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Public
Employee Press Board
hits juvenile agency on dog search
They responded to what they thought was a fire
alarm drill.
But when the Juvenile Counselors and the detained youths at
the Bridges Juvenile Center gathered in the frigid gymnasium for 2 ½ hours
without access to a bathroom on Nov. 20, 2006, they learned it was actually a
surprise drug search.
It was extremely demeaning, said Darek
Robinson, vice president of Juvenile Counselors Local 1457, who was present during
the roundup conducted by the Dept. of Juvenile Justice.
Three counselors
were forced to leave the gym. They flinched with fear as they were marched down
a hallway, where dogs German Shepherds and Labrador Retrievers brushed
up against them and sniffed them.
The workers were taken to an office.
Managers informed them that their clothing showed traces of illicit substances.
They
were ordered to sit in chairs as the dogs sniffed them again. One member had to
remove articles of clothing as she was subjected to what the union called a strip
search. Allergic to dogs, she broke out in hives, with her face red and swollen.
Her Workers Compensation case for the nine days she was subsequently out
of work is pending.
The search of the workers didnt uncover any drugs.
We dont question DJJs right to carry out drug searches
and certainly there shouldnt be illegal substances in the facilities,
Local 1457 President Alex Parker said. But we dont want them using
dogs to intimidate our members.
Outraged, the local consulted with
the DC 37 Legal Dept., and Sr. Assistant General Counsel Steven Sykes filed an
improper practice charge, saying DJJ violated the contract because it did not
negotiate with the union before the search.
In its September decision,
the impartial Board of Collective Bargaining upheld DJJs right to do random
drug searches but faulted the agency for not negotiating with the union.
We
were very upset with the invasive nature of the canine search and the physical
search of our member, Sykes said. The board vindicated the unions
position that the policy and procedures for searches are a mandatory subject of
bargain, which means they must consult with the union about them. | |