For First Time in 60 Years, Police Department in St. Louis County Certified as Union Represented: Police Officers for the City of Jennings Vote in Favor of Union Certification

Following the Missouri Supreme Court’s recent lifting of a 60 year ban on collective bargaining by police officers in the State of Missouri, the City of Jennings police officers just became the first police officers in St. Louis County to be certified as union represented. The City Police Department’s patrol officers, corporals, sergeants and lieutenants voted unanimously, 100 % support of those who voted, in favor of the Eastern Missouri Coalition of Police, Fraternal Order of the Police, Lodge 15 (“FOP Lodge 15”) as their union bargaining representative. The City Clerk certified FOP Lodge 15 as the union representative based on the election results and overwhelming union support that was received. FOP Lodge 15 is proud to be the first to obtain union certification for police officers in St. Louis County in over 60 years.
The City of Jennings originally refused to hold a secret ballot union certification election. FOP Lodge 15 was forced to file litigation in St. Louis County to force the resulting union election held by the City. See Fraternal Order of Police, Lodge 15 v. City of Jennings, (St. Louis County Circuit Court Cause No. 08SL-CC00518).
In May of 2007, the Missouri Supreme Court overruled a 60 year old case and held that all employees, including all public sector employees (such as police officers and teachers) have the right to bargain collectively through representatives of their own choosing under Article I, Section 29 of the Missouri Constitution.
Kevin J. Dolley, attorney for FOP Lodge 15 in the litigation that resulted in the City of Jennings holding the secret ballot election stated that, “We anticipate that with the 60 year prohibition of collective bargaining lifted by the Missouri Supreme Court, many police officers throughout the area will begin discussions whether they want to move forward with collective bargaining through the Fraternal Order of Police.”
FOP Lodge 15 is a local Lodge of the Fraternal Order of Police, the largest professional police labor organization in the country. The Fraternal Order of Police is currently the exclusive bargaining representative for thousands of law enforcement agencies and has more than 325,000 members nationwide. FOP Lodge 15 is a regional lodge that includes police officers within St. Louis County, St. Charles County, Jefferson County, Ste. Genevieve County, Franklin County, and Warren County.