To purchase Lodge #7 Hats, T Shirts or Challenge coins contact a Board member. T Shirts $10 Hats $15 Coins $10
Pueblo Deputies' Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 7 
Support Is Growing!!! We want to thank everyone in attendance at the two special meetings on Monday July 6th. The show of support was tremendous and the turnouts were amongst the largest we have seen in a long time. We also express our thanks to our brothers from the Fire Union and other labor organizations for their attendance, show of support and solidarity behind FOP Lodge 7’s current fight for its rights and in defense of its Lodge President. During the time since this unjust calculated attack on this Lodge and its President started in early May, our membership numbers have grown from 202 to just 237. That fact along with the tremendous turnout at the two special meetings should send a strong message that what has been happening does not sit well with either the majority of the workforce or the membership. We were all pleased to listen to Director Mike Violette’s assessment and two prong, multi-phased plan of action by the State Fraternal Order of Police to effectively deal with our situation. We were equally pleased to hear the pledges of solidarity from other unions in regards to assistance. We already are receiving communications from labor leaders outside of the FOP about what they can do both in the short and long term. Mike Violette is coordinating all efforts within and outside of the FOP to best utilize these resources as necessary. Brothers & Sisters of Lodge 7, Although Sgt McLallen was fired from his position, the FOP Constitution under circumstances such as this allows he remain the Lodge 7 President for the remainder of the term of his elected office. He will be working on your behalf as attentively as he always has. That will not change. Many of you are wondering how Tommie is handling this. He is doing just fine. He knew they were moving to do this to him and both he and his family have been taking the necessary steps to prepare for it. He knows he will be vindicated in the long run, and what they did to him exposed for all to see. As many of you are aware the investigation of this incident and the manner in which it was prosecuted was shameful at best. Our ongoing investigation reveals it to be a contrived overzealous effort designed to achieve a pre-determined end. In his statement to the local paper the Sheriff was audacious enough to state that “due process” was given and this was the result. Due process is best defined in one word—fairness. Obviously the Sheriff needs to study what due process is before making such a pronouncement. This was not anything remotely close to fairness no matter what the Sheriff and those closest to carrying out his will on this may believe. But that is and has been the way due process has been interpreted under this current administration in the Pueblo County Sheriff’s Office. Michael Violette That being the case the Labor Council finds it unfortunate whenever it is put in a position of having to take affirmative action that may result in a breakdown in the type of relationship we would like to see our members enjoy with their managers. If you have questions or concerns feel free to contact me at anytime. Mike Violette Executive Director State Labor Council 303-591-3842 Dear Brothers & Sisters of Pueblo FOP Lodge 7, Where It All Began !
Labor Relations Info
State FOP's Response to the Firing of the Lodge President
On Thursday afternoon, June 25, 2009 the Sheriff finished the travesty that began in early May. He fired Sgt McLallen from his job with the Pueblo County Sheriff’s Department. This was an outrageous act of retaliation for Sgt McLallen’s active involvement as your Lodge President carrying forth the will of your organization with regards to obtaining the right to bargain collectively.
In the meantime there are numerous things in the mill for him with regards to other law enforcement employment and various support efforts being organized both inside and outside of
You all were advised in my letter of June 26th from the Colorado State Lodge Fraternal Order of Police that this contemptible act of retaliation against you and your Lodge will not go un-challenged. This is headed to a lawsuit involving retaliation, wrongful termination, protected speech, and violations of 1st and 14th amendment rights all resulting in financial loss and emotional pain and distress. Make no mistake about that it will happen. As you all know lawsuits take months if not years to resolve. The FOP and Sgt McLallen are committed to see this through to its final conclusion. You can be assured we will use every venue available to us to fight this arrogant act, and any others that may follow. This is a long term battle both in the legal arena and the political arena. We will prevail in both. This was not a fight we wanted. Apparently the Sheriff and his ever shrinking circle of support did.
After the initial flurry of public and internal communications surrounding this outlandish decision of the Sheriff you can expect things to settle into where they need to be. There will be updates both public and internal via email, the Lodge 7 website, and the State FOP website concerning information that can be released as we move forward. However, most of the work and on this matter will be done without fanfare or release. Rest assured we will be working diligently finishing up the investigation, necessary filings, and preparation for Sgt McLallen’s legal case. We will also be employing other strategies designed to deal with the broader scope of this as time moves forward. So it should be understood by the members that although things will settle down publically, they will be moving forward privately. All that will be done will have your interests, Sgt McLallen’s interests, and your union’s interests and goals at the forefront.
We fully understand the hostile work environment that you work under, and urge you to continue to communicate with us as you have been by email, phone, or through the “Contact Us” page of this web site. All the lines of communication that you have been using to avoid review by the Sheriff and others will remain as the primary FOP communications tool for now. We caution each of you to refrain from using any work computers for electronic communications on this or other issues. We know Sgt McLallen appreciates your support and we appreciate the pertinent information that continues to come into us. What you all have been sending will continue to be kept confidential, and will be treated with your status protected.
Executive Director - State Labor Services Division
Colorado State Labor Council Communications 02-05-09
Dear Brothers & Sisters of Pueblo FOP Lodge 7,
The Labor Council’s first and foremost priority for all FOP members is to protect their rights as employees and citizens. We will always move to properly and legally address any situation where those rights have been violated. We will always act when our organization and its membership is on the receiving end of such behavior. The
Labor Council Director Reviews Action Over Sheriff's Ultimatum
On
On Tuesday October 14th we received a response from County Attorney Dan Kogovsek (click to read or download) and along with that correspondence a letter dated October 10th from Sheriff Taylor to your lodge (click to read or download).
On November 6th we responded to the County Attorney's & Sheriff's October 14th correspondence concerning our complaint. That letter requested clarification of the allegation that we had misinterpreted the Sheriff's ultimatum to this organization. In addition we requested clarification of the Sheriff's reference to constitutional rights with regards to current county policy & procedure in exercising those rights. You can read or download our letter at this link: FOP Letter of November 6, 2008.
On December 22, 2008 General Counsel for the Colorado State FOP Labor Council received a response concerning our November 6th request for clarification of exactly how the Sheriff’s September 22nd ultimatum to the Fraternal Order of Police was “misunderstood. Interestingly this letter of explanation did not come from the
In January of 2008, the 200 plus members of Pueblo FOP Lodge 7 participated in election by secret ballot to set the main priority of their organization. On February 5th the votes were counted and the members voted overwhelmingly to mandate their elected officers to pursue every legal means necessary to gain the right for Pueblo Sheriff’s employees to collectively bargain with management, and enter into negotiated agreements on wages, benefits and certain conditions of employment. There were only two dissenting votes cast.
Your local leaders, working with the State FOP Labor Council, set forth a plan to place this matter in front of the voters of
We had numerous meetings and communications with area politicians, area labor leaders and other key people on this matter (see attached). These efforts gained overwhelming support in favor of this process from the Democratic Party, Labor, previous Sheriffs of
The only person who has resisted our attempts to meet and confer on this matter has been the Sheriff. We have gone out of our way time and again trying to explain to him, this is not personal. We have tried to convey to Sheriff Taylor it is not about him, or the way he manages his employees or his department. To the contrary we have few if any issues with Sheriff Taylor. He has done an admirable job as Sheriff in delivering public safety services to the citizens with the limited resources available.
However, the Sheriff fails to recognize how our organization works. He seems to believe the elected leadership is acting on its own without the direction of the body. Nothing could be further from the truth. We are a democratic organization. Read our Constitution/Bylaws. They are very clear. The elected leadership is bound by the will of the members. It is in our oath of office. In this case of obtaining collective bargaining the members spoke out overwhelmingly in their secret ballot mandating this effort. We the leadership are bound by that. We are bound by that as much as he is bound by the voters and his oath of office to carry forth the mission of the office of Sheriff. There is no difference. In the work we have done, and continue to do on this, we are acting on behalf of the membership as directed. Nothing more and nothing less.
The reason for all of this is the simple fact that his employees’ drive to secure these rights is about a broken system. That is what drove the membership to their vote and subsequent mandate. This matter did not develop overnight. It has been years in the making. The issues involved with this have nothing to do with the current Sheriff. They have everything to do with system under which employees have no real right to due process and representation in disciplinary matters. They have no say in their matters of wages, retirement & benefits. The list goes on.
The Sheriff has, however, protested to various supporters of ours, that he has been left out of this. Why he feels this way is beyond us. We have reached out to him on several occasions concerning this matter. Our efforts to involve him in this process have been reasonable, and what we believe any Administrator would expect from an organization that represents the expressed interest and intent of his workforce. We have asked him to meet with us to discuss our proposal. Our intent was to establish a more healthy and productive relationship between our organization and his office. We sought to alleviate any misconceptions he may have of collective bargaining, and work together with him to achieve a reasonable resolution on key issues incorporated in our proposal. Unfortunately, he will not meet with us on this matter of collective bargaining. He has told on more than one occassion he does not believe it is needed or necessary and that to pursue this goal will destroy any productive relationship we may seek with him. That is truly unfortunate, but a position he has chosen.
The most recent formal request for a meeting came from Colorado State FOP Labor Council Executive Director Mike Violette. That letter was written to Sheriff Taylor on April 20th urging he meet with your elected leadership. Sheriff Taylor has never responded to that letter. The most recent request came on July 7th during our meeting with the commissioners when Commissioner Nunez urged both sides to meet and resolve our differences. We agreed and the Sheriff did not. As a result we had no choice but to continue our efforts without Sheriff Taylor being actively in the loop. Our written efforts to work with the Sheriff and his one wriiten response are in communications that are available for review or download by clicking on the following links:
April 2, 2008 Lodge 7 letter to Sheriff Taylor
April 3, 2008 response from Sheriff to Lodge 7
April 20, 2008 letter from the Executive Director of the State FOP Labor Council
June13, 2008 letter to Sheriff Taylor requesting a meeting on our proposal
On Monday May 19th, 2008 the membership present at your monthly Lodge Membership Business Meeting agreed to present the final draft of your Collective Bargaining referendum to the Board of County Commissioners. (Click to read or download referendum here).
On Friday May 23rd, your Lodge leadership met with Commissioner Cordova requesting his support in placing this issue on the November ballot. Commissioner Cordova earlier this year addressed the members gathered at Lodge Membership Business Meeting telling you he believed the voters of Pueblo County should decide this matter and he would vote to refer the matter to an election. He later re-stated that same position on the record in a closed session of the Commissioners in which we were present. In mid-summer Commissioner Cordova modified that support saying he had some concerns about doing this without Sheriff Taylor's support for the measure. We explained to him our efforts to involve the Sheriff had proven futile. Commissioner Cordova was told it is our position this matter should be for the voters to decide. They are the ultimate governors of the county, and should be the deciding authority on extending this right. It was further explained to him that what we seek is legal and appropriate. We also spoke with Commissioner Chostner re-affirming his support for referral of this measure. Commissioner Chostner said he was in favor of putting the issue in front of the voters, but wanted to ensure that before doing so we have dotted all of our I’s and crossed all of our T’s. We can assure you that all of our "I's" were dotted and all of our "T's" crossed.
During the fourth week of June your Executive Board and representatives from the Colorado FOP sent a copy of the proposed amendment to the Pueblo Couty Code to the County Commissioners for review. On July 7th General Counsel Dave Osborn and Executive Director of Labor Services Mike Violette made compelling and convincing arguments to the
On, July 18th, the Lodge received a letter from the Board of County Commissioners stating their position was that they would NOT refer our measure to the voters of
Needless to say we were disappointed with the commissioners.
Whatever the case, the fact of the matter is their decision has been made. We knew going into this it would be an uphill battle. We also knew most Lodges that take this challenge on, are not successful their first time out. Because of the political atmosphere in our county we were optimistic throughout this fight, and felt we had an excellent chance. Unfortunately because of the political atmosphere in this county we were rejected. Nevertheless we had considerable support in key areas, and did everything necessary to give us the best chance for success. The support, counsel and advice from the State FOP were outstanding and professional. We put forth solid legal arguements, and maintained a professional approach. There was not much more that could have been done to make this happen.
Without a doubt, this was a disappointing set back. On the surface it would appear to have been a major defeat. However, in reality we have won far more than we lost. In just over nine months we have grown into a true labor organization. We have gained both respectability and recognition as a political force and voice in this county. We have become educated on the process we need to engage in to be successful, and we are a stronger organization as a result. We have gained standing and recognition in the community as well as the political process. This defeat is only a set back in reaching your goal. It is not the end! It is the beginning!
Winning is not everything and the real measure of an organization is not how they handle themselves in victory, but how they recover and move forward after a setback. With the lessons learned we will be embarking on long term plan for success that other FOP Lodges throughout the state have learned when they have been placed in this position. We know what needs to be done to get where we need to be organizationally in achieving your goals. We must get involved in the political process if we want success. That is exactly what we will do. We must support and work hard to elect persons who are sympathetic with our goals and philosphies. We will continue to pursue all legal and political means necessary to obtain your goal. Nevertheless remember this, your goal is legal, righteous, and obtainable. It will be reached, but the road will be longer than we planned. There will be obstacles along the way. There will be highs and lows. Such is the course that must be travelled to reach our destination. With unity, dedication and purpose success will be the reward.
Click on this link for audio playback of the entire July 7th Board of County Commissioners' Meeting: BOCC 07/07/08 (Large Audio File!! High-Speed Connection Only!! Allow 2 to 4 minutes to load!!!)
Copyright . Pueblo Sheriff FOP Lodge 7
All rights reserved.
