Escondido POA labor dispute mailer
How to build support for a contract negotiation with a city? Not how it was done in Escondido, as detailed in an analytical piece by The Union-Tribune’s Logan Jenkins. He probed into an ugly debate between the City of Escodido and its Police Officers Union, including a direct mail piece meant to stir fear among older voters.
Jenkins did some digging and found a list of standard negotiating tactics recommended by the union’s law firm, which included having officers attend job fairs as a way of threatening to leave their positions, charging city council members with not caring about public safety, and a work slowdown to include calling for backup when it isn’t needed.
While they may be effective in the short term, these scare tactics actually undermine the work of police (and other) unions everywhere. A fact-based PR approach would use data to press the union’s case, such as:
• Comparing salary and benefits of Escondido’s police officers versus those in other cities
• Number of Escondido police officers who have left in recent months – compared with other cities in the region
• Crime statistics in Escondido. Is crime actually getting worse in certain neighborhoods? Does this coincide with decreased patrols?
Similar statistics are indeed present in the Escondido POA’s flyer, yet they are buried in small type and overshadowed by the fear-based finger-pointing approach.
The result? An irate city council, a 4-1 vote to impose the city’s labor offer, and a bunch of unhappy Escondido police officers.
Posted by Erin Koch
Tags: Crisis PR, issues management, news, positioning
