September 11, 2021

Brothers and Sisters,

In the last few days, the County has started to release information about the mandated vaccine and testing program that was unilaterally announced by the County Executive several weeks ago.  That information is inaccurate, was circulated without any input from the FOP, and essentially should be ignored until the FOP agrees otherwise.

When the County Executive first announced her vaccine and testing program, the FOP demanded bargaining about the matter and filed an unfair labor practice charge against the County.  After several days of back and forth, several high-level County officials (including officials from the County Executive’s  Office, the Office of Law, and the Office of Human Resources Management) met with the FOP and other unions, and agreed with the unions that the County must bargain with its labor representatives, in separate bargaining sessions for each labor organization, including the FOP.  Those bargaining sessions have not yet started but will be occurring soon, well before the October 4 date that has been announced as the start date for the program.

Notwithstanding these commitments, the County, apparently acting through its Office of Human Resources Management, apparently believes it is acceptable to announce a process for collecting vaccine information, as well as a plan to grant limited administrative leave for officers who seek a vaccine.  This unilateral announcement is a blatant violation of the law, which requires the County, including OHRM, to bargain with the FOP before implementing any vaccine and testing program.

The FOP is your exclusive bargaining representative, and the details of any vaccine and testing program and its impact on police officers must be bargained with the FOP.  Until that occurs, please be wary of County-announced obligations and benefits.

We will continue to report to the membership whenever warranted

Angelo Consoli                              Sherrice Carpenter                                          Paul Mazzei

President, FOP Lodge 89           1^st Vice President, FOP Lodge 89                 2^nd Vice President, FOP Lodge 89