Unionized police officers and supervisors in the St. Thomas-St. John district have been warned against participating in any job actions by a judge in Superior Court.
Police Commissioner Mario Brooks sought and won a preliminary injunction against Police Benevolent Association Local 816 after several of its members failed to show up for their scheduled shifts over a two-day period in June.
Superior Court Judge Sigrid Tejo signed the order just before the Labor Day holiday weekend, granting the government’s motion for an injunction. Tejo also directed the clerk of the court to send copies of the Aug. 29 order to attorneys for the government and the union.
In her order, the judge cited the attendance records of June 15 and 16, showing that all but one unionized officer and supervisor failed to report for duty. The injunction followed a temporary restraining order issued by the court in June at the commissioner’s request.
“The Court will grant the Government’s motion for a preliminary injunction because it has shown a reasonable likelihood of succeeding on the merits of its claims and that it will suffer irreparable harm if a preliminary injunction is not granted,” Tejo said.
The judge added that, based on testimony heard at a hearing held Aug. 11 and subsequent filings by the legal teams, the government could prove that those who did not show up for duty were engaged in a job action.
Tejo also said that similar actions could work against the public interest.
Union President Joel Browne Connor, testifying at the hearing, said some of the officers cited were either out on leave or had taken authorized time off. He also pointed to a letter he wrote to union members directing them to report for work as scheduled because that was “their job.”
But when Brooks testified, he pointed to the same letter, and a passage where Connor commended his members for showing “strength, unity, and purpose.”
“You are making a difference … Stand firm, stand united, and be safe,” Browne’s letter said.
The injunction has been issued at a time when the government is in the midst of contract negotiations with Local 816. That contract expired on Sept. 30, 2023.
St. Croix Source
Local news, Police & Courts
