Sunday, January 15
http://www.oe3.org/publications/jan_06/pe_news/4_jan06.html
I was recently assigned to represent the San Francisco Deputy Sheriffs’ Association, and I was looking forward to working in one of the most famous cities in the world. A recent newspaper article described San Francisco as Camelot, with fine restaurants, great entertainment, arts, music and a progressive city government, making San Francisco one of the best cities in America. On my first day, I went to San Francisco City Hall to meet the management staff of the Sheriffs’ Department. Also at city hall is the office of the mayor and other city officials.
I was struck by the magnificence and splendor of the building. It was breathtaking. I surmised the cost of construction for such a building was millions and millions in taxpayer funds. I then left city hall to tour the city jails and meet the deputies of San Francisco. I went to County Jail No. 3 located in San Bruno, a jail that was built in the 1930s. The city has spent no money in the repair of the jail, which is in complete deterioration.
I was given a tour of the facilities only to find no heating system or air-conditioning. In the winter months, they place plastic canvas over the open broken windows. The building is full of asbestos. I was told to watch where I walked, since the plumbing had not been repaired in ages. City management ordered that sewage leakage throughout the jail be wrapped in plastic and not repaired. I observed overhanging sewer pipes wrapped in plastic, containing human waste. In several places, the plastic was leaking onto the floor. Also, several toilet and shower facilities had “Do Not Cross” tape across the doorways.
The walls and floors of these facilities were dirty. Needless to say, I didn’t stay for lunch. As I left, I pondered how long it would take deputies and inmates to become sick from working in the unsanitary conditions of County Jail No. 3. I met with Deputy Sheriffs’ Association (DSA) President David Wong and other DSA board members. I was advised the Sheriffs’ Department is 90 deputies below budgeted positions and that every deputy works voluntary or mandatory overtime because of lack of staffing. Their wages are 21 percent lower than San Francisco Police Officers and 11 percent lower than the surrounding counties’ Sheriffs’ Departments. They are without a contract and have been in negotiations for six months.
The deputies are exhausted, overworked, mico-managed, and morale is at an all-time low. Deputies are quitting and transferring to other jurisdictions. The city of San Francisco is not Camelot. It is a city with high crime and no solutions to combat the rising number of homicides. The city needs 200 more police officers and 100 new sheriff deputies. City management controls the purse strings, which has led to San Francisco’s undersized law enforcement agencies. The citizens and the Sheriffs’ Department are daily victims of mismanagement. The Los Angeles Police Department is known as the “finest.”
So why is the San Francisco Deputy Sheriffs’ Department treated as a second-class police organization? Is the answer because the necessary funds for law enforcement were put into the building of city hall or other special interests? The negotiation team for the San Francisco Sheriffs’ Department has been at the table for six months with great aggravation and frustration. It is time for the city to step up to the plate and advise the city’s negotiation team to provide a fair and reasonable wage increase and better working conditions for the hard working deputies of the Sheriffs’ Department.
Operating Engineers Local 3 is determined and dedicated to supporting the San Francisco Deputy Sheriffs’ Association and their families in meeting the challenges with the city of San Francisco. Stay tuned for updates on our progress.