Sheriff’s Deputies Prepare for Major Action, Possibly Strike, as Talks Break Off

Leaders of the Orange County sheriff’s deputies union said they are preparing for a major job action, possibly a strike, after talks with county labor negotiators broke down late Wednesday.

Robert J. MacLeod, general manager of the Assn. of Orange County Deputy Sheriffs, said the union will hold a membership meeting next week as a precursor to a major job action.

“We’ll be telling them, ‘This is it,’ ” MacLeod said late Wednesday.

“We don’t have any options left that aren’t major,” he said. “I don’t see how it could get any more serious.”

MacLeod said union members were told after last year’s tough bargaining to begin saving money for a strike this year, if necessary. He said the union is financially and legally poised to conduct a strike.

The sheriff’s deputies have already staged a weeklong work slowdown that ended last Thursday and caused major delays in the county’s court system.

Considers Strike Possible

Government employees are prohibited by law from conducting job actions that jeopardize the health or safety of the public. But MacLeod nevertheless maintained that a strike was possible.

John Sibley, county director of employee relations, said Wednesday that a strike would cause the county to immediately file for a restraining order from a judge.

Meanwhile, the county’s increasing labor troubles grew more serious Wednesday when building inspectors began conducting a work slowdown. They represented the fifth Orange County employee union to stage a job action in the last three weeks aimed at higher wages.

Inspector Frank Wakeland said the slowdown--achieved by workers doing their job precisely by the book--will probably not be noticed until next week. But then, he said, developers will begin complaining when their construction is delayed until inspections are completed.

“It will begin costing the developers thousands of dollars a day,” Wakeland said. “They will be screaming.”

The county has about 25 inspectors who monitor construction sites and belong to the Orange County Employees Assn. The OCEA, with 6,500 members, is scheduled to meet with county aides today.

6 Hours of Talks

The sheriff’s deputies’ talks broke down about 4:30 p.m. after the two sides negotiated with the assistance of a mediator for about six hours. It was their first meeting since Aug. 17, just before the union’s decision to delay the delivery of prisoners to the courts.

The two sides said they discussed several wage packages for one- to three-year contract proposals.

The county’s last offer on the table was for a one-year contract with a 2.5% pay raise; the union was asking for a 7% pay raise. The two sides could not agree on higher bonuses for special-duty officers, such as helicopter pilots and bomb squad members.

“Our bottom line is that we don’t have more money,” Sibley said. “If we had that much money, we would have had agreements long ago.”

MacLeod insisted, however, that the county has not claimed in negotiations that it cannot afford the union’s demand. That is procedurally significant, he said, because if the county claims an inability to pay, then the union can legally have an outside auditor examine the county’s financial books.

“They keep telling the representatives of the media that they don’t have enough money to meet our demands,” MacLeod said. “But (at the negotiating table) they said they have a $1.7-billion budget, and, if they choose to, they could give us a 100% raise.”

The Board of Supervisors recently approved a $1.7-billion budget that was described as one of the tightest ever for the county. County Administrative Officer Larry Parrish said the budget will cause the county to lose about 100 jobs and force the layoff of up to 30 people.