Deputies Return to Work After One-Day ‘Sickout’

Orange County sheriff’s patrol deputies were back on the job Friday after a one-day “sickout” over stalled contract negotiations, union and department spokesmen said.

Robert J. MacLeod, general manager of the Assn. of Orange County Deputy Sheriffs, said the job action during the Thursday night shift was successful because it demonstrated support for deputies and because enough warning was provided for the department to fully staff patrol cars.

MacLeod said 35 of 42 deputies called in sick, marking the “first time any action similar to this was deemed necessary” by the association, which represents 800 members.

Whether the job action is successful in bringing county negotiators back to the bargaining table remains to be seen, MacLeod said.

“I think we haven’t changed our position,” Dick Thornburgh, negotiator for the county, said Friday. “We still feel we have a more-than-reasonable offer out there. We’re not going to let them blackmail us into increasing our offer by withdrawing their services for a day.”

The primary dispute is over the county’s last offer of a 4.75% wage increase for deputies, identical to that being offered other county employees, MacLeod said. The association wants a percentage increase comparable with what other local police agencies are receiving, or about 6%, he said.

Sheriff Department spokesman Lt. Richard Olson said only one deputy called in sick Friday. “We know the individual was sick,” he said.

“There were no operational difficulties as far as units . . . or problems in the field” as a result of the job action, Olson said.