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Members:
On February 15, 2012, the St. Louis Police Leadership Organization (SLPLO) solicited the Law Offices of Rick Barry, P.C., one of the most recognized Labor Attorneys in the area. Rick Barry sent a letter to the St. Louis Board of Police Commissioners requesting the SLPLO be recognized as the potential bargaining agent for Commissioned Police Officers holding the ranks of Sergeant, Lieutenant, Captain, Major and Lt. Colonel.
The SLPLO received a letter dated March 5, 2012, from Andrew J. Martone, an Attorney for the Police Board, who advised the Police Board placed this request on their agenda for the meeting to be held on March 21, 2012.
The SLPLO received two letters dated March 27, 2012, from Andrew J. Martone. One letter advised the Police Board denied the request to recognize a bargaining unit consisting of the ranks of Lieutenant, Captain, Major and Lt. Colonel. In a second letter from Andrew J. Martone,the Police Board sought clarification on Sergeant’s job titles, insinuating possible exclusion of certain job classifications (work assignments) within the rank of Sergeant.
At an emergency meeting held by the SLPLO Board of Directors, a decision was rendered to not exclude any Sergeant, regardless of assignment, from representation to collectively bargain; therefore a legal remedy was sought. On April 9, 2012, our attorney filed a lawsuit in the Circuit Court on behalf of the SLPLO. The lawsuit was filed against the St. Louis Board of Police Commissioners. The intent of the SLPLO was to compel the Board of Police Commissioners to initiate the process for establishing the framework for two separate units (the first unit for Sergeants and the second unit for Lieutenants, Captains, Majors and Lt. Colonels) to bargain collectively through representatives of their choosing.
The case was assigned to Judge Joan Moriarty of Division 31 of the Circuit Court. This case will not only seek the right to collectively bargain but will serve as the catalyst for sergeants to earn overtime; which is currently being addressed through a second pending legal action.
The below entries were copied from www.courts.mo.gov/casenet, the website documenting legal actions for participating Missouri Courts. All the above correspondence can be viewed on the St. Louis Police Leadership Website, (click here for link). I encourage our members to utilize the services on our website in order to stay informed as we move forward to address these very important issues. If you have not registered for access to the website, please take the time to do so now.
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Party Name
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Case Number
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Party Type
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Style of Case
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Case Type
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Filing Date
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Address on File
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Circuit
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County
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Location
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THE ST LOUIS POLICE LEADERSHIP ORGANIZATION
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Plaintiff
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ST LOUISPOLICE LEADERSHIP ORG V STL BOARD POLICE
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CC Declaratory Judgment
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04/09/2012
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SAINT LOUIS, MO
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Circuit 22
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The City of St. Louis
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City of St. Louis
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MONDAY, JUNE 4, 2012
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Judge/Commissioner
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Time
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Day
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Setting
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Event
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JOAN L MORIARTY
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9:00 AM
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1 OF 1
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Case Review
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Event Text:
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Location: Division 31 Carnahan Courthouse
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Address: 1114 MARKET STREET SAINT LOUIS MO
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At the most recent meeting of the SLPLO Board of Directors, which was held on April 18, 2012, there was a discussion concerning the decision made by the Board of Police Commissioners in reference to implementing the paymatrix only for the rank of Police Officer. The Board of Police Commissioners voted at their April Meeting (held this same day) to only implement the paymatrix for the rank of Police Officer and to exclude the ranks of Sergeant, Lieutenant, Captain, Major and Lt. Colonel from receiving this increase. Prior to the vote, Chief Dan Isom expressed his disagreement with the proposal to exclude all ranks except that of Police Officer. His effort did not dissuade the decision of two Board Members. The decision of the Police Board was not unanimous but passed over the Chief’s objection.
The members of the SLPLO Board of Directors were all in agreement that supervisors and command rank officers were all deserving of equal consideration in reference to the implementation of the paymatrix. A letter is being drafted and sent to the Board of Police Commissioners requesting they (the Board) reconsider their decision to exclude these ranks in reference to the implementation of the paymatrix. It was expressed that this attempt to save money at the expense of this department’s supervisors and command rank officers sent the message that their service was of less worth and importance.
In summary, the Board of Director’s of the SLPLO is hard at work for our members. I again encourage all members to utilize the SLPLO website to stay informed.
President
St. LouisPolice Leadership Organization
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