Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clarke, noted for his top-notch managerial skills, has come under fire from the union representing corrections officers at the Milwaukee County House of Corrections for his attempts to enact staffing changes in violation of negotiated labor agreements (emphasis mine):
Clarke said he decided to use the sergeants as backup for guards after an initial review of the House of Correction operation. Sergeants have a different job classification and their main duties include supervision, booking inmates and training.
Schoofs said the union contract did not allow interchanging sergeants for lower level correctional officers, unless the only alternative was forced overtime.
The sheriff said he didn’t care what the job duties were on paper and that he wants to use the available staff more effectively and avoid the big overtime costs that have plagued the House of Correction. Overtime costs for 2008 were expected to exceed $4.3 million, despite the hiring of dozens of new correctional officers.
Sheriff Clarke’s not noted for a leadership style that inspires his rank and file subordinates, but it seems to me to be extremely counterproductive to pick a fight with corrections officers shortly after taking control of the management of the HOC. For as long as I can remember, one of the biggest problems at the HOC has been the severe morale problem among many of its employees, a morale problem which has affected not only retention of staff, but the hiring of new staff as well. As a veteran of both the HOC and State correctional facilities, I know that many of the problems the HOC faces, such as a chronic shortage of staff and the massive amounts of overtime – both voluntary and forced – that are a result of understaffing at the HOC are not as pervasive a problem at many state correctional institutions.
By their very nature, jobs in correctional institutions aren’t conducive to high morale. Those jobs are demanding both physically and mentally, and those demands can be difficult to deal with, especially when compounded by management that cares less about staff and more about a bottom line and “proving a point.” If Sheriff David Clarke really cared about improving things at the HOC, he’d be a little more willing to work with the line staff, instead of purposely trying to work against them.
Stop whinning, do your job better than you ever have, and remind yourself that the future of work is defined by flexibility, not a union handbook.
The state, and county should take notice, its about time a manage put his foot down and stated the public service is not defined by a union contract or found in a handbook. Other leaders should take note of his actions and replicate.
LaFay, first of all it’s “whining,” not “whinning.”
As to the crux of your argument, labor contracts are negotiated by both management – in this case Milwaukee County – and the union, and those contracts are binding. While you may think it’s perfectly okay for Sheriff Clarke to act in violation of a labor contract, I’m willing to bet the union that represents the officers at the House of Corrections disagrees, and if this ends up in arbitration, the union seems to have a winnable case – at least based on the information I have.