By Jennifer Gomori, POJ Editor

Mattawan Police have the best of both worlds — a supportive department, and now they have a Union to back them up.

The Village of Mattawan Police Officers joined the Police Officers Labor Council (POLC) in September 2024. They had been operating without any union representation for about 8 years since having a less than desirable experience with their former representation.

“They had a union years ago through the Teamsters. That was way before my time,” said Mattawan Police Local Union Steward Lacey Ryan. “From my knowledge, it just wasn’t very law enforcement-based or very progressive so they had gotten rid of it.” 

Ryan joined the department 3-1/2 years ago. “We had been talking about getting unionized a year after I started here,” she said. “We wanted to be progressive. Especially with law enforcement, you want that extra protection in case something happens.”

“Our current chief that we’ve got in office, he’s pro-union and we just decided to pull the trigger. It was very nice. There was no hostility about it,” Ryan said. 

The group chose the POLC for the “broad spectrum” of coverage it provides to its members from enhancements in bargaining agreements to protections on the job, including access to discount PORAC Legal Defense Fund insurance. After doing some research into what the POLC provides compared to a couple of other unions, the choice became clear.

“I ended up getting union contracts from departments around Van Buren County and we decided to go with POLC,” Ryan said. “A lot of other departments used them around Van Buren and I hadn’t heard anything negative about it. I heard that everybody was really receptive and responsive.”

POLC Representative Scott Eager helped Mattawan Police reach a 2-1/2-year bargaining agreement with the Village. The contract, which runs from March 2025 to June 30, 2027, includes wage reopeners effective July 1st of each year. Employees were pleased with the significant wage increases they had received the past few years prior to their first POLC contract, Eager said.

“We are very, very supported at our department. We get paid extremely well for how small our department is,” Ryan said. “Prior to having the contract, our chief has fought very hard for us to get paid for what we’re worth … so, we are just having wage reopeners due to inflation and all that. We’re not trying to ask for anything that is too much or that is too little for the economy.”

Monetary changes were made to other areas of the bargaining agreement. Field Training Officer (FTO) pay was added at $1.50 extra per hour for every hour spent training a new officer. Maternity Leave and Paternity Leave were added providing 60% of pay for 12 weeks for the birthing parent and 9 weeks of 60% pay for the non-birthing parent. For all hours worked on a Holiday, Holiday Pay increased from straight pay to 1-1/2 times hourly pay, with the normal shift at 12 hours. Employees who are off work on Holidays receive 8 hours of straight pay. Employees who work part of the Holiday receive a combination of both, based on hours worked.

“We also got hours worked as hours paid regardless if we take scheduled Vacation Days,” she said. 

“They wouldn’t get Overtime, previously, until they had over 80 hours of actual work in a pay period,” Eager said.

“If I worked Overtime for two weeks and received 4 hours of Overtime, and I had a Vacation pre-scheduled, they did not give me the Overtime and would take it out of my Vacation Time,” Ryan said. “Now, if we take a Vacation Day and get Overtime, then the Overtime is paid as Overtime.”

The four-member group maintained their medical insurance and retirement benefits, with the Employer continuing to provide a 6% match to Employee contributions to their 401(a) accounts.

“Our Village takes care of us very well when it comes to insurance,” Ryan said. “Overall, our department treated us very well prior to the contract. There were really not a lot of qualms we had. It was just the fact that I heard good things about POLC, and when I did reach out, everybody was very receptive and communicated real well,” Ryan said.