Sheriff Eric Flowers will give his deputies the 7-percent raise he told county commissioners was necessary for his agency to remain competitive in the local job market.
To get that raise, however, the deputies – in their labor unions’ negotiations with the sheriff – had to agree to a 25-percent reduction in limits on their medical leave.
And if they hadn’t?
Would Flowers have denied his deputies the full 7 percent and forced them to settle for only 4 percent? Even during these inflationary times? Even though he has the money in his budget?
What about staying competitive in a job market where deputies in neighboring counties are better paid?
We know the County Commission didn’t give Flowers the ridiculous, $11 million budget increase he proposed in May. We know the sheriff settled for a more-reasonable, still-impressive $7.25 million boost.
But we also know he has the money – because, ultimately, he agreed to the 7-percent raises.
So why the charade?
Why use the raises, which he publicly stated were vital to the effective operations of the Sheriff’s Office, as leverage in labor negotiations to get a concession on an unrelated issue?
Why not simply give the deputies the raises Flowers said they need, rather than risk the ill feelings this wrongheaded tactic is sure to create?
Certainly, Flowers knows the deputies agreed to switch to the 12-hour shifts the sheriff requested after taking office in January 2021, asking for nothing in return.
Apparently, though, our sheriff is more concerned with getting what he wants than showing appreciation.
As one deputies’ union representative put it: “He talked about creating a family atmosphere in the agency, and we went along, fully expecting that the feelings would go both ways.”
But they didn’t.
After Flowers held their raises hostage this summer, the deputies can’t help but feel duped.
“It doesn’t feel like a family now,” the union rep said. “It feels more like a dictatorship.”
As usual, neither Flowers nor the Sheriff’s Office’s public information officer, Lt. Joe Abollo, responded to an email seeking an explanation for the decision to tie the deputies’ raises to medical-leave limits.
Even so, the deputies’ five law enforcement and corrections unions have a tentative agreement with the sheriff, and their members were expected to ratify the new contract, possibly as soon as this week.
They did manage, however, to push back against Flowers’ attempts to further reduce their medical-leave limits.
Sources familiar with the negotiations said Flowers initially wanted medical leave for deputies injured on the job to be capped at 12 weeks, instead of the 52 weeks in the current contract.
When the deputies didn’t budge, sources said, Flowers went to 16 weeks and, finally, to 32 weeks – but with a caveat.
If a deputy is unable to return to full, unrestricted duty after 32 weeks on medical leave, the sheriff may terminate his or her employment, or grant an extension of medical leave.
If the sheriff chooses to terminate a deputy “who is unable to perform the essential function of his/her position due to illness or injury after 32 weeks …,” the deputy may request the case be presented to a medical review board.
The board would review the case, then decide whether to extend the deputy’s medical leave up to another 20 weeks or endorse the sheriff’s decision to terminate. The board’s findings would be binding on both parties.
To be sure, Flowers’ concerns about deputies spending up to a year on medical leave are valid. It’s an issue, however, that Flowers should’ve negotiated separately – not in any way connected to the deputies’ raises.
“Did I get a lot of phone calls? Yes,” longtime County Commissioner Joe Flescher said. “There were a lot of concerns, especially after he told us he needed the money for raises, and I did check with him.
“I asked him: ‘Are you sure we’re doing this?’” he added. “And the sheriff told me: ‘At the end of the day, I’m going to give them the money.’”
Flescher paused for a moment, then quickly added: “If they didn’t get the 7 percent, I can assure you there would’ve been a discussion.”
Commissioner Joe Earman, a former firefighters union president, said he would’ve preferred to see the deputies get more than the 7 percent because “we do need to be competitive with our wages, and Martin and St. Lucie counties are way beyond what we’re doing.”
He then added: “You need to pay competitive wages to get and keep good employees.”
Surely, our sheriff knows that. He knows what he wrote in his budget proposal. He knows what he told our county commissioners.
Flowers might’ve gotten what he wanted in this negotiation, but it’ll cost him far more than the 3 percent in raises he threatened to withhold if he didn’t.
