Police vote to unionize to raise wages

INDIANAPOLIS -- Nearly 1,000 state troopers, excise police and state conservation officers overwhelmingly voted to unionize and will ask for their first bargaining session before Christmas, the president of the Indiana State Police Alliance said Monday.\nLaw enforcement officers voted 976-98 in favor of unionizing, with eight ballots voided for failure to follow instructions, Keith Gill said. There were no challenges by either side, Gill said.\nThe Public Employees' Relations Board still must certify the vote.\nOnce certified, the officers will comprise Local 1041, the Indiana Professional Law Enforcement Association. The group will be represented by the International Union of Police Associations, which is affiliated with the AFL-CIO.\n"It was overwhelmingly, about a 9-1 vote, for the union," Gill said. "I think that what this shows is that our troopers have looked at the state's surrounding us and realized they are about $18,000 below the average salary."\nState police troopers and highway patrol officers in Illinois, Michigan, Kentucky and Ohio all employ collective bargaining, Gill said.\nAbout two-thirds of Indiana's 35,042 state employees are represented by unions.\nGov. Frank O'Bannon said last week that while his office was not involved with the union election, he would work with any labor organization.\n"I have always supported state employees' right to organize," O'Bannon said.\nState employees have had the right to bargain collectively since 1990, when then-Gov. Evan Bayh issued an executive order. The order also contained strong language prohibiting strikes.\n"That's not a point up for negotiation," Gill said of a strike. "We agree that work stoppages are not in the best interests of the people of Indiana or us, and that is not something we'll even consider."\nFive years ago, the union representing the law enforcement officers disbanded after members were not consulted on terms of their new contract.\nGill, a 23-year State Police veteran, said last week that officers reconsidered because they were upset they have not received pay raises since 2000.\nO'Bannon then gave State Police trainees a 42 percent increase to $27,563, while veterans at the top of the scale received a 9.5 percent increase to $42,708.\nOfficers plan to seek their first bargaining session with the state before Christmas, Gill said.\nIssues likely to be discussed, in addition to salary, include cost-of-living adjustments and insurance rate for retirees, and pay for overtime instead of unpaid compensatory time.\nKeith Beesley, legal counsel for the state personnel department, said he expected some issues to be discussed would relate more to hours and working conditions.\n"When we had a prior union organization, obviously we had a settlement that was many pages long, and very few of those pages had to do with actual monetary issues," Beesley said.