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Uploaded: Monday, January 7, 2013, 11:53 AM
Atherton police union dumps Teamsters, hires law firm for labor talks
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by Renee Batti
Almanac Staff
Just months before contract talks with the town of Atherton open, the Atherton police officers' union has parted ways with the Teamsters union that has represented it for years, and now is affiliated with the San Mateo County Deputy Sheriffs' Association.
At the same time, the Atherton Police Officers' Association is enlisting the services of the Mastagni, Holstedt, Amick, Miller and Johnsen, a Sacramento-based law firm, to assist it with its labor negotiations.
"The membership took a vote and we felt we would be better represented by the Mastagni law firm," APOA president John Mattes said in an email, in response to the question of whether the officers were dissatisfied with the Teamsters' representation
In a press release dated Jan. 1 -- Mr. Mattes' first day as APOA president -- Mr. Mattes said the local union is joining the county Deputy Sheriffs' Association as "associate members." He explained in an email that the APOA will be a non-voting member of the DSA, but will share services, such as "use of their office manager to answer phones, a conference room and meeting room that we do not have at Atherton."
The town's contract with APOA expires Sept. 30, and negotiations are likely to begin around April, according to City Manager George Rodericks. The town hasn't decided who will assist it in its negotiations, he said.
A preview of how congenially -- or not -- the contract talks are likely to play out was on view last year when the APOA waged an active campaign in support of City Council candidates Elizabeth Lewis, an incumbent, and Cary Wiest. Both candidates won election to the two vacant seats.
The APOA's election-time effort included sending out a mailer that the council characterized as misleading and some council members blasted for use of "scare-mongering" tactics. The union also conducted a phone campaign, in which it endorsed the two candidates. Both strategies referred to the council's alleged consideration of contracting police services to another agency, or seriously slashing police compensation -- allegations hotly contested by council members.
The council has stated on numerous occasions that the town needs to reduce its employee costs, and has already taken steps expected to lower compensation for non-represented employees. In 2011, the town laid off most of its non-police employees and contracted services in the building and public works departments.
The current contract with police officers guarantees that officers will be compensated at a rate that is in the 70th percentile of police officer pay in specified jurisdictions in the area.
Mr. Mattes, a police dispatcher whose job as communications supervisor was re-classified last year at a cost to him, he said, of nearly $17,000 a year in salary, said the move away from Teamsters representation and the use of a firm specializing in labor law would not be more costly for the APOA. "We, as an association, will be paying less per month/member for better services," he wrote in his email.Are you receiving Express, our free daily e-mail edition? See a sample and sign-up for Express.
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Posted by Joseph E. Davis, a resident of the Woodside: Emerald Hills neighborhood, on Jan 7, 2013 at 12:43 pm Public sector unions should be illegal. They are a form of self-dealing and corruption.
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Posted by Working the farm, a resident of the Woodside: Family Farm/Hidden Valley neighborhood, on Jan 7, 2013 at 1:04 pm J Davis "Public sector unions should be illegal."
vs
"They remind us that where free unions and collective bargaining are forbidden, freedom is lost." Ronnie Reagan '80
Ronnie, the man: In 1968, then-California Gov. Ronald Reagan signed the Meyers-Milias-Brown Act, establishing collective bargaining for California's municipal and county employees.
Why does Mr Davis hate working Americans so much more than Reagan?
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Posted by Ghost of RR, a resident of the Atherton: other neighborhood, on Jan 7, 2013 at 1:33 pm There is nothing per say wrong with a union, including a public sector union. It is common sensical, however, to look at unions in a different light than when they started in earnest in the 19th century. Public sector workers are objectively paid and treated much better than Pennsylvania coal miners were back then.
In the movie Wall Street 2, the main character asks the CEO of a Wall Street firm what is number is, what is enough. The CEO, played by Josh Brolin replies, after pondering for a moment, "more." It's a great scene that was acted well, and certainly served as an indictment of the "1%."
But the origins of this quote are actually with the first large American union leader, Samuel Gompers of the AFL, in the late 1800's.
Mr. Gompers wanting "more" might have been more appropriate back then than it is now. That fact alone might be a result of unions, but it is still a fact.
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Posted by ghost II, a resident of the Atherton: West Atherton neighborhood, on Jan 7, 2013 at 1:46 pm Much like the modern myth of RR, ghost of RR said a lot.
Yet said nothing.
The real RR said a lot, but it was decipherable.
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Posted by Observer, a resident of the Atherton: other neighborhood, on Jan 7, 2013 at 1:48 pm Is it merely a coincidence that this law firm was the same firm working so hard last November/December 2012 to delay the resolution approving salary benefits for all unrepresented employees so that the new Council composed of Weist (and the APOA backed Lewis) could change it? And now they will represent the police? Meanwhile the police ditch the Teamsters in an effort to try to improve public perception?
Could it be that the original resolution contained provisions the police did not want to see in their new contracts? Was the immense support of two candidates and the delaying tactic all part of an effort to retain all-too-favorable contract provisions out of whack with those of other cities and economic realities?
Perhaps "appearances" are obscuring honest and considered responses to these critical questions.
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Posted by WhoRUpeople, a resident of another community, on Jan 7, 2013 at 2:39 pm It looks, smells and quacks--it is a duck. Observer nailed it, it is what the electorate wants in Atherton,however, so let it be done--I'll just be sure to avoid driving through the town limits. I just wish they wouldn't let their private security force/pet sitters/caretakers carry real weapons. Scarey.
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