Pueblo union reps call on Sheriff David Lucero to negotiate with new PCSO union

A week after sending a letter to Pueblo County Sheriff David Lucero, local union representatives demonstrated outside the sheriff's office Wednesday in their latest push to get him to negotiate a contract with the PCSO’s new union.

Around 30 union representatives and supporters circled the Pueblo County Sheriff’s Office for around two hours to protest Lucero’s reluctance to negotiate a contract with his employees. Hundreds of PCSO employees formed a union in December and chose the International Brotherhood of Police Officers, a police labor union, as their representative.

In recent months, the IBPO has reached out to Lucero to begin negotiations, but the sheriff has said that a new law allowing employees in some Colorado counties to unionize conflicts with his authority as sheriff under Colorado law.

In March, the IBPO filed an unfair labor practice claim against the PCSO, alleging that Lucero violated the new law that allows county employees to collectively bargain. That complaint is “currently under investigation” by the state’s Division of Labor Standards and Statistics, a spokesperson for the department told the Chieftain.

“It’s a travesty considering what Pueblo is in Colorado — we’re the union community and have been for at least 25 years,” Charles Perko, president of United Steelworkers Local 3627, said of how the relationship between the IBPO and Lucero has unfolded thus far. “We’ve led the state in this sort of activity and to have a sheriff who seems to do what the hell he wants because he reads the bill and believes it doesn’t apply to him — we shouldn’t have to do this.”

Perko was joined Wednesday by several other local union reps, including Hilary Glasgow, Jerry Ballard, Andre Cunningham, Josette Jaramillo, and Konner Pemberton, each of whom are presidents or chairs of their respective unions.

The group, alongside other union supporters, spent some of Wednesday's demonstration chanting, “Get up, get down, Pueblo is a union townn,” before holding up signs and waving to passersby at Sante Fe Avenue. May 1 is historically celebrated as May Day, an annual display of activism among union members and workers.

“It’s important for people to know, especially elected officials, if they want to go against their own people, there is accountability,” Glasgow said. “Especially when there’s a law passed that took a ton of work.

“Us showing up, what we want (Lucero) to know is that we represent hundreds, if not thousands, of people in this community.”

There were no deputy sheriffs or other PCSO union members present at Wednesday's demonstration. Some of them informed the Southern Colorado Labor Council that they wouldn’t show up because they feared Lucero would retaliate against them, Glasgow claimed.

Vince Champion, regional director of the IBPO, flew into Pueblo from Atlanta late Tuesday night to join Wednesday's demonstration. As of May 1, the IBPO’s PCSO union had 217 members, an increase from around 200 when the union first formed in December following a certified election.

“It’s amazing,” Champion said of Wednesday’s turnout. “These are people that believe in unions (and) the right to collectively bargain and they’re willing to even stand up side by side with us to make sure everybody has that right.”

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Lucero’s office issued a news release about 30 minutes before Wednesday’s demonstration began. Lucero, in the release, reiterated what he shared with the Chieftain on Monday, saying that he supports unions but feels the new law conflicts with the authority granted to sheriffs by state statutes.

Lucero also stated that he felt it would be “disingenuous to begin negotiating without a clear legal decision on what can and cannot be brought to the bargaining table.” It’s a point that some local union reps have disputed, stating that sponsors of the bill would have properly vetted its legality before introducing it.

“When that legal guidance is provided, I’d be happy to bargain if that’s what the law says,” Lucero said in the release. “If it doesn’t, then I will continue to do what I have been doing all along and that’s to continue to advocate for my people.”

Lucero also seemed to counter Champion’s and Glasgow’s claims that he’s refusing to “uphold the law” by delaying negotiations.

“Of course, I am going to follow the law and enforce the laws, that’s what I was elected to do,” he said.

It’s unclear when a ruling on the matter might be handed down by the labor standards and statistics department, but it informed Lucero on Monday of the IBPO’s unfair labor practice complaint. The department imposed a May 13 deadline for Lucero to provide written responses and documents that he believes will refute the union's allegations.

The department’s notice to Lucero and Peter Blood, attorney for Pueblo County, was shared with the Chieftain.

Certified elections to form a union among deputy sheriffs and other employees have taken place in at least six counties in Colorado, including Pueblo, since the bill went into effect in July.  However, the law has also faced significant pushback from leaders in El Paso and Douglas counties since it was enacted.

Colorado lobbying records show that Pueblo, Douglas, El Paso, Grand, Mesa, Montrose and Weld counties opposed the bill, as did several other statewide organizations representing county governments.

Chieftain reporter Josué Perez can be reached at JHPerez@gannett.com. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter, at @josuepwrites. Support local news, subscribe to The Pueblo Chieftain at subscribe.chieftain.com.

This article originally appeared on The Pueblo Chieftain: Why Pueblo union reps are demanding Sheriff Lucero negotiate with union