Does A Union Make Law Enforcement A More Appealing Career?

Sheriff’s Office Sees Increase In Applicants Since New Contract Signed By Gordon HopkinsLike nearly every other employer in the U.S., the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office has struggled to recruit new staff. A workforce shortage throughout the U.S. has impacted nearly all industries, has hamstrung an economic recovery and is forcing many employers to increase wages to attract new staff.A new union contract may be helping.On Tuesday, June 28, 2022, Jefferson County Commissioners and Sheriff Nick Georgi signed a contract with the Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) establishing a union for the Sheriff’s Department in Jefferson County. The Sheriff’s Department has been unionized since January of this year but a contract had not yet been signed.The Law Enforcement Committee held its quarterly meeting on Tuesday, July 26, at the Fairbury City Offices, where Jefferson County Sheriff Nick Georgi provided an update to city officials. The Sheriff’s Office currently provides law enforcement services for the City of Fairbury as well as the county.“And then the major change was the pay. The pay went up. Not including the raise last year,” said Sheriff Georgi. “Went up 7.8 (percent), roughly, this time, and then the on-call rate of pay went up to 30 percent of the regular hourly rate. That was part of the contract.”According to the sheriff, there has been an increase in interest in open positions since the new pay scale went into effect.“Before we got that contract or before the pay raise, we were getting maybe one app (application) every three or four months,” Georgi said. “We’ve gotten quite a few apps since the last couple months. So, it definitely helped.”The sheriff noted that, prior to the pay raise, he had received applications from certified law enforcement officers, only to have them lose interest when they learned about the pay scale.While the union contract is for three years, the pay is renegotiated every year. Georgi explained, “They would only agree to a year because everyone’s raising their wages. So, they felt like, if they did three years, they wouldn’t be comparable anymore next year.”

Sandra Whitton

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