Why, after more than 60 years, has the Key Colony Beach Police Department decided to unionize?

» KCB made the front page. And not in a good way. Again.
» The KCB police force is the only non-unionized force in Monroe County and one of the few in South Florida.
» The officers say their need to come together has little to do with the need for a collective voice and everything to do with the demands and toxic working conditions in the city.
» The city administrator emailed a series of "retaliatory" actions to the police force and Chief Kris DiGiovanni within two hours after the union lawyer introduced the unionization proceedings.
» The city administrator's "new directives" include

· Asserting managerial control over the department
· Changing the vacation/sick time policy
· Questioning officers leaving the city (with a new form to fill out)
· Demanding spot checks on the cleanliness of vehicles
· Demanding detailed time sheets of all officers
· Demanding mileage off/on the day and all calls
· Setting specific patrol patterns
· Planning to eliminate the use of "take-home" cruisers, a policy instituted for better policing, as a punishment

» The union lawyer "doesn't believe the city would subject itself to an unfair labor practice lawsuit."
» Read the rest of the story in the Florida Keys Free Press article here ... (or read a local copy of the article here). And read an interesting question about why we have a police department here.