Déjà vu All Over Again
On September 26th, the NLRB issued a decision recognizing that, yet again, Maritas and LEOSU entered into a collective bargaining agreement with an employer that contained substantial “conflicting” terms. Yes, unbelievably, Maritas negotiated still another CBA full of errors, this one with Paragon in Kentucky that contains three possible effective dates and two distinctly different termination dates. In trying to explain to the NLRB why there were two different termination dates, LEOSU’s attorney wrote: “We cannot explain the discrepancy concerning the expiration dates except by attributing it to poor proofreading.” He then explained that it was Maritas who before signing the contract failed to read it carefully. Apparently LEOSU President Strebeck didn’t bother to read the inaccurate agreement too before Maritas signed it. Quite a team leading this so-called union.
But wait – haven’t we heard that exact same excuse before, that Maritas when signing collective bargaining agreements doesn’t even read them first? Regular readers of this website will recall that was the very same excuse the LEOSU, Maritas and Strebeck used in a NLRB case in Colorado this past summer? Yep, there, in trying to explain a seriously “flawed agreement” that Maritas signed, the LEOSU’s attorney also stated the errors occurred because Maritas “signed the agreement without proofreading it.” There, Maritas’ multiple errors included again referencing wrong dates and, in that case, wrong companies and wrong states also. The NLRB will be ruling on the effect of Martias’ errors there soon. See “More Legal Problems for UFLEOS” below.
It’s funny, the LEOSU and Maritas don’t have very many collective bargaining agreements, yet the ones they have consistently are seriously flawed because Maritas signs whatever the company gives him without even reading it first. Actually, that’s not very funny, at least for LEOSU members. How much money does Maritas take from the LEOSU each year not to proofread documents? Official government documents reveal that Maritas pays himself over $170,000 to represent his small 1,700-member organization. What’s wrong with this picture? At least for those in Kentucky, this NLRB decision will permit them to file their petition to join the SPFPA early next year and they will be able to escape Maritas’ consistent harmful mistakes.
If you’re stuck in a Maritas union and looking for a way out… SPFPA is HERE for YOU! Call us today at 800-228-7492
