St. Johns County deputies voting to unionize for ‘seat at the table' and higher wages
Change may soon be coming to the way the St. Johns County Sheriff's Office deals with rank-and-file deputies, with a vote to unionize all deputies scheduled for Thursday, February 20, and Friday, February 21.
Steve Zona with the Florida Fraternal Order of Police told Action News Jax Thursday the departments' deputies feel they have been left behind in negotiations for far too long.
'They really want to have a seat at the table,' Zona said. 'To have discussions with the sheriff and have communications, and they don't feel like they're getting that right now.'
According to a recent study by the St. Johns County Chamber of Commerce, the average affordable rent budget for a St. Johns County law enforcement officer sits at around $1,375 a month -- calculated by taking 30% of the average monthly income of SJC law enforcement officers. The issue: that figure falls about $300 shy of the average cost of a one-bedroom apartment in St. Johns County.
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For those economic reasons, Zona said pay and fair wages remain another key factor that he hopes unionization will improve for St. Johns County law enforcement officials.
'That's always one of the top items that we wanna take care of for the people we represent,' Zona said. 'And that is wages, benefits, health insurance, everything else, but also just consistency across the board. Whether it has to do with discipline, job assignments, transfers, leave, all those types of things.'
Action News Jax also reached out for an interview, statement, or response to the effort to unionize from St. John's County Sheriff Rob Hardwick's office, but are awaiting a statement at this time.
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