Voluntary overtime? Get sent home. Mandatory overtime? You have to stay.

So, I just got home from working voluntary overtime at the Annex.  Unfortunately, I only got to work about an hour and 15 minutes before I was relieved.  Apparently, as of last week sometime, the Commissioners accused the Sheriff of mismanaging overtime money and now, if there is any overage of officers at either the annex or the main jail, they balance it out by getting rid of the voluntary overtime officers and sending them home.  What kind of jacked up shenanigans is this?

I understand that officers working overtime cost the county more money than a straight time officer.  I get that.

I understand that if we have extra officers available that we may not need the overtime officers.  I get that too.

What I don't understand is why the VOLUNTARY overtime officers are being screwed when there are anywhere between 8-10 MANDATORY overtime officers sitting in a unit wanting to go home after working an 8 hour shift already.  This makes no sense whatsoever.

Im preparing an email for DSABC President Janssen as well as Lt. Balditt who oversees our personnel issues.  The Lt. that sent me home believes that this may violate our contract with the county with regards to the overtime issues with C/D towers in the Annex.  He may be right.  I simply want to know why they aren't sending home the people that do not want to be there vs. the folks that sign up for the extra work.  Even more so, why aren't we using volunteers for overtime rather than forcing our people to stay over?

UPDATE:  10/29/11 Wow, how things can change.  I brought this issue to the attention of Lt. Janssen, President of the DSABC and he promised to take it to Sheriff's Administration for further action.  After doing just that, Lt. Janssen contacted me to inform me that the course of action previously taken should not have been taken and that common sense should have prevailed.  He further told me that Chief Dovalina was rather upset that this was being done this way and offered to provide an Administrative Directive.  Lt. Janssen declined that offer with the counter that he would speak to the other Shift Commanders and remedy the issue in that way.  Now, if you are working voluntary overtime, you should not necessarily be sent home before the mandatory folks.  Of course, he did offer the caveat that Shift Commanders still retain the prerogative to send home who they wish, but this is a major step in the right direction.  Thank you, DSABC and in particular, Union President Janssen.

Finally, some news...

After a few weeks of no real developments on the issues, I got to have a long talk with DSABC President, Lt. Janssen.  I have to say Im very encouraged and impressed with the level of commitment that Lt. Janssen is exhibiting.  He has some great ideas and some plans that, if successful, will elevate the DSABC, positively promote our agenda and be successful in having a chance at a new relationship with commissioners court. 

Basically, with the election of this new board and executives, there is no remainder of the 'old guard' left in place.  These are fresh faces with fresh ideas and the desire to see change.  I am very optomistic at this point.

On the issue of our staffing, currently we are waiting to see if 40 new positions will be approved.  As I understand it, there are 20 positions currently far enough along in the process to qualify for a cadet class.  Now, I know you are wondering what the hell this is about when just a couple of weeks ago, we were looking at losing 100 positions.  Frankly, I can't answer that as it doesn't make much sense to me either, but honestly, its good news and Ill take all of that I can get.  Rumor has it that the positions are being permitted to offset the loss of the 100 officers and to absorb some of the shortage that we are experiencing.

The restraining order is still on track but its been pushed back a bit to allow the grievance process to be utilized first.  Apparently, there is no question that we will win the grievance and can then move forward with the restraining order.

Plans are also in place to re-approach our relationship with certain members of commissioners court that have long held animosity towards us for whatever perceived wrongs they might envision.  This is where the fresh faces come in.  I have high hopes that new people equals new relationships and new ideas and ways to move forward.

The Mythical Temporary Restraining Order

So, back when the County was preparing to vote for the new budget, a threat was issued from the DSABC that they were willing to file a temporary restraining order for injuctive relief regarding our staffing issue.  Our CBA dictates that basically, neither the County nor the Sheriff can alter our work environment drastically without the approval of the union.  Welllllll, today I found out directly from Captain Thomas (soon to be Chief Thomas, so congratulations Captain) who was on the phone with Capt. Long of DSABC, in my presence, that CLEAT is apparently unsure as to whether or not the TRO should be filed.  What. The. Hell?

This issue should be a complete no brainer.  This is what CLEAT is supposed to do.  Instead of standing up for the labor issue and protecting the employees of the Sheriff's Office, they are going to meet with some representatives of the DSABC to determine who, or if anyone, is going to file this TRO.  This TRO needs to happen.  Now.  Its obvious the County is going to fight us tooth and nail regarding the CBA and as usual, they are going to try and screw us.  This should not happen and the DSABC and CLEAT should be fighting over who gets to file the TRO not whether it should be filed at all.  Was this just an idle threat in the face of the Commissioners?  I sure hope not.  They will never take us seriously again if it was.

If CLEAT stands aside and lets this fall to DSABC to file on the outside (and how long is that going to take?) then I would suggest that the DSABC re-evaluate its professional relationship with CLEAT.  When the labor issues become complex and serious, such as they are now, we need help and representation, not waffling and abdication.

UPDATE: I had emailed DSABC President Janssen regarding the restraining order and asking about the lawsuits and what progress was being made.  Apparently, the union needs to file a grievance through proper channels prior to asking for a restraining order and are in the process of doing that.  Im not sure if we have actual labor representatives pursuing this issue or if its elected DSABC personnel, but perhaps they can focus on using a labor attorney or other qualified representative to handle this issue so that we are not taking two steps forward and one step back, which is what it looks like.

Standby for a message from rumor control...

So, here is the latest info... out with the old in with the new.  The DSABC announced the election results and its no surprise that Lt. Janssen and his running mates were elected.  They are well respected from what Ive seen and heard and lets hope that they have the good fortune and dedication to turn the Association around.

Meanwhile....

Booking is going back to 8 hour shifts, allegedly, due to the claims made by Commissioners Court that there is apparently a 10% 'waste' of manpower at the time that the shifts overlap.  Im not a staffing genius, but when you change shifts, theres always an overlap of personnel.  Many officers sought those positions in booking specifically to have the 13.20 hr shifts to spend more time with family and have their lives set up for that schedule.  Also, some of those currently assigned to booking are being reassigned to the floors.

Classification is also slated to lose 4-5 officers across their shifts. 

I wonder if any of the officers in the 46 support roles outlined by Commissioners are going to be reassigned.

KSAT discovers the jail staffing issue

And not a moment too soon......  Meanwhile, today was the day the budget was to be passed and if passed, a temporary restraining order was to be filed by the DSABC to bring the issue of our staffing before a judge.  Comissioner Paul Elizondo called it "sabotage".  Interestingly enough, Elizondo seems to be the latest Commissioner with his facts out of whack.  He told KSAT that the "state" has said we are 200 officers over our minimum required.  I sent him an email asking where he got those numbers and if I should hear from him, Ill post the reply but I'm not holding my breath.  Those of us that work at the jail know damn well we do not have 200 officers over our minimum staffing level.  Almost every day we are at our minimum staffing level.  I think it would be incredibly refreshing to see the media fact check these Commissioners and their lackeys like Haven for Hope CEO George Block and call them on their 'mistakes'.

I've also sent emails to KSAT Reporters Jesse Degollado and Charles Gonzales asking them to confront the Commissioners for the claims they have made which are completely untrue.  I've yet to get a response from either reporter.

The DSABC strikes back

On Tuesday the 13th, the Bexar County Commissioners plan to meet and finalize the proposed budget that includes the elimination of 128 positions at the jail.  If they vote to pass this budget, the DSABC has said they will file a temporary restraining order for injunctive relief.  Right now, its unclear what effect this will have on the overall issue or if it will stop the elimination of those positions, but it should put the issue before a court.  If you can make it, be at the courthouse at 10:30am to make your voice heard.

New piece in the SA Current highlights crusade against the DSABC

Writer Michale Barajas at the SA Current has a new piece on Commissioner Kevin Wolff and his apparently fervent desire to get rid of the DSABC, Wolff says, because its standing in the way of his goal to privatize the jail.  I'm not sure why Wolff is so intent on pursuing privatization given its sordid history in Texas and the obstacles in the way, not the least of which is the Sheriff.  Why he would rather risk the safety of staff, inmates and the community in an effort to save a few million dollars is a mystery given how many millions they have in the budget in discretionary spending that could be curtailed.  When cutting budgets, public safety is usually not on the chopping block.

The Current article paints Commissioner Wolff as intent on going after the union.  His blatant anti-union position is part and parcel to his role as the lone Republican on the Court and I suspect that he is looking to cement his position amongst Republicans and Tea Party members but his reasoning in this issue is lacking.  I contacted Michael Barajas at the Current and gave him some additional information and hopefully he can bring us some more exposure on this issue.  Check out his column and leave some feedback.  As always, let me know what you think by commenting or emailing me.

http://sacurrent.com/news/bexar-commissioner-wants-to-break-up-the-state-of-sheriff-8217-s-union-1.1198787

Writer Michael Barajas has also written on the topic of privatization in the recent past.  Check out these stories:

Do private prisons save money? Sept. 7th, 2011 

Prisons for profit: Deaths, lawsuits don’t stop expansion of GEO immigration prisons Feb. 16th 2011

Chief Dovalina and the Sheriff paid a visit to Commissioners Court today

It was a beautiful thing.  Chief Dovalina had the Commissioners by the collar and was kicking them in the ass.  We saw leadership and focus.  He had figures and information to rebut the recent claims and innuendo from the Commissioners that the jail is fully staffed. This was so very much needed.  Specifically, he went to ask for 64 positions and he showed where over the course of time, 832 beds had been added to the jail but that the aggregate number of officers added to staff for those beds was... 14.  We have a sizable number of positions unfilled and with the newly proposed relief factor, our situation is bleak.

David Smith made the offhand comment insinuating that no officer had soiled themselves in the unit for lack of a break.  I know for a fact this happened as I personally know the officer.  Be that as it may, David Smith and the Commissioners are not concerned with anything more than the bottomline.  Their ultimate suggestion came down to re-assigning 46 "support" positions to the 'front line' directly supervising inmates.  These positions consisted of mostly single officers in various temporary duty assignments such as SERT STU (2), Triangle (yeah, thats a position thats just being wasted...), Fleet Maintenance (2), Fire Safety Officer (1), Environmental Officer (1), Tech Support (1), Yeoman Main Jail (5), Yeoman Annex (5), Facilities Services Supervisor (1 Sgt), Facility Services Staff (3).  There are others, but these are the ones I recall off the top of my head.

Mr. Smith put forth the notion that these 46 positions could also be used to assist the shifts on a daily basis saying: "the folks in these support positions need to understand that they may not be working in those jobs every single day as that is not what their position was budgeted for"  He has a point.  Of course, the reality is a bit different in that many of the jobs filled by those officers listed above are not being done by anyone else and would cost the county thousands in order to staff if this were a perfect world.

When pointing out the fire safety position, one of the Commissioners or it may have been David Smith made the comment that we have a fire marshal.  Yeah, we have a County Fire Marshal but he isn't going to be going around making sure the air packs are full, officers are trained in fire compliance requirements and dealing with the myriad of duties that Cpl. Moncus currently does.  Its almost like they expect the fact that they came up with an idea, that its perfectly plausible to implement without exploring further.

Just as the suggestion from David Smith that instead of full time employees to staff the jail that we become more 'flexible' in our staffing and employ part time employees or retirees to help augment our staff.  Has David Smith or anyone done a study or other research to see if anyone is interested in working at the jail for zero benefits and crappy pay in a dangerous environment with the amount of garbage that we put up with?  I'm sure they will be overwhelmed with applications. 

I guess I also have to speculate as to whether or not this army of part time employees and retirees that are slated to save the day will even have the proper training to be of benefit, but I'm sure Mr. Smith has that covered. 


More to come.....

Shady attempt at attacking our retirement by State Legislators

I found out today that in the past few months, 2 separate bills were introduced by a Republican from Houston (Kenneth Sheets) and Warren Chisum from Pampa sought to eliminate various retirement plans in Texas, specifically affected would be the TDCRS, which is also known as the "Teachers Retirement" but also encompasses tens of thousands of government workers, including Bexar County.  Its unclear why these guys wanted to hurt so many people.  

Legislative Session: 82(R) - Relating to creating defined contribution retirement plans for persons eligible to participate in the Employees Retirement System of Texas and the Teacher Retirement System of Texas.

Battle brewing over Texas public pensions-over-texas-public-pensions-1802578.html 

Attack on TRS pensions draws heavy fire

Bill to Undermine Guaranteed TRS Pension Benefits on Committee Agenda Tuesday

Basically, had the bills passed, you would have been grandfathered and allowed to stay in the TCDRS but anyone new coming on after Sept. 1st 2012 would have been forced to get a 401(k) or something similar for a retirement option...bully idea.  Anyone remember when the economy crashed for the first time a few years ago and how most people with 401(k)'s lost 50% or more of their value?  This is why when former President Bush suggested 'privatizing' social security and investing it in the stock market was such a spectacularly bad idea.  Rather than have a guaranteed retirement plan, you would likely see a reduction in benefits paid to you over time.  One bill is dead and the other was left in Committee back in April, presumably still on life support.  Contact your representative and fight this.

So, my next question is; WHERE IS THE DSABC ON THESE THINGS and why aren't they spending the members dues on getting into the fight on this?

Suggestions:

Hire an actual, honest to God labor attorney to protect our interests in the Texas Legislature.

Have a designated union representative be the DSABC watchdog for legislative issues.  These bills were introduced back in March and we should have been on the case day one.  Maybe we were...I don't know because I'm not a member of DSABC.  If so, let me know by commenting or email me at bexardeputyissues AT gmail.com

Some things that the Commissioners and David Smith aren't really thinking about...

So, the Commissioners and David Smith have a new relief factor to play with and you probably just got done doing your mandatory overtime.  They want to staff the jail for approximately 3,800 inmates.  Should our population exceed that, we would farm those inmates out to other counties and pay those counties to house them.  As you probably know, we ship inmates to Zavala and Frio counties right now.  Frio houses approximately 24 inmates at no cost to us in Bexar Co.  Zavala County, on the other hand, charges us $45 a day per inmate and has done so since July 29th.  Right now, we have 100 96 inmates there.  $45 x 96 = $4,320.00 per day.  To be fair, David Smith, in his budget proposals, has always said that we can ship inmates out to other counties for 'short periods of time'.  Whats a short period of time?  Is it the same length of time that its going to take to add officers to be able to properly staff the jail when those 96 inmates come back from Zavala?  Honestly though, I don't see them coming back as a real issue at this point because Zavala County is making $1.576,800.00 a year off of the taxpayers of Bexar County.  Since July 29th until today, which is August 29th, its been 31 days of a windfall for Zavala County to the tune of $133,920.00 with $4,320.00 to be added every day until the inmates come back.

Lets look at some other issues.  Lets say the jail is now staffed "on demand" and everything is rolling along.  Officers are working mandatory overtime and seeing less and less of their families.  Zavala county is making a fortune off of our taxpayers and the County is saving tons of money that they can spend on other things or giveaway to deserving groups and organizations or pet projects.  Now, somewhere on the other side of the world, we get involved in another military adventure similar to Iraq or Afghanistan and all of a sudden, a number of our officers are called up to active duty.  I don't know how many officers we have in the military, but I know its considerable.  For the sake of our discussion, lets say its 100 officers across the board.  So, now we are down 168 officers presuming nobody else has resigned, retired or been fired.  Just for fun, lets say across all the shifts, we lost a total of 30 more officers to attrition, so now we are down 200 officers.  See where I'm going with this?

I don't think David Smith or the Commissioners are looking at the "buffer" we would need to offset the issues we just looked at.  I think TCJS, in determining our relief factor, do take into account these factors and it may be why I found every other county in my research to have their relief factor in place for maximum occupancy of their facility rather than just for the number of inmates they currently have.

We also have to look at our attrition beyond the 64 positions that are going away.  We lose approximately 5 officers a month to retirement, resignation, termination etc.  So, the 68 positions actually turns into a hell of a lot more.  I may be completely wrong here, but I'm predicting that our resignations amongst our younger officers will increase.  Even several months ago, I had a new officer asking me if he thought it was wise to stick around or try to find a better job somewhere else due to the uncertainty of jobs with the county.  He was right to be concerned.  Hell, if I was a new officer or even so much as only 5 years on, I would be looking for a new career.

Then there's the safety issue we have yet to even talk about.  Did you hear about the group assault the other day?  How about the other one the other day?  Or the other one?  You know and I know what we deal with but the public (and some public figures...George Block I'm looking at you) don't have any idea how dangerous our facility has become and its getting worse almost every day.  Thankfully, so far, no officers have been targeted by our inmates.  As you know, our gang problem is out of control and if the Orejon's go much further with the Mexican Mafia, we may have a bloodbath on our hands.  Its not a question of if, but when.  Isn't it comforting to know that your safety is in no way a factor in the proposal to let those 64 positions go away?