By Jennifer Gomori, POJ Editor

The last contract the Huron-Clinton Metroparks Police signed was a decade-long deal. A devastating change in their contract terms and the loss of staff prompted them to seek new representation with the  POLC.

“Basically, we felt that we were not getting the representation. We signed a 10-year contract and for 10 years nothing was really done,” said Doug Fulton, who was Huron-Clinton Metroparks Police Local Union President when the group voted to join the POLC. “We never heard a peep out of anyone (from the Union). We didn’t receive contact from them until they got the notification from MERC that we were looking to change unions. Then, all of a sudden, we had the attention of everybody and it was just too late.”

The 38-member unit, which patrols 13 Metroparks, has been represented by the Police Officers Association of Michigan (POAM) for over 20 years. They joined the Police Officers Labor Council in May 2022 with their contract set to expire in January 2023. The Metroparks unit will be represented by POLC Labor Rep. Chris Hild.

“We are extremely excited to have the Metroparks join POLC and look forward to working with their bargaining team to address their needs,” Hild said. “Communication is the key to success, and we will be transparent with our membership, so they understand the direction we want to go.”

Fulton joined the Metroparks Police full-time in May 2021 after working part-time for them until his retirement from Argentine Township Police Department. “I came in and this bargaining unit was in shambles,” Fulton said. “There was very, very important language given away having to do with promoting from the outside instead of inside. It was never ratified. The Union knew this and still allowed it to happen. It was time to get a new Union.”

Of the 21 bargaining members who voted on the union change, 20 voted in favor of the POLC. “I know only 21 voted, but we had a lot of guys that were leaving, so they didn’t care,” Fulton said. “We’ve lost six or seven guys in the last month.”

Huron-Clinton Metropolitan Authority Police Officers have been leaving due to issues with pay, morale and a lack of training, Fulton said. A couple of officers took early retirements. Much of the low morale stems from the loss of the promotion language two years ago, he said.

“Why bother staying when you’re definitely not getting promoted?” Fulton said. “They find someone on the outside who’s retired that has 30 years’ experience and you never get promoted.”

Metroparks Officers previously had contract language stating the employer was to fill full-time positions and any promotions were to be made from within the department prior to looking outside for applicants. Fulton said the Officers were unaware of the language change until they noticed outside job postings for positions that were not posted first internally. He said their former Union Representative had signed off on that change, which the Rep. denied.

“It was taken away without any fight,” Fulton said. “The guys didn’t know about this until afterwards. This is something that will affect this department for years in the future. The guys now and the guys being hired in the future will have to pay for that.”

After meeting with POLC Membership Services Rep. Chris Watts they were sold. “We liked everything we heard about POLC representing five-man departments or 500-man departments. The line of communication with Chris Watts has been amazing,” Fulton said. “I was in more communication with Chris Watts than our own POAM Rep. I didn’t hear a bad thing about POLC, and I got everybody together and everybody decided it was time to go.”

Hild knows how to resolve retention issues with employers. “These are very difficult times right now with respect to recruiting and retention and we need to do our best at getting that message through to administrators while working directly with them to combat this crisis,” Hild said. “Every organization in law enforcement is now competing for a dwindling number of qualified applicants, and the Metroparks are not impervious to this dilemma.”

“We’re going into the new contract negotiations with a new union, and we’re excited about that,” Fulton said. “We’re looking forward to a good relationship with POLC.”