By Jennifer Gomori, POJ Editor
The Village of Baraga Police Department did not have the advantage of size when seeking representation, but the new Police Officers Labor Council (POLC) bargaining unit is benefiting from the same Employee advocacy that substantially larger groups receive from the Union.
“We are a very, very small department,” said Mathew Shalifoe, Village of Baraga Police Local Union President. “The Chief of Police works days and I work nights. I’m the only one in the Union. It’s a pretty small area. We’ve been running the department with two guys as long as I can remember. I was born and raised here.”
Village of Baraga Police parted ways with Police Officers Association of Michigan (POAM) after well over a decade of membership, joining the POLC in November 2025. Officer Shalifoe has spent the past 9 years with POAM representation, and he said, they’d been representing the department for quite some time before he was hired.
“I was kind of discouraged from them by the lack of representation from my Union Rep.,” Shalifoe said. “I had the same Union Rep. the entire time. When it came to negotiations, he just didn’t show up. I asked him, and he said he doesn’t do that anymore because it becomes confrontational.”
Shalifoe recognizes the small unit size has a lot to do with the hands-off approach that was taken. “I can understand that, but my money is just as green as everyone else’s money. In the 9 years, it was over $4,300 in dues that I paid for literally nothing,” he said. “I literally have the text messages from (the Rep.) saying he’s not going to show up for representation.”
Shalifoe’s relationship with neighboring law enforcement helped him realize just how much he was lacking in labor relations assistance.
“I’ve been working with Griff (Michael Griffin) since he started with the (Baraga County) Sheriff’s Office, and I’ve always gotten along with him,” Shalifoe said. “He’s a very respectable guy … so I thought we’d give it a shot.”
Griffin is now the Village of Baraga Police’s POLC Labor Representative. He jumped right into contract talks early, settling the first POLC-negotiated collective bargaining agreement with the Village in December 2025. “We did it a little bit early to get it out of the way and so it would go smooth that way,” Shalifoe said.
In just over a month represented by POLC, he’s already realized the valuable impact of his move. Beginning March 1, 2026, Baraga Village Police receive a 5% boost in wages with a total of 15% in wage increases over the 3-year contract.
“I was extremely happy. I think Griff did a really good job in the negotiations,” he said. “I was really impressed how he handled himself. He was very professional, very polite. He didn’t try to overstep any boundaries. He wanted my opinion on everything, which I really liked and respected as well.”
Other improvements include a boost in Shift Differential, from $.50 cents to $.75 cents an hour since Shalifoe works the night shift. He also receives an additional paid Personal Day off. Health Care Premiums increased by 11.7 to 15 percent, but Shalifoe understands why. “It went up a little bit. I think that’s everywhere, not just here. Health benefits have gone up for everybody,” he said.
Shalifoe is thrilled he made the decision to become a POLC member, knowing now that his dues are paying for excellent service. He hopes to inspire other smaller departments to make the same move. “I like the fact that there’s actually representation with the POLC,” Shalifoe said. “Just the fact that Griff was there and he did his job compared to what I was used to in the past.”
“I’m glad we did this article. In a sense, maybe if other officers read this, it will sway them away from POAM so they’ll actually get something for their money,” he said. “Maybe this could save another younger officer, with less experience, from this stuff and save some other (officers) some money.”
