Standing Up
PBA members muster outside the
Cumberland County Administration
Building before entering to attend the
county freeholders meeting in support of
Cumberland County Corrections Local 231
State Delegate/President Victor Bermudez.
PBA members come out in force to freeholders meeting in support of
Victor Bermudez and Cumberland County Corrections Local 231
■ BY MITCHELL KRUGEL
PBA members filled the Cumberland County Administration
Building for the freeholders meeting on Oct. 23 like gladiators
filing into the forum, or Springsteen fans rushing to the front
of the pit at a MetLife Stadium concert. They were omnipresent
to support the cause of Cumberland County Corrections Local
231 State Delegate/President Victor Bermudez as the PBA made
an historic visit to call attention to the unfair labor practices at
hand.
Members of county corrections Locals throughout the state
joined more than 40 members of Local 231 to create a presence
that overflowed into two adjacent rooms, where they watched
the meeting by video. First Vice President Pete Andreyev led the
PBA address to freeholders. Labor Relations Coordinator Mike
Freeman followed, and Burlington County Corrections Local
249 State Delegate Terrance Benson also spoke.
This was not a gathering to argue the merits of the case with
freeholders. Rather, this was another show of strength and unity
from PBA members to proclaim that they will not tolerate any-
body trying to bust their union, that they will not allow anybody
to fuss with one of their own.
“We tried to convey our passion and professionalism, and
there was an optimistic feel to the meeting because we were
hoping the board of freeholders would listen to us,” Andreyev
noted. “I believe they listened to us and heard us. We showed
them that we’re committed to PBA 231.”
So many members gladiating on behalf of Local 231 and
Bermudez certainly was a response to the possibility that such
a fate could befall any PBA member. He has been suspended
without pay for more than six months as retaliation for stead-
fast representation of his members and demands that the jail
administration adhere to the collective bargaining agreement.
Bermudez has been targeted for advocating for better work-
ing conditions and more training and for being a zealous de-
58
NEW JERSEY COPS
■ NOVEMBER 2018
fender of the contract. The PBA’s most substantive response ever
in Cumberland County emphasized that whoever is responsible
for disciplinary acts of retaliation – as the action taken against
Bermudez has been defined – will be held accountable.
“We wanted to make sure that the people who put this ad-
ministration in place, the people who validated the collective
bargaining agreement, know that we will not stand for any vio-
lation of the agreement,” Freeman explained. “Victor was elect-
ed by his members to be the leader, and when he does what
he is supposed to do within the guidelines of the agreement in
place and in accordance with state law, the administration is
supposed to act in kind.”
Bermudez was disciplined following an incident when mak-
ing a trans run with an inmate from the Cumberland County
Jail to an addiction treatment center in Paterson. Warden Rich-
ard Smith characterized it as speaking out in an inappropriate
manner. The PBA wanted to make a diplomatic response at
the freeholders meeting to confirm that members are prone to
speaking out with professionalism.
Initially, Cumberland County wasn’t so interested in diplo-
macy. When Andreyev and Freeman showed up an hour before
the 6 p.m. meeting to reserve parking spaces in front of the ad-
ministration building for the NJSPBA Special Services Trailer,
a county administrator tried to deny the access. Apparently, it
didn’t matter to the administrator that the PBA had called ahead
to the Bridgeton Police Department to secure the spaces.
On a side note, but one to show the strength of labor, a wom-
an happened to be walking down the street and saw what the
county executive was doing. Freeman explained the incident to
the woman, who is a member of the New Jersey Education As-
sociation.
“She told me, ‘Good for you. I’m going to stand here with my
brothers. If the PBA is here doing something, I’m going to sup-
port it,’” Freeman added.