440 Corrections Officers in KY and NEV Gain CWA Representation

Thanks to political action, union organizing and collective bargaining, more than 440 corrections officers win CWA representation in Kentucky and Nevada. 

In Kentucky, Lexington Mayor Teresa Ann Isaac granted union recognition to 360 corrections officers following a campaign by the workers, who were assisted by CWA Local 3372. They are employed by the Division of Community Corrections and work at the Lexington Fayette Urban County Detention Center. CWA's National Coalition of Public Safety Officers assisted the local in the workers' campaign.

The mayor's action follows the passage of a new collective bargaining law in the primarily Republican state senate which permits corrections officers to organize. Besides lobbying hard for the legislation, Local 3372 was successful in persuading the state's Republican governor to sign the sign the legislation. Lexington's mayor granted recognition to the workers after a majority of the officers supported union representation.

In Nevada, political action helped to gain recognition for 80 deputy sheriffs. Local 9111 organizer Don Ruiz reported that deputies had voted to join CWA but hit a snag when their petition for recognition was denied by the state's labor board, which determined they were not Clark County employees. CWA Representative John Doran took their case to the chief of the U.S. District Court which acknowledged that the workers were employees of the court, and agreed to grant them union recognition.