Osceola County Sheriff’s deputies vote to unionize

OSCEOLA COUNTY, Fla. — Deputies with Osceola County Sheriff’s Office voted in favor of unionizing Wednesday.

Deputies and sergeants will now be represented by the Florida State Lodge Fraternal Order of Police.

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The vote, which took place over the course of several days, ended with 160 members voting for collective bargaining and 123 members voting against unionizing.

Steve Zona, President of the Florida State Lodge Fraternal Order of Police, said this was a tremendous victory for the men and women of the Osceola Sheriff’s office.

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“We have been working towards this goal for a long time, and we are thrilled that our colleagues have recognized the value of union representation. We look forward to working with the county and the sheriff’s office to improve the working conditions and compensation of our members,” Zona said.

According to the Sheriff’s office, over half of the approximately 439 eligible employees participated in the vote.

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In a letter to employees, Sheriff Marcos Lopez said he would work with the union to make his agency one of the top offices in the state.

“We will be conducting business as usual, and I look forward to working with members of the Union and discussing ways we can all work together to make this agency the best Sheriff’s Office possible, Lopez said.

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