Word: unionize
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Dates: during 1970-1979
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...issue is even more complex for the union, which sees its base steadily eroding. Neither watchman nor security guards are members of the union. At the same time, the union demand for more equitable promotions within the department has backfired, weakening its position still further. Before the last contract negotiations, the police charged that the few times Gorski promoted officers he chose them arbitrarily. The union contended that the lack of equity, internal communication and job security had severely damaged police morale, and demanded that the University correct the situation before it renegotiated a contract...
...University hired a police management specialist to investigate the problem. John T. Howland, executive director of the Institute of Public Service Management, concluded in his report of the University police that the union correctly cited some of the reasons for low morale and recommended that the police take steps to correct the situation, including establishing a better promotion system, increasing internal communication, and providing greater access to job advancement and training programs...
...Chafin intends to fill that vacancy this November. In addition, he has sent officers and supervisors to training schools in the metropolitan area for instruction in fingerprinting, criminal investigation, supervisory skills and arson--a move he claims has helped to increase the officer's sense of job security. The union now regrets its push for promotions since sergeants and lieutenants are salaried, rather than hourly employees. "I wish the department would put a freeze on promotions to enable the union to be more stable," Letteri says...
...union is happy with the department's decision to eliminate the biannual physical stress test, which the police felt increased insecurity over their jobs (if an officer didn't pass the test he was removed from the force). "I think it did something for the morale of the police department and the morale of the people in the health services," Chafin says. Responding to union complaints of three years ago, the department has also improved the quality of the equipment officers use. Chafin claims the new emergency equipment and a new fleet of police cruisers with alley lights and better...
Other changes have also helped to take the bite out of union demands. Chafin has improved internal communication through a new organizational structure and monthly plenary staff meetings. Though the chain of command structure still remains in place, complaints do, on the whole, manage to filter to the top. For example, late May, a group of women within the department complained that they were not being treated professionally by the overwhelmingly male force. Chafin says he held a meeting with a core group of the staff to correct the situation immediately because, he says, "I thought it was an extremely...