Collective bargaining on ballot

The Cameron County Sheriff’s Association cleared the first hurdle in its bid for collective bargaining by getting the issue on the November ballot.

The association’s next hurdle will be getting Cameron County registered voters to approve the issue, which County Commissioners say could ultimately result in higher taxes.

Nevertheless, the chances of getting voters to approve collective bargaining could be good considering not many voters turn out for constitutional amendment elections, which is what will be on the November general election ballot.

Collective bargaining would allow the deputies to sit down with their employer and discuss entry-level requirements, promotional opportunities, internal investigations, disciplinary appeals, salaries and benefits, among other items, officials said.

"If they get the people that want to support the bargaining rights for the sheriff’s deputies (out), they might be able to carry it just because the turnout in general is so low," said Tony Knopp, history professor emeritus at the University of Texas at Brownsville and Texas Southmost College.

Whether there will be any person or groups that will attempt to rally support to oppose the issue is unknown and Knopp does not believe any elected official would lead the opposition.

"None of the public elected officials are going to want to come out and publicly oppose bargaining rights for public employees, at least it seems unlikely to me, because they have to run for election and those people and their friends will be voting," Knopp said. "Some people might raise some questions about it, but I don’t think there will be an organized opposition."

During the 2009 Constitutional amendment election only 6,921 of the county’s 168,000 plus registered voters cast ballots, said Roger Ortiz, administrator of the County’s Election and Voter Registration Department.

"They (Constitutional Amendment elections) don’t get people," out, Ortiz said.

Ortiz is not quite sure how many voters will turn out this November, only saying, "I don’t expect a big turnout."

Luis Mendieta, association president, said the group will work hard to get out the word about the election and to rally support for collective bargaining, which will benefit not only the deputies, but detention officers as well.

To get the item placed on the agenda, the association needed to gather 5 percent of the votes cast in the county’s preceding general election for state and county offices, state law dictates. Thus the number of signatures needed to call for an election was 2,048, officials said.

The association gathered 3,700 signatures from registered voters over about a three-week period, Garcia said in an earlier interview.

The petitions were taken to the Cameron County Elections Office, where signatures were verified as belonging to registered voters in the county.

Commissioners Court earlier this month voted 3 to 1 to accept some signatures the association gathered that were needed to get the issue on the ballot.

Court members reluctantly approved the item after being told that if it did not approve the item, the sheriff’s association could file a lawsuit and take the issue to court and would probably win.

Having the issued tied up in court could cost the county thousands of dollars at a time when Commissioners Court has struggled to find ways to balance the budget.

County Judge Carlos H. Cascos cast the dissenting vote stating "what do you do about the other thousand county employees. I’ve got a concern about that."

Cascos also wanted the sheriff’s association to put off collective bargaining until the November 2012 election, when there would be a better representation of county voters.

Precinct 1 Commissioner Sofia C. Benavides issued a stern warning to taxpayers that if they approved collective bargaining come election time, their vote could come back to haunt them.

"I will warn the public it is going to come back and it may cost the taxpayers in the end," Benavides said.

"We are going to work within our county budget. We are not asking this enormous numbers for our detention officers and our deputies. We will sit down with our county commissioners and county judge and work from there," Mendieta said.

Ironically, some taxpayers spoke out at the Sept. 7 meeting, where Commissioners Court addressed the collective bargaining, and agreed that sheriff’s deputies should have collective bargaining.

"These people have a right to bargain," said Brownsville resident Fernando Ruiz.

"If the public says no, the public says no, but I think they will pass it," said George Borrego, also of Brownsville, and president of the Association of Brownsville Educators.

"Everything will boil down to helping out our community. ... Win or lose we will continue to dedicate ourselves and our lives to the community of this county. No matter what the turnout is, we will still continue to be as professional as always," Mendieta said.