Press Release: FCPSA Postpones Strike
May 20th, 2022
The Fresno County Public Safety Association (FCPSA) is announcing it has postponed its strike which was scheduled for May 23rd, 2022, to begin instead on June 20th 2022. The reasons for the postponement are listed below:
FCPSA has stated all along that the Correctional Officers are not peace officers and therefore are not legally prevented from striking. The only way their strike would be considered illegal, is if their absence created a significantly unsafe condition to the public and there were not suitable replacement employees to handle the duties.
Obviously, the Association does not want to endanger the public as we are dedicated public servants who simply want to use our legally protected activity (a strike) to draw attention to the fact that we are paid 41% less than a similarly classified Deputy (Deputy Sheriff III vs Correctional Officer III). In 2010 the difference between DSIII and COIII was 19%. Since 2010 the members of our bargaining group have been given salary increases totaling approx. 7.5% while inflation for that time period has been 31%.
The Association has been doing some legal back and forth with the County about how many Correctional Officers we would be required/willing to leave behind on the job to work alongside the suitable replacements, so that the jail runs smoothly. The Association’s position is that Deputy Sheriffs would be natural suitable replacements. The phrase, “May supervise prisoners at detention facilities”, is in the Deputy Sheriff I and II job descriptions, Deputy Sheriffs historically sign up for overtime duties at the hospital jail ward and the court services deputies move inmates around the courts and back and forth to the jail as part of their current duties. The County also currently has a cadre of reserve deputies, referred to as 108s, who work with inmates at the hospital jail ward on a paid basis. Because of the existence of this large pool of qualified County employees to backfill, the Association was willing to provide fifty (50) twelve (12) hour shifts of Correctional Officers per day, during the duration of the strike, to work alongside the deputies, COs that chose not to strike, and higher ranking Sheriff’s Department staff, so the jail would be run smoothly. Obviously, this would cost the County more as The County pays deputies 41% more than COs and many of these hours at the jail would be paid as overtime. But isn’t that the point of a strike? The Association thinks it is.
The Public Employment Relations Board, in response to the County’s request, sought and was granted a temporary restraining order (TRO) from the Fresno County Superior Court that requires one hundred and forty-five (145) twelve (12) hour shifts of Correctional Officers a day, during the strike. The Association’s position is that this number is far too many. There are currently many days in which there are not 145 COs working 12 hour shifts, in a 24 hour period. Importantly, the County’s position was accepted by PERB that no Deputies would be able to work in the jail at all, due to a lack of training and experience. The Association argued before the Superior Court that the County should use deputies and other qualified County employees to backfill for the COs that go out on strike. While the Judge granted the TRO this week, there will be a full hearing on the matter on June 16. In that hearing, the County will have to explain how a Deputy is not a suitable temporary replacement for a Correctional Officer and the Association is optimistic about its chances to prevail and end up with a modified strike restriction that allows far more of our members to go out on strike.
The Association would rather wait and have a meaningful strike with as many Correctional Officers as want to participate. We are trying to send a message!
The Message is our members need equity adjustments. 7.5% in the past 12 years is absolutely not enough to recruit and retain the type of men and women that can effectively and safely run our jail. It is the fair response to the evidence presented at the May 17th Board of Supervisors meeting.