A lawyer for the Department of Corrections wants state labor officials to stop the State Employees Association from airing grievances in the media, circulating petitions and holding pickets because he believes the union is using those "tactics" to manipulate contract negotiations.

John Vinson, attorney for corrections, could not be reached yesterday. In a recent letter he filed with the state Public Employees Labor Relations Board, Vinson accused the union of following a playbook of "innovative tactics" specifically designed to affect contract negotiations. The union and department are negotiating part of the correction employees' contract.

Jeff Lyons, corrections spokesman, said yesterday that the union's practice of going public with internal disputes during contract negotiations puts the department at a disadvantage because the department does not discuss personnel matters publicly. "If they can draw a lot of attention for their issues in a public venue, they may be able to generate sympathy for their issues," Lyons said.

Vinson's filing is the latest missive in a dispute pending before the labor board between corrections officials and the union.

In February, the union filed its second unfair labor practice complaint accusing corrections officials of busting the union and routinely exacerbating minor problems by refusing to resolve grievances through the established process. Vinson responded last Friday with a point-by-point rebuttal and his request that the union halt its publicity-generatingtactics.

The labor board has scheduled a preliminary hearing on the complaint for early April, during which board members are expected to set a final hearing date.

In a February complaint, the union accused Commissioner Stephen Curry and his senior staff of violating the contract by refusing to meet with employees over grievances or with independent, third-party arbitrators. Additionally, the union has complained that corrections staff is mishandling job transfers and investigations of staff.

In his response, Vinson acknowledged that some senior prison managers did violate the contract by refusing face-to-face meetings with employees who had filed grievances. They had instead responded in writing. Similarly, Vinson agreed that an employee investigation and job switch had been mishandled. But he argued that Curry was quick to rectify mistakes and smooth over complaints with employees.

In one case, a prison corporal was demoted after an investigation convinced prison supervisors that he had made offensive comments to staff, lit orange juice on fire and purposefully put soap in a colleague's eye. The union filed a grievance on the employee's behalf, alleging that prison officials had violated the contract by waiting too long to tell the employee he was under investigation, by moving him to a less appealing shift pending the inquiry and by refusing to meet with him after he filed his complaint.

Curry upheld the demotion in a March 5 letter to the employee but acknowledged that his senior staff had erred by responding to the employee in writing rather than in person. Curry also agreed that the employee had been improperly compensated during his shift change and arranged to make up the difference.

Vinson's filing has only further aggravated the strained relationship between the union and corrections staff, which has suffered in the last year. The union has held two public protests and initiated two votes of no confidence in Curry.

The president of the SEA, Gary Smith, yesterday disputed Vinson's allegation that the union was using tactics to sway contract negotiations in its favor. He said corrections officials want to silence the union to manipulate contract negotiations themselves.

"They want to stifle all legitimate conversation," said Smith, who worked at the prison before being elected union president. "They refuse to engage in addressing the issues, so we have to go outside the process to put pressure on them. Now they want to keep us from putting pressure on them. This is the first we've ever seen of this."

Lorri Hayes, a contract and field operations administrator for the union, was particularly upset with Vinson's portrayal of Curry as working with the union. She said his written promises to make his staff hold the required face-to-face meetings with employees has not translated into practice. "It's all rhetoric," she said. "It's not happening."

She also criticized Curry for the way he has resolved issues with employees. Rather than mend matters with the union member representing the employee, Curry has been reaching out to the employee directly. Hayes believes Curry's real intention is to undermine the union by "playing hero" to the employee.

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