Pueblo County Sheriff’s Union claims Sheriff is violating the law by not negotiating contract

PUEBLO COUNTY, Colo. (KRDO) -- Pueblo County Sheriff Dave Lucero and the police union representing deputy sheriffs, the International Brotherhood of Police Officers (IBPO), are not seeing eye to eye on their negotiations for a new contract.

Last July, Senate Bill 22-230 became law in Colorado, giving county employees in the State of Colorado the ability to collectively bargain and sign binding contracts with their employer. A vote inside the Pueblo County Sheriff's took place, where a majority voted to unionize.

Vince Champion, the regional director of the IBPO, tells KRDO13 Investigates that Sheriff Lucero has been unwilling to come to the negotiating table on items like pay increases, policies for internal investigations, and overall rights in the workplace.

"I received a two-page letter explaining that, I guess in his opinion or others opinion, there is something's wrong with the law as if it's unconstitutional and it can't bind the sheriffs," Champion said.

That letter, dated on March 5, 2024, says Lucero was concerned that negotiating with the union on topics like "personnel policies and ability to take personnel actions" would infringe upon his rights as an elected Sheriff as explained in the Colorado Constitution.

In an interview with KRDO13 Investigates, Sheriff Lucero said he was never "unwilling" to come to the table with the IBPO union. Instead, he said he was taken aback by a three-page list of topics they wanted to bargain for.

"Those were not going to be in line with what the statutes and the Constitution allow Colorado Sheriffs to grant," Lucero said.

The Sheriff says what topics the union is able to bargain for is, to him, a "legal gray area" after the law was passed allowing county employees to unionize. He says the law was tailored and narrowly focused to pay and benefits.

"I really thought it'd be disingenuous to sit at the table when anything that we discussed could potentially be reversed down the road," Lucero said.

The Sheriff adds that the argument between he and the union is not solely a Pueblo County problem. Lucero says he's had conversation with Sheriff's in Douglas, Alamosa, and Fremont counties about similarly roadblocks with their negotiations with police unions.

Lucero is now seeking a third-party legal opinion from the Colorado Attorney General's office or a District Court Judge. Additionally, he says Colorado lawmakers could pass a piece of legislation that could provide more clarity on what can and cannot be bargained for in a collective bargaining process.

"I want to be clear. I'm willing to come to a table and talk about, you know, certain things that potentially could that I could negotiate with. But there were you know, the list that I received was way outside of any of those things," Lucero said.

The IBPO union reads the law in a much different light. Champion says it's very clear they are able to negotiate items outside simply pay and benefits. He worries taxpayers may pay the bill on getting a third-party legal opinion that could result in taxpayer-funded litigation in the future.

"It just doesn't stop because he says, I don't want to negotiate. The taxpayers, if he's going to take this and find a government agency or whomever, where is that money coming from," Champion questioned.

Champion says the union may explore whether Sheriff Lucero's reluctance to negotiate on all the topics they brought forward would constitute "unfair labor practices."

"We are looking into the possibility of filing that, which then again, it depends on what the state wants to do, whether they agree with us and tell him, you know, he needs to come to the table or they don't agree with us and tell us that, we're barking up the wrong tree," Champion said.

Pueblo has historically been known as a union city, dating all the way back to the inception of the steel mill and workers there voting to unionize. Lucero says he is not "anti-union;" instead, he wants a clearer understanding of what topics he is required to negotiate on.

"I do believe that unions have a time and a place. And that's really is what is at conflict right now with what the statutes, the sheriff statutes say, and what they're proposing to try to negotiate on," Lucero said.

Sheriff Lucero wanted to make it clear: he is not at adds with his deputies, solely the union who the deputies voted to represent them in contract negotiations.