Douglas County tried to convince deputies not to unionize

DOUGLAS COUNTY, Colo. — When the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office found out its deputies were considering unionizing, it launched an all-out campaign to try and convince them not to.

The sheriff posed for campaign posters in uniform. The county spent nearly $130,000 of taxpayer money on consultants to deliver anti-union messages. And deputies were told to attend mandatory meetings about why unionizing would hurt them.

The Colorado Department of Labor and Employment (CDLE) said that was all illegal.

In an order released on Nov. 1, CDLE determined that Douglas County, the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office and Douglas County Commissioners violated labor laws in their attempts to dissuade deputies from unionizing. The ruling says the sheriff’s office has to stop all unfair labor practices and post notices around the department telling employees of their rights.

“They wanted to engage in tactics that they knew were in violation of state law. They just didn’t care. That’s how blatant their actions were in this case,” said Sean McCauley, General Counsel for the Colorado State Fraternal Order of Police (FOP).

The FOP filed one of the first unfair labor practice complaints in Colorado against Douglas County under a newly enacted collective bargaining law passed in 2023. The Collective Bargaining by County Employees Act (COBCA) gave county employees the right to collective bargaining. The Douglas County Sheriff’s Office filed a lawsuit earlier this year to try and argue that the sheriff’s office should be immune from it.

“It’s going to have an effect not only in Douglas County, but it’s a message to other sheriffs statewide that this type of conduct is not going to be tolerated by the Department of Labor, and they’re going to do something about it,” McCauley said.

Read the full determination below:

Douglas County has already appealed the decision, saying it did nothing wrong fighting against unionization. They argue the sheriff and county commissioners shared their opinions and recommendations when persuading deputies to not work with the union. 

In a statement, Sheriff Darren Weekly told 9NEWS Tuesday he “simply shared accurate information so they could make an informed decision,” when he held meetings about the potential for collective bargaining. 

“As a 31-year veteran of my agency, nobody can represent the best interest of my staff better than me,” Weekly said. “Collective bargaining only adds an unnecessary level of bureaucracy.”

The Department of Labor describes the meetings organized by the sheriff as “mandatory” and “coercive and threatening” in nature. 

“They used county funds to fund this process, to work against their own employees,” McCauley said.

The county denies any wrongdoing. 

“The County contends the CDLE’s findings are not supported by state or federal law or the undisputed facts in this matter,” Douglas County said in a statement. “Moreover, the County contends the CDLE grossly skewed the facts and ruled on allegations not asserted in the FOP’s complaint to support a predetermined outcome.”

The investigation found the county used $130,000 on consultants to hold “captive audience meetings that threatened reprisals against any county employee for forming a union.”

Douglas County said that is false. 

“The County hired consultants to educate its officials and employees about collective bargaining, a topic the County previously had no experience with, as COBCA only took effect last July,” a spokesperson for Douglas County said in a statement. 

Douglas County has appealed the decision by the Colorado Department of labor

Douglas County spent $129,336 over six months on the consultants.

The FOP has not yet held its election and plans to in the spring of 2025.