January Meeting!!

The Board would like to thank all the members and retired members who attended the January 2012 meeting. In attendance were two guest speakers both of whom are running for a seat on Commissioners Court. From District 3 (Lower Valley and Far Eastside County), Candidate Dora Oaxaca addressed the membership and answered several questions from members and retired members in reference to her stance on employee insurance, retirees' insurance, privatization of the jails, and consolidation. From District 1 (Eastside), Candidate Carlos Leon (former Police Chief) addressed the membership and spoke of his excellent working relationship with the police union when he was Chief, and also made himself available for questions. Both District 1 and 3 are being vacated by the incumbents and together with the Coalition of Public Safety (C.O.P.S.) we will be announcing endorsments for most of the political races. We ask that each member please update their voter registration prior to this years primary elections. If you need any assistance with this ask one of your Board Members or attend the February Meeting as we will have Francis Munoz there to register or update member's voter registration cards. If you are interested in volunteering your time for this years political functions, please contact one of the P.A.C. members and provide them with your contact information. P.A.C. members to contact are Brian Houston, Mario Marquez, Jose Marrufo, or Louie Silva you can locate their email on the Board members page of the website. Don't wait for others to get things done for you, get involved and make a difference. The two Commissioners elected this term will be there for the next Contract Negotiations for 2014. The C.O.P.S (EPCSOA, EPMPOA, FireFighters Local 51, and Border Patrols Local 1929) is over 7000 members strong and together we will make a difference for our futures!!

Operation Santa!!

This year the El Paso County Sheriff's Offciers Association at the direction of members request, expanded on last years Christmas toy drive. The association was able to get toys from it membership which were given out at the El Paso Transitional Living Center. On Thursday December 22, 2011 members attended the TLC's annaul Christmas Banquet accompanied by Santa Claus (Lt. Pete Frias) who gave each child a present from Santa. The Association also received numerous donated toys from generous members of our community which were delivered to the Sierra/Providence Childrens Hospital earlier that same day. While at the Hospital, we were joined by Commissioner Sergio Lewis who assisted in giving every child who had to spend the holidays in the Hospital a toy. We were even able to provide toys for any sibling who were visting while we were there. Due to inclement weather the following day we were unable to make it out to the Reynolds House for our 3rd delivery of the year. The Reynolds House will however still be getting a visit from us with a truck load of toys. We would like to thank everyone who donated a toy, volunteered their time, or helped in anyway to make this years Operation Santa such a success. We know that with the generousity and willingness to help the less fortunate of the EPCSOA membership, we can help make it a Merry Christmas for even more children next year. Please contact a Board Member if you are interested in volunteering your time at any of our Charitable events.

Sheriffs Memorial Honors Fallen

Sgt. Yvonne Villarreal Vann of Bexar County traces Sgt. Kenneth Vann's name in the Sheriffs Memorial Wall

The Texas Sheriffs Officers Memorial held a ceremony honoring Sheriffs Officers across Texas who have given the ultimate sacrifice. The following were honored:

Cesar Arreola, Jailer, El Paso 01-18-2009
Henry C. Banks, Deputy, Hays 11-16-1873
Robert L. Britton, Jr., Deputy, Smith 03-28-2011
Dionicio M. Camacho, Jailer, Harris 10-23-2009
Thomas F. Douglas, Jailer, Harris 03-10-2004
Sherri Jones, Deputy, Bowie 04-18-2011
Odell McDuffie, Jr., Deputy, Liberty 10-25-2010
John Norsworthy, Deputy, Fort Bend 01-04-2011
Tim Olsovsky, Deputy, Victoria 10-07-2009
Bobby E. Pace, Jailer, Dallas 09-24-1998
Sam C. Perez, Deputy Val Verde 11-18-1969
Jacob R. Rayos Deputy, Reeves 04-11-2010
Michael R. Schaefer Deputy, Uvalde 12-25-2010
Clifton L. Taylor, Deputy Johnson 04-23-2011
Charles A. Van Meter, Deputy Brazoria 06-26-11
Kenneth G. Vann, Deputy, Bexar 05-28-2011

Voting Results!!

Membership;

On November 22, 2011 a vote was held to increase Association membership dues. 72% of voting majority of the membership vote to increase Association dues by $6.15, so the change will be from $5.00 bi-weekly to $11.15 bi-weekly. The new dues will go in effect on January 1, 2012. I would like to THANK all the membership for the continue support of the Association and the preservation of its future.


JOSE G. MARRUFO
PRESIDENT-E.P.C.S.O.A

Issue 2 falls, Ohio collective bargaining law repealed

Posted by Rachel Weiner -->at 09:38 PM ET, 11/08/2011

Ohioans voted Tuesday night to repeal a Republican-backed law that restricted collective bargaining for public workers, a victory for Democrats and labor organizers both nationally and in the state.
AP has declared Issue 2 (as the law was called on the ballot) dead. As of this writing, with about 75 percent of precincts in, repeal led by a whopping 62 to 38 percent margin.
Gov. John Kasich (R) took office in January vowing to curb unions’ power. But he appears to have overstepped his hand in curtailing the rights of 350,000 public workers — including firefighters and police officers — to negotiate over benefits, equipment and other issues.
The backlash against the law began as soon as Kasich signed it, in March. By August, when the governor asked for a compromise with unions, it was too late.
“It’s clear that the people have spoken and my view is, when people speak in a campaign like this you have to listen,” Kasich said in a press conference after the results came in. He said he would “take a deep breath” and think about the results. “But let me be clear, there is no bailout coming” for the state, he said, adding that he would work with local governments to curb costs.
As in other states, the law became a battleground for an ongoing fight between labor and conservative groups over collective bargaining. In Wisconsin, after Gov. Scott Walker (R) eliminated collective bargaining for many public employees, Democrats and labor failed to take back the state Senate in recall elections. Now, unions have their first bonafide win.
By including firefighters and police officers in the legislation, Republicans in Ohio set themselves up for a far more difficult fight. Wisconsin’s collective bargaining law made exceptions for both.
“This was an effort by the entire labor movement in the state,” said Lee Saunders, secretary-treasurer of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees. “All labor was together.”
Labor groups, led by the National Education Association and the Ohio Education Association, through the group “We Are Ohio,” poured $30 million into the repeal effort. Opponents of repeal, under the banner “Build A Better Ohio,” raised only $7.5 million.
“This was a thrashing in Ohio — a huge overreach by extremist Republicans and an enormous victory for average working families,” said Steve Rosenthal, a longtime Democratic labor strategist. “A sleeping giant may have been awoken in the process. In Ohio nearly 30 percent of the vote in 2012 will come from union households. There is enormous energy coming off this victory.”
Democrats also claimed victory, framing the results as a rebuke to Republican lawmakers across the country after the GOP swept statehouses across the country in 2010. Ohio Democrats were brutally beaten in that election.
In addition to limiting bargaining and banning strikes, the law mandates that public workers pay 15 percent of their health-care benefits and 10 percent of wages into their pensions — something that state, but not county and local workers already do.
Republicans argued that the legislation was not only fair, but necessary to balance the budget. Democrats and unions argued that it was a senseless attack on hardworking public servants.
A separate referendum to bar all health-care mandates, Issue 3, passed by a wide margin — 66 percent to 34 percent with 74 percent reporting.
The constitutional amendment is a rebuke of the Obama administration’s health-care legislation, although even supporters acknowledge that they cannot supersede federal law. It does prevent a Massachusetts-style state health-care mandate. Critics fear the broadly-written measure could bar immunizations or regulation of health insurers.

Collective bargaining rejected for Sheriff's Office in Cameron County!

November 08, 2011 10:22 PM
By EMMA PEREZ-TREVINO, The Brownsville Herald

Cameron County voters on Tuesday rejected collective bargaining rights for Cameron County deputies and detention officers by a slim margin.

By a vote of 2,321 in favor and 2,639 against, the initiative failed. Initial vote counts had indicated that it would be a tight race.

Cameron County Sheriff’s Deputies Association President Luis Mendita could not be located for comment.

But he, with the help of the Combined Law Enforcement Association of Texas (CLEAT), led the effort that would have allowed deputies and detention officers to organize and bargain with the county regarding compensation, hours, and other conditions of employment.

Polls opened at 7 a.m. and closed at 7 p.m., drawing 3,266 voters on Election Day, 1,815 votes during the early voting period, and 19 mailed-in votes.

The collective bargaining initiative drew 924 early votes for it and 830 votes against it. A total of seven mail in votes were cast for it and 12 were cast against it.

On Election Day, 1,390 votes were cast in favor and 1,797 votes were cast against. A total of 5,100 votes were cast in the election.

The voter turnout was significantly low. There are 169,950 registered voters.
The returns were not available until 9:50 p.m., because the boxes from Harlingen came in late, a couple of hours after the polls closed at 7 p.m.

This is not the first time that the Harlingen boxes come in later than what would be expected.
But County Election and Voter Registration Administrator Roger Ortiz said, “rather late than wrong.”

Proponents had argued that a collective bargaining agreement would protect deputies and detention officers, providing them adequate pay and other benefits. Opponents, on the other hand, argued that bargaining agreements would deplete funds for the operation and maintenance of the county to detriment of the county’s operation and maintenance and other employees not protected by an agreement.

Commissioners Court was forced to place collective bargaining on the ballot after the association turned in a petition for the referendum containing more than 3,400 signatures.

CLEAT Convention Held in Corpus Christi

With the defense or public retirement benefits on the minds of most in attendance, members travelled to Corpus Christi for the 35th annual CLEAT convention October 20-22nd.

CLEAT pollster Todd M. Smith and political consultant Nancy Fisher addressed CLEAT leaders at a retirement seminar on Thursday in which the focus was the recent attacks on public pensions. Smith relayed that public attitudes on defined benefit retirements are not as negative as national pundits would have you believe. When those polled learn the facts, such as most public safety employees do not participate in social security and contribute 6 to 14% of their income to their own pension, then polling results were found to be favorable. For example, in the poll commissioned by CLEAT, 95% of those polled believe that police officers deserve a descent retirement and 69% believe it should be higher than those in the private sector.

Nancy Fisher was called in to help during the 2011 legislative session when local “agreed to” pension legislation for Austin Police and Fire came under attack. Opponents attacked the bills with misinformation and the key was educating legislators on the truth. She praised CLEAT for efforts made within the internal political process to overcome the opposition and move the legislation forward.

In the general session on Friday, President Todd Harrison addressed the membership on the state of CLEAT. He reminded members that CLEAT was formed by regular cops 35 years ago to bring rights like civil service, collective bargaining, and arbitration to the rank and file. They did it by organizing and meeting in hotel rooms across the state, including a hotel room in Corpus Christi not far from the current convention hotel. Since then, the membership has grown to over 18,500. Despite tough economic times, CLEAT’s growth and finances are strong, he said. He also reminded members that CLEAT’s books are “open records” to anyone interested in how CLEAT has invested or spent the members money or if you are a CLEAT member with a question, our staff is ready to assist you.

Sean Smoot, of the Illinois Police Benevolent Protective Association addressed the membership. Smoot outlined the fight to defend police pensions and benefits in Illinois. Smoot discussed the PBPA “We are One” campaign and the importance of educating both the public and legislators as to the truth. He explained that organized opposition in all of the national attacks on pension benefits is coordinated through the use of a process known as “astroturfing” which is a form political advocacy that is designed to give the appearance of a “grassroots” movement when in fact the attack is orchestrated by a political group or entity with a predetermined agenda. He pointed out that millionaires like the Koch brothers are behind a lot of these “astroturf” campaigns.

Also, on Friday, members heard from Brent Hatch from Texas’ Division on Workers Compensation. Mr. Hatch discussed the new changes to the Texas Workers Comp system for first responders. These changes were a result of legislation developed and passed by CLEAT during the last legislative session.

On Saturday, members honored those who have made great sacrifices protecting the public the past year. In an emotional presentation, members remembered 20 officers who have made the ultimate sacrifice in the last 12 months. Medals of Valor were also awarded to Sergeant Patricia Lenoir (Sweetwater), Officer Lee Ortiz (Snyder), and Corporal Darrell Campbell (Snyder).
Lt. Governor David Dewhurst addressed the membership and thanked CLEAT for the support shown over the years. Dewhurst outlined important legislation supported by CLEAT that he we was able to help through the legislative process as the president of the Texas Senate. Dewhurst also addressed the retirement issue and committed to ensuring that officers pensions are secure in the future.

CLEAT also honored the following award winners, Corpus Christi Police Officers Association – CLEAT Local Association of the Year, Brownsville Police Officers Assciation – CLEAT Organizing Award, Wayne Vincent (Austin) – Ludwig Bruno Award, Jose Marrufo (El Paso County) – Douglas Ward Award, Michael Helle (San Antonio) – Reuben Cisneros Award, Edward Garces (Brownsville) – Lifetime Achievement Award, Ron Martin (El Paso) – Brass Balls Award, Edward Martin (Jefferson County) – Legislative Steward Award.

CLEAT’s Regional Directors also awarded Officer of the Year awards to a members from their regions. CLEAT congratulates the following winners: Sergeant Antionio Molina, Jr. (Region 1B), Deputy Cynthia Hooper (Region 2), Detective Michael Helle (Region 3A), Deputy Loudes Najara (Region 3B), Deputy Luis Alva (Region 3C), Officer Henry Rivera (Region 4A), Detention Officer Jean-Claude Drouin (Region 4B), Officer Lee Ortiz (Region 5), Sergeant Landis Cravens (Region 6), Detective Edward Martin (Region 7), Lieutenant Gary Rosch (Region 8A), Sergeant Sam Stock (Region 8B), and Sergeant Brad Meyer (Region 9).

In new business, a number of proposed constitutional amendments were tabled. President Todd Harrison announced that a two-day constitutional convention would be called next year to develop a constitutional changes that can be supported by all groups in CLEAT. Also, an effort to expand the size and membership of the CLEAT executive board was defeated in roll call vote of the board of directors.

Pictures from the convention can be found online here:

http://cleatpomf.shutterfly.com/