Franklin sheriff won’t concede after Teamsters win contract dispute to go inside jail

The Franklin County sheriff lost a fight against the Teamsters union, but he’s not surrendering.

Robin Romeo, an independent arbitrator, ruled recently that the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office violated its union contract when it stopped a Local 839 representative from visiting jail employees whenever and wherever he wanted.

The union’s victory comes after more than a year of disputing Sheriff Jim Raymond’s decision to prevent union officials from going inside the jail after normal business hours and unescorted by the sheriff or a human resources employee.

But the sheriff doesn’t plan on changing course, he told the Herald.

The arbitrator’s decision comes at the same time the corrections deputies and the sheriff’s office are negotiating their next contract, more than a year after the last one expired.

Russell Shjerven, the secretary-treasurer for the local Teamsters, said other local jails, including Benton and Walla Walla counties, allow union representatives easy access to meet with employees inside the facility.

“Worksite visits are important to maintain safety in the workplace and to ensure that the sheriff’s office is not violating the current contract,” he said.

While Raymond can challenge the arbitrator’s decision, he said he is not going to but he’s also not going to follow it, he said.

“An arbitrator has no authority to order a sheriff to open the jail hour doors to a union,” Raymond told the Herald. “This is just a union trying to take control away from the sheriff, so they can control a law enforcement operation.”

Raymond said he isn’t stopping corrections officers from meeting with their union representative. He just isn’t letting them meet in the jail.

The Teamsters are prepared to continue challenging Raymond’s decision, Shjerven said. That could mean going to the state’s Public Employment Relations Commission or taking it to a judge in Franklin County Superior Court.

The commission is the state agency that oversees public sector labor relations and collective bargaining in Washington.

Teamsters officials told the Herald they have not decided which option they will take.

Contract and problems

The dispute between the Teamsters and the sheriff started in October 2020, about six months after correction officers picked the union to represent them.

The Teamsters replaced the Franklin County Correction Officers Association, which had been responsible for negotiating the last two-year contract between the corrections officers and the county.

One of the provisions of the contract said the labor representative “may visit the work location of employees covered by the agreement at any reasonable time for the purpose of investigating grievances.”

For the first six months, Teamsters union Representative Jesus Alvarez was allowed to come inside to the jail after calling the commander to let him know in advance, according the arbitrator’s report.

During his early visits, he went through the same process used by the public. Then jail officials allowed Alvarez to come in without going through the security procedures. He was met at the gate and led inside the jail.

While inside, Alvarez met with employees to investigate contract problems. That includes a potential grievances involving issues such as meal breaks and overtime.

He also met with employees during disciplinary investigation and a harassment complaint interview.

Then on Oct. 1, 2020, a jail supervisor threatened to discipline an employee for insubordination. After the employee called the union, Alvarez went to the jail to speak to the commander.

Five days later, Raymond told his command staff they would no longer respond to Alvarez’s requests to visit.

According to the arbitration decision, Raymond said, “This developing environment of corrections deputies squealing to their union rep when they don’t get their way is coming to an end.”

At the end of October, the sheriff stopped Alvarez from having easy access to the jail and created a new policy. Now, the union representative can only visit during regular business hours.

Also, the sheriff or a human resources representative needs to accompany the rep when inside the facility.

Arbitration

The union took the issue to the Public Employment Relations Commission, claiming the sheriff’s office was interfering with the rights of his employees and refusing to engage in collective bargaining.

The commission referred the issue to an arbitrator. Largely the argument came down the “work location” of the correction officers and what is considered reasonable hours for visits.

County officials argued that “work location” was the entire Franklin County Courthouse, and that reasonable hours for visiting the jail meant during normal business hours.

The attorney representing the sheriff’s office argued that the Teamsters weren’t there when the contract was initially negotiated, so the union didn’t have any evidence that its interpretation was correct.

They also argued there was a safety issue with escorting visitors through secure areas because it reduces staffing levels and introduces the possibility of smuggling contraband.

The union argued the change was a result of hostility toward the union, and it came after six months of allowing the union representative to come into the jail.

Also, if they’re only allowed to meet with employees during business hours, they won’t be able to talk with night shift employees.

They pinned the blame on Raymond’s hostility toward the union.

The arbitrator decided that since Alvarez had been allowed to come into the jail during both day and night shifts for six months, that showed what the past practice had been.

“While the employer cites security concerns, and while security is of utmost importance in a jail, those concerns are unsubstantiated when it comes to the union representative,” Romeo wrote in her decision.

This story was originally published March 3, 2022 at 10:49 AM.