Merced County's correctional officers link up with Teamsters

There's a new sheriff's outfit in town.

The 80-member union representing the sheriff's correctional officers has joined forces with a powerful national union -- the Teamsters -- in an action which may change their relationship with the county.

That word comes from Jeff Miller, spokesman for the Merced County Sheriff's Employee Association.

The move will give the union's members a stronger position in future bargaining with the county and the sheriff.

It may also aid the organization's efforts to improve working conditions at the county's two jails.

"Their expertise in working with county governments and cities will definitely help us better serve the public," said Miller.

The move will also give the association's members, often seen as stepchildren at the sheriff's department, stronger legal and financial backing now that they are part of a national union with 1.4 million members.

"Their political clout is going to help us," said Miller.

The MCSEA will now be part of the second-largest Teamsters local in Northern California, he said. The Teamsters Law Enforcement League local in San Bruno already has 3,000 civil service members, the majority of whom are in law enforcement, said Miller.

"We are glad to welcome the MCSEA into our union and look forward to representing them and increasing safety and working conditions for all their members," said Rudy Gonzales, an organizer with the Teamsters in San Bruno.

Gonzales said his local's organizing efforts have been directed mainly at public sector workers like law enforcement.

Not only are civil service jobs hard to outsource, he said, but they are also easier to organize.

The correctional officers' decision to join a larger organization is also part of a recent national trend by the Teamsters to ratchet up their organizing efforts with law enforcement.

The Teamsters Law Enforcement League, founded in 2004, was created to aid organizing efforts in the area, said Galen Munroe, a spokesman for the national union.

Ken Jacobs, chairman of the UC Berkeley Center for Labor Research and Education, said MCSEA's joining the Teamsters illustrates several larger trends in the union movement. Smaller local unions have increasingly been joining larger national organizations to gain more clout with their employers, he said.

At the same time, organizing law enforcement and other public sector workers has increased.

"Private sector unions have moved toward public sector organizing as they have seen their private sector numbers decrease," said Jacobs.

One example has been the United Auto Workers' effort to organize graduate students.

As for the sheriff, his reaction was muted.

"They are an independent organization, and they need to do what they feel is best for their organization, and I look forward to working with them in the future," said Sheriff Mark Pazin in a statement.

The four-person board of MCSEA voted to join the Teamsters on Oct. 5 after the association's members approved an increase in dues to $30 a pay period, said Miller.

Reporter Jonah Owen Lamb can be reached at (209) 385-2484 or jlamb@mercedsun-star.com.