calculating overtime, only time worked will be considered. The following leaves will not be considered as time worked: personal or sick days, vacation or non-working holidays. Gettings noted that under labor laws, employees are ineligible for overtime unless they have worked 40 regular hours.

•Shift differential no longer will be calculated, meaning employees no longer will be paid extra for working certain shifts.

•Holiday pay will be paid as straight time. If an employee works on a holiday, the pay will be at time and a half. The employees will receive four additional holidays than they received under the contract. The four additional are Good Friday, the day after Christmas, Flag Day and the day after Thanksgiving. Gettings noted that most of the changes make things consisted with all other non-union county government employees. Other holidays are New Year's Day, Memorial Day, the Fourth of July, Columbus Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, Martin Luther King Day, Easter, Labor Day, Veteran's Day and Christmas.

•Vacation policy states that all vacation days must be scheduled by April 1. Those days not scheduled by then will be scheduled by management. No changes will be allowed after vacations are scheduled. Any that need to be rescheduled because of exceeding the daily maximum must be resubmitted within 24 hours.

•The number of vacation days per employee are: six days for those having worked between six months and a year; 12 days for those having worked one through 7 years; 18 days for those having worked after the seventh year, through 14 years; and 20 days for those who worked after the 14th year or longer.

•Part-time corrections officers are authorized to work no more than 40 hours per week. Gettings noted that part-timers work intermittently.

•All employees must become enrolled in the county health care plan and will be provided coverage as necessary. Each correction officer and cook will be responsible for 5 percent of the cost of his or her health care premium.

Gagliano pointed out that the shift change and some of the other requirements will help ensure adequate staffing at the jail, while there may be a slight savings in overtime costs.

"The jail runs 24 hours a day," he said. "You have to provide the staffing."

"What's really being done here is to try to make it consistent with all of the non-union personnel," he said.

The county through the changes is hoping to realize some savings in addition to the health care, Gagliano said, adding that the jail comprises 26 to 27 percent of the county's general fund budget each year.

"That's a big bite," he said, adding that the majority of that expense is wages and benefits of employees. Between those costs and the cost of health care for inmates — the jail must provide health care to inmates while incarcerated — plus groceries and meals, that's 80 percent of the jail budget, Gagliano said. Other expenses there include maintenance and utilities and supplies.

Source: NC News Online