(Kansas City) – Correctional employees at the Jackson County Detention Center, represented by AFSCME Local 1707, are implementing a new labor agreement that includes a number of terrific advances for county employees. The new agreement makes critical advances in conditions identified by Corrections employees as in need of improvement.
Ratified last month, one of the new agreement’s most notable upgrades is the provision of a Union-leased parking lot that may be used free of charge by all bargaining unit employees of the detention center. With the opening of the nearby Sprint Center last year, parking for detention center employees had become a significant problem. That problem was solved by Local 1707, however, by bargaining for a county-paid subsidy that covers the cost of a Union lot.
Additionally, the new agreement includes greater protections for staff “drafted” to perform non-voluntary overtime shifts. Any employee who is held over for longer than 15 minutes after his or her shift must now be moved to the bottom of the draft list for subsequent days, per the new agreement. For the first time, the new labor agreement also includes benefits for domestic partners of Jackson County Corrections employees.
“The new contract in Jackson County negotiated by President Jesse Morgan and his team represents a big leap forward for jail employees. Every member of Local 1707 ought to be very proud of what they’ve done,” said Jeffrey Mazur, Council 72 Administrator.
