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HomeMy WebLinkAboutItem #30 - Personal Appearanceems GWENDOLYN CHERRY REPRESENTATIVE. 9., DISTRICT 636 N. W. *ECON•.. VENUE MIAMI, FLORIDA 3136 F'LORIDA fOtrSE or REPRESENTATIVES TALLAHASSEE December 28, 1971 Mr. Melvin City of Miami Post Office Box 08 Coconut Grove S tion Coconut Grove, F 33133 ese, City Manager File: Re: Dear Mr. Reese COMMITTEES! COMMUNITY AFFAIRS NtALTN 6 RENASILtTATIVE SERVICES !NSURANCt MIA-71-25 Attorney Rothstein's Opinion Negotiation and Collective Bargaining with Employees This letter comes as a request\for time on the city commissioner's agenda to speak against the above numberkl opinion of The City Attorney regarding the Police Benevolent Association, t;strongly disagree with The City Attorney's opinion and feel that in behalf of this constituents 1 represent, time should be t.. granted for the commission to hear.' nd consider the other side. Kindly contact my office in order that a may arrive at a tentative date and time. Enclosed please find a copy of my reply to Attorney Rothstein's memorandum regarding Negotiation and Collective Bargaining with Employees. Thanking you in advance for your cooporation in this matter. healthy holidays to you and yours during,this season. erely\ Happy, GSC/ta Enclosure cc: Alan H. Rothstein, City Attorney S' Gwendolyn S. `cherr Representative,\96th District z, rer±arlA / fr shall include expenses, payable in such amounts and on such dates and subject to the terms and conditions as provided in said agree- ment, a copy of which is attached hereto and made a part hereof. PASSED AND ADOPTED this 20th day of January, 1972. CITY COMMISSION 11 Ltd KO. u. Y j l i 3/73 EXCEPTION to the CITY ATTORNEY'S POLICE BENEVOLENT ASSOCIATION by GWSNDOLYN ILA CHERRY State llep teeinstatiVe • The City of Mimi Attorney Mae Rothstein was gracious enough to share a copy of his opinion stating it was mandatory that the ';sty deal with the Police Benevolent Association. I strongly differ with the honorable attorney's memorandum. The city does not have to negotiate with the P. B. Ai : Any- state. county, or city. may refuse to deal with any organisation contrary to federal law. Tba ihatad States Constitution. If one followed Attorney Rothstein's reason- ing. them tba city would be bound to do business with an outlaw organisation such as The Mafia or KKK, if the employees -made this selection. This shows extreme examples but you can readily see the point. The same reasoning wouldapply. to the P. B.A. The P. B. A. contrary to law of the land die- crimlaatss., therefore, it is an: snlawfnl organisation. Another illustration of the issue is is ,.Voter Registration Cases, where the Federal Government steps in to see that°registratiese it carries%: out is compliance with federal Law. There can be no•dtscrimieatton io voter registration laws. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act as' well the the iltia Amendment of the, U. S. Constitution clearly forbids discrimination. No state statute or court decision can stand contrary to the taw of the land. 1�. 02/ caption to the City Attorneys P. B. A. Opinion Page 2 Mr. Rothstein cites as his authority Florida Statutes: "(2) All employees who comply with the provision s of this section are aeon's& the right and freedom of association, self -organisation, and the right to join or to contours es m nbere of any employee or labor organisation which complies with this section, and Shall have the right to praesent, proposals relative to salaries and other conditions of employment through representatives of their ows choosing ... " The remainder of thit citation that the City Attorney failed to quote is to wit: "No such employee shall be discharged or discriminated against because of his exercise of such right..." It stands to reason that a statute which forbids the employer to dis- criminate against an employee could not turn around and condone an employee discriminating against his fellow employee. All state, city, and court decisions must be compatible to constitutional provisions and federal taws. This statute attempts to give all employees rights but these rights do not and cannot be the right to racial discrimination in their ranks. Employees may join any group of their choice as long as the group is legal under the laws of the state and the United States. Both laws prohibits discrimination - the P. B.A. discriminates - therefore, it is unlawful and illegal in the eyes of the law. Hence. the city is not obligated to deal with the Police Benevolent Association on any matters. i7 J Enceptios to the City Attorney', P. B. A. Opinion Page 3 in Labor Law a union wit not be recognised as legally constituted until it has complied lath certain steps rem -Oiled by 'Law. The P. B. A. as it exists now is in that pssturethe'Ci.ganiSati4ha 'net cos;iplted with the laws of the land. If the'city condunes to negodete with the pellets Benevolent Association, then the 4ty. In tact openly cooperates with discrimination.