WINTER HAVEN -- Unfair labor practice charges have been filed against Winter Haven, with union officials claiming the city has intimidated, harassed and retaliated against pro-union workers -- even having the police hunt down former employees on "trumped up" charges to stamp out support.
In papers filed Friday, the Federation of Public Employees, the union representing city employees, charges the city with several serious violations of Florida Statute 447. These violations date back to before the June 13 union vote in which city employees overwhelmingly voted to organize.
"I haven't seen it, and I can't comment on it," City Manager Carl Cheat-ham said of the complaint.
Florida law allows public employees to organize, but the union alleges the city tried to stop employees from doing so. According to Michelle Tellez, director of the Central Florida Region of the federation, the union here is still in the beginning stages. Union representatives are talking with the bargaining unit, made up of city employees, to decide what needs to be taken to the negotiating table when talks begin with the city.
But she says the fact that city employees voted to organize hasn't stopped city officials from intimidating and harassing union supporters, even union officials.
"We've been watching their behavior very closely," said Tellez. "Based on their actions ... they did this to themselves. They violated the law, and we cannot permit them to violate our bargaining unit members' rights."
Some of the major violations the union charges include:
On February 15, 2000, a meeting was held with potential bargaining unit members. At this meeting, discussions were held that Bob Sheffield, director of Leisure Services, had threatened employees that if they voted for the union that they would "lose all their benefits and go to zero."
On February 16, 2000, Sheffield told Don Merkley and John Cochran, two irrigation employees, that both could receive overtime pay if they forgot about the union.
The city demoted Garry Spaid, a city employee, in November 1999 without notifying him. Spaid discovered this demotion in late February 2000. Spaid was later given a bad evaluation, put on a six-month disciplinary probation and told not to talk about the union in the break room. The papers charge that the city's actions against him were "retaliatory and punitive and were directly related to Mr. Spaid's open support of the union."
On February 29, 2000, Cochran was notified that his probationary period was to be extended. But the papers charge that the city did not follow policy in extending his probation period and that following that extension, Cochran was harassed and intimidated because of his support for the union. On March 27, 2000, Cochran was terminated. The city says he was fired because he was not working a full 40 hours per week and thus failed the probationary period.
On June 12, 2000, one day before the union vote, Field Supervisor Mike Hurd and Grounds Superintendent Richard Hutto held a meeting with the stadium and athletic crews, all of whom were eligible to vote in the secret ballot election. The papers charge that Hurd and Hutto instructed the employees to vote no in the election because they would lose all their benefits, specifically forbidden by Florida statute. At this meeting Hurd informed the employees that they would not receive overtime pay promised them recently for extra hours.
On June 13, 2000, the day of the union vote, Spaid entered into a discussion with an unidentified meter reader who told him that he (the meter reader) did not have to vote because the meter reader's supervisor told him someone else had voted for him. Spaid took the meter reader to vote after explaining that no one else could vote for him.
On July 27, 2000, Cochran was arrested for grand theft for allegedly stealing a tool from the city. Merkley was also charged with grand theft. The union charges that the city fabricated the theft of the tool as "direct retaliation for Mr. Merkley's and Mr. Cochran's open and continuous support of the union."
Tellez said the city will probably try to fire Merkley following his arrest "even though none of these charges will hold up. They'll go nowhere."
The union also charges that police officers have been trying to intimidate union officials by driving by the downtown Winter Haven office no less than 30 times in one day.
"Their attempt to intimidate the union is also a violation of federal law," said Tellez. "And we're not going to put up with it under any circumstances."
Tellez says city officials have been using intimidation tactics to dissuade employees from being in the union, a violation of state and federal laws.
"Clearly prior to a union vote the power lies with the employer," said Tellez, saying that before the vote to organize supervisors threatened employees with demotions and termination. "(City officials) used their economic clout to intimidate employees."
The union requests that the Public Employees Relations Commission order the city to do the following: cease and desist from the violations the union has charged them with; reinstate all employees who were terminated with back pay and interest; place all employees back to their former positions from which they were demoted or reclassified with back pay and interest; pay any and all overtime due to employees; and place letters of disregard in employees' files in relation to any negative performance evaluations pursuant to the violations.
There were two previous unsuccessful union drives, one in 1981 and another in 1989. Tellez said that after talking with employees, it is clear that the problem lies with "unbridled supervisors" who have free reign to do as they please, including treating employees unfairly.
"We've watched this since Day 1," said Tellez. "That's why the employees came to us in the first place."
Chief of Police Dave Romine and Director of Leisure Services Bob Sheffield were unavailable for comment.
