Camden Cops Prepare To Vote On Whether To Unionize County Force
By David Madden
CAMDEN, N.J. (CBS) -- Members of Camden's police union will vote tomorrow on what is their last chance to be part of a new, county-run police department, and will be briefed on the proposal tonight.
Camden County put out what FOP head John Williamson calls a "take it or leave it" offer a couple of weeks ago, with a January 31st deadline.
There have been some minor clarifications, but the bottom line remains the same: approve it and more current cops could be hired for the new 400-member force, with the union as their bargaining agent.
"The vote is from 9 (am) to 3 (pm)," Williamson said today. "We have secured a ballot machine from the Division of Elections. They're automated, so we'll have an answer by 3:05."
So far, a little more than 100 members of the current 260-member force have submitted applications. The rest have until tomorrow at 4pm to sign up, thereby protecting pay scales and seniority if the offer is approved. After that, they'll be treated no differently than the hundreds of outside applicants.
