Head Of State Prison Guard Union Retiring

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — The leader of the union representing state prison guards is retiring, leaving an organization that had sparred with then-governor Arnold Schwarzenegger before making peace with Gov. Jerry Brown.

Mike Jimenez will be succeeded in January by Chuck Alexander, who is executive vice president of the California Correctional Peace Officers Association. The union voted for the switch during its annual meeting this week in Las Vegas.

Jimenez became president of the 30,000-member union in 2002.

The union pictured Schwarzenegger with devil's horns and in other unflattering ways as it sought a contract with the former Republican governor. Jimenez once refused to cut his hair and beard until an agreement was reached.

Schwarzenegger eventually imposed a contract, replacing what had been a lucrative collective bargaining agreement negotiated by former Gov. Gray Davis.