In midst of contract fight, East St. Louis cops dropped by Fraternal Order of Police union
As they continue their fight for a compensation plan that was approved nearly three years ago, East St. Louis’ rank-and-file police officers have now lost their union representation.
The Fraternal Order of Police, which had negotiated a new collective bargaining agreement on behalf of the members of East St. Louis Lodge 126 in 2019, filed a declaration of disinterest petition with the Illinois Labor Relations Board on March 14.
The petition was granted on March 25, leaving the city’s sworn officers with the rank of sergeant and below without a labor union.
East St. Louis Lodge 126 was one of the original members of the Fraternal Order of Police when the union was chartered in Illinois in 1915.
Exactly why the FOP dropped East St. Louis remains unclear. Lodge 126 President Robert Sallie has speculated that it’s because membership asked the FOP Labor Council to remove Robert Jones as their union attorney and Ron Olier as their field representative. It didn’t want or expect to be dropped altogether, though, Sallie said.
The Belleville News-Democrat has attempted repeatedly to contact the FOP state office — including Jones and Olier individually — since November. Those requests have not been acknowledged.
Kimberly Stevens, executive director of the Illinois Labor Relations Board, said declarations of disinterest do not require unions to provide a reason for rescinding the representation of a bargaining unit.
“We have to determine if more than 12 months have passed since the petitioning unit is recognized as the exclusive representative of the bargaining unit and that it doesn’t otherwise raise any issues with the petition. If those things are met, the petition is generally granted,” Stevens said.
“I issue an order indicating we investigated the petition and found it to be appropriate and then any party involved will have the opportunity to appeal that if they want.”
If there is no appeal, the petition becomes final and the representation will be revoked, Stevens said. It’s not clear if the local police officers will challenge the decision.
Pay raise battle
East St. Louis Lodge 126 loses its representation as its members continue to pressure the city to make good on the collective bargaining agreement Jones and Olier negotiated with East St. Louis City Attorney CJ Baricevic in 2019. It provided for 2% annual raises including pay increases retroactive to the end of the previous contract.
Police officers first saw a 2% raise on their most recent paychecks. How much total retroactive pay is still owed, however, remains in dispute, Sallie said.
The delay in implementing terms of the new contract has fostered mistrust among the local officers with both the city of East St. Louis and the Fraternal Order of Police, the officers say.
According to a document filed with the St. Clair County Court, Baricevic presented the terms of the tentative agreement to members of the city council in October 2019 and explained that “it would constitute unfair labor practice under the (Illinois Labor Relations) Act should the Council not ratify it,” because the city had already agreed to them. The city council nevertheless rejected the agreement citing the city’s financial struggles.
On Aug. 2, 2021, a court-appointed arbitrator, Jacalyn Zimmerman, ruled in favor of the police union and ordered the city implement terms of the agreement within 30 days. By statute, that ruling is final and cannot be appealed.
Back-door deals?
According to the documents acquired by the BND, Baricevic and Jones, the Fraternal Order of Police attorney, reached a new “settlement” on Oct. 8, more than five weeks after Zimmerman’s deadline for the city to comply with her ruling. City council members voted unanimously to approve it.
Sallie has categorized the so-called settlement as a “back-door deal,” even though its terms were in step with the original contract, which prompted his request to the FOP to have Jones and Olier removed as the union’s representatives.
Lodge 126 issued a letter to the city stating that it rejected the settlement and would accept no terms other than those already ruled on in the arbitration hearing.
The city denies that any back-door deals were negotiated.
East St. Louis City Manager Carlos Mayfield said the 2% raises would start Jan. 1, 2022, nearly three full months before officers saw the increase reflected on their paychecks.
Other police unions
If the Illinois Labor Relations Board’s ruling stands and the East St. Louis police officers are no longer represented by the Fraternal Order of Police, there are at least three other unions that represent officers in Illinois that the East St. Louis officers could contact for representation.
The Illinois Council of Police in Elmhurst, the Metropolitan Alliance of Police in Bolingbrook and the Illinois Police Benevolent and Protective Association in Springfield all represent officers in Illinois.
This story was originally published April 5, 2022 at 7:00 AM with the headline "In midst of contract fight, East St. Louis cops dropped by Fraternal Order of Police union."
