The Montezuma County Sheriff’s Office recently took a step to advance the process of securing a collective bargaining agreement for the office.
Collective bargaining “would codify what’s already there,” and allow greater protections and peace of mind when it comes to things like wages, health insurance and retirement benefits, said Sean McCauley, a labor and employment lawyer with 25 years of experience under his belt.
“Without a collective bargaining agreement, the employer can change anything they want, when they want,” said McCauley. “It gives employees a say, instead of it being a one-sided conversation.”
The Sheriff’s Office took that step on Jan. 17, when it posted a notice of election online.
The notice explained how there will be an opportunity for Sheriff’s Office employees ranked sergeant or below to vote in an election sometime soon. Results of that election will determine whether they move forward with collective bargaining.
Only those at sergeant status or below can vote because of language in most every labor law that creates a cut off for people who are in advisory roles, said McCauley, who’s representing the Montezuma County Sheriff’s Office employees who are participating in this.
Specifically, McCauley is representing Mesa Verde FOP Lodge 74, which is made up of select employees from the Sheriff’s Office and formed on Sept. 23, 2023.
Lodge 74 was really the first step towards collective bargaining, and the office’s “vehicle“ to pursue it.
“They had to have an organization represent them,” McCauley said.
The larger organization representing them is the FOP, or the Fraternal Order of Police, which has more than 8,000 members across Colorado and another 370,000 across America.
“It’s an organization of cops, run by cops,” said McCauley. “And it’s run from the bottom, up.”
Fifty or 60 Montezuma County Sheriff’s Office employees make up Lodge 74, and they aren’t all sworn deputies- McCauley said there’s a few cooks and other “civilian employees” that joined, too.
When that election happens – it’s still not clear if it will be in-person or a mail-in ballot – only members of Lodge 74 will be voting. If a majority votes in favor, they’ll move forward with it.
The morning of Jan. 24, there was an online, pre-election conference between County Attorney Stephen Tarnowski, County Administrator Travis Anderson and McCauley.
McCauley said the county “seemed receptive,” and that the purpose of the call was to explain to the county what they’re doing.
“There’s not much they can voice in the situation,” McCauley said.
The Sheriff’s Office’s ability to do this is made possible by a state law that passed in 2022, which aimed to bolster county employees’ rights by affording them the right to collective bargaining, so long as the county had a population greater than 7,500 people.
The move further follows in the footsteps of the La Plata County Sheriff’s Office, which, as of Jan. 1, has a two-year collective bargaining agreement with its county.
McCauley said more and more Sheriff’s Offices are doing this across Colorado, and named a some, like Denver, Arapahoe, Boulder, Elbert, Las Animas and La Plata.
He said the process in La Plata County was “collaborative” and hopes it will be the same in Montezuma County.
“We’ll keep in mind the resources available to the county and work within that framework,” said McCauley. “You’re not going to make as much money in Montezuma County than you would in Denver County, for instance. It’ll be pragmatic.”
And, to be clear, “This isn’t an indictment,” he said.
The office just wants a voice because it’s “hard as hell to be a cop. If anyone should have these rights, it should be them,” McCauley said.