PERCs of being a PBA member help
Middlesex County Sheriff’s Officers win election
■ BY MITCHELL KRUGEL
When Middlesex County Sheriff’s Officer Local 165 executive
board members found out they were being PERC-ed several weeks
ago, they set out on a mission to see every officer in the department
and explain the virtues of PBA representation. Apparently, a good
little talk goes a long way to winning a PERC election.
On May 27, the results of the PERC election came in with PBA Local
165 romping by a more than two-to-one count (see accompanying
graphic). The numbers not only show a margin of victory that the
Golden State Warriors would envy, but also how crucial getting the
vote out can be to winning this, or any other, election.
“Basically when we found out they PERC-ed us, we worked very
hard to make sure everyone voted,” Local 165 State Delegate Jim Kelly
confirmed. “When we went around to talk to the members, they
backed and because they could sense the benefits of PBA leadership
all the way up to the state level. That’s why we won by so much – they
believe the PBA is better to represent them.”
Kelly related that the call for the first PERC Election for the Middlesex County Sheriff’s Office since the last one 10 years ago – the
PBA won that one by an equally big margin – occurred primarily
because of the restrictions the 2-percent cap put on negotiating the
last contract a few years ago. It seems a faction of members believed
it was the collective bargaining agent that failed to get the increases
of 4 percent with limited steps that they used to get in the days
before a certain governor occupied Trenton.
So the Local 165 Executive Board determined that a walkabout to
see every member and set the record straight would be the ticket.
President Kevin Mastroserio, Vice-Presidents Matt Keenan and Ed
Francoeur, Alternate State Delegate Robert Galiardo, Treasurer Scott
Anderson, Financial Secretary Joe Morriale, Recording Secretary Jeffrey Bell, Trustees Christopher Vance, Kevin Burns and Anthony
Bermudez and Sergeants-at-Arms Adriano Yanez and William
Markgraf joined Kelly in trying to see all 156 eligible voting
members, including those with the SOA.
They were able to extol the benefits of a more robust Legal Protection Plan than other union representation options available and
confidence in the executive board. Kelly also said leadership action
like NJ State PBA President Pat Colligan appearing before the NJ State
Legislature to lobby against the hiring of Class 2 officers in sheriff's
offices resonated with his members.
And the fact that the PBA offers three meetings per month with one
each at the Local, county and state levels had a big impact because
the flow of information to members is much better than the quarterly
gatherings the other union holds.
“Pat Colligan was a big help because our members see him in the
newspapers all the time fighting against the governor and his
reforms,” Kelly added. “Because the State PBA is very vocal and
because our members had a lot of faith in our executive board, I felt
confident when it came time to vote.”
On May 27, Kelly, Mastroserio and other E-board members went
to the PERC office