Volusia County inks 3-year bargaining agreement with corrections union

Posted On: November 16, 2021

Volusia County and the union representing the county’s corrections officers have come to terms on a three-year employment agreement.

The Volusia County Council on Tuesday unanimously approved the agreement, which includes pay raises and a new retention bonus program for corrections officers. The council’s approval came after the corrections officers, senior officers and sergeants covered by their union, the International Union of Police Associations, AFL-CIO, ratified the agreement on a vote of 102-6.

The new agreement covers the last fiscal year, the current fiscal year and the next fiscal year. The officers already received general wage increases last year and this year. However, the agreement calls for the covered corrections officers to also receive an additional 1.5% increase upon ratification of the agreement and another 1.5% increase in March 2022 to bring corrections salaries more in line with the market. The raises will increase the starting hourly pay to $20.32 for corrections officers, $21.28 for senior corrections officers and $24.48 for corrections sergeants.

All sides that came together to negotiate the contract acknowledged that while it was a difficult process, the end result was good for everyone.

“This has been a long road,” Corrections Director Mark Flowers told the County Council. “Although the road wasn’t smooth all the way, at the end of the day, I think we’ve got a great contract here.”

In fiscal year 2022-23, the last year of the agreement, officers will receive either a 3% raise or whatever pay raise is approved for the rest of the county employees, whichever is greater. This will be dependent, however, on the County Council not adopting a rollback millage rate. If the council does adopt a rollback rate for fiscal year 2022-23, the county and the union will re-negotiate the pay raise issue.

The contract also includes a one-time, $2,000 retention bonus for full-time, certified corrections officers, senior corrections officers and corrections sergeants in exchange for signing a two-year employment commitment to stay in their job full-time. The officers would receive half the money after signing the commitment and the other half a year later. If an officer signs the commitment and then leaves before the two years are up, they will be required to pay back the bonus money.

Union president Matt Harrison, a senior corrections officer for the county, said the retention bonus was perhaps the most important issue addressed in the agreement.

“Retention was key in this first contract, and we definitely appreciate the moves that were made,” said Harrison. “The majority of staff seemed happy with the county’s offer.”

The new agreement expires on Sept. 30, 2023