> News
Urine troubleAllegations of spying and an anti-union ‘hit list’ at County probation department
New allegations by former employees of the Bexar County probation department are a good reminder that the mounting legal fight against the agency isn’t all about the mellow yellow.
In early 2008, after the department contracted out its urinalysis drug testing to Victoria-based Treatment Associates, probation was awash in questions from probationers, criminal-defense attorneys, and judges about the sudden and suspiciously high number of positive drug tests being returned by TA. [See “Test Tube Maybes,” October 3, 2008.] Probation officers began challenging Treatment Associates’ performance, too, creating a high level of friction among the department’s administrators.
But it appears union-busting topped the to-do list for Chief Probation Officer Bill Fitzgerald and Director of Operations Kathy Cline.
According to former Bexar County probation IT Director Natalie Bynum, Cline kept a list of known and suspected union members she wanted out of the department. To weed them out and quash the union, she had Bynum meet her repeatedly during and after work to comb through employee email accounts.
“She wanted their computers monitored in order to find out if they were doing any union activities while on the job, also to see what was going on with the union,” said Bynum, who now lives in Arizona and spoke with the Current by phone. “We’d go to the bar and then we’d go back to work afterwards. It would be just us in the office, often-time.”
Bynum, a close confidant of Cline’s during her tenure, says she was motivated by curiosity since she was “not allowed” to speak with known members of the Central Texas Association of Public Employees, a division of the United Steelworkers. Cline and Bynum’s alleged searches weren’t limited to the “five to 10” employees targeted by Cline, either. Bynum told the Current this week that Cline also regularly tapped into her boss’s account to see if Fitzgerald was talking about her.
Neither Cline nor Fitzgerald returned repeated calls for comment.
Cline and Bynum’s snooping probably wasn’t illegal under state law, said Assistant Bexar County District Attorney Cliff Herberg. It really depends on the department’s policy manual. However, if it is proven that Cline was, in fact, seeking to suppress union activities, she and Fitzgerald could be in for a world of hurt. The U.S. Supreme Court has interpreted the First Amendment’s Freedom of Speech guarantee to include the freedom of association and the right to organize.
San Antonio attorney David Van Os, whose firm represents about 15 former probation department employees in three separate lawsuits against the department and top managers, said Bynum’s allegations didn’t come as a surprise.
“My clients have known for a long time about the anti-union attitudes of the upper management,” Van Os said. “And my clients have experienced retaliation for a long time, and my clients and I have suspected that there was surveillance of union activities for a long time.”
In an apparent attempt to put staff union members on notice in the early days of union organizing, Fitzgerald announced in December 2006 that all department employees would have to submit to “retention interviews” — in essence, reapply for their jobs.
The current president and most prominent member of the union, Sherri Simmonelli, sued Fitzgerald in March 2008, along with other union members, for workplace intimidation and harassment. But it was after she urged fellow probation officers two months later to stop using Treatment Associates for their drug tests that she was
terminated.
Former Assistant Chief Paul Kosierowski, who filed a federal lawsuit against the department last week for wrongful termination, believes his firing was partly motivated by union-related paranoia. In his suit, Kosierowski claims he stood up to Chief Fitzgerald over the retention-interview proposal, which ultimately failed. In the months that followed, Cline and Fitzgerald accused Kosierowski of being too close with unionizing employees and Fitzgerald demanded on several occasions that Kosierowski “disclose the nature and substance of his conversations with known members,” according to the complaint.
After Victoria-based Treatment Associates started returning a flow of bad drug-test results in February of 2008, Kosierowski sounded the alarm. It was not a popular stance for an administrator at the time. He was fired after returning from an extended medical leave in June 2008.
“[Treatment Associates] were not ready for this,” he told the Current this week. “I don’t think they understood the magnitude of what they were getting into … Their computers weren’t operational enough to handle what was happening. They didn’t have the capabilities to take the faxes that were starting to come over to them. They didn’t have the staff to field the phone calls for requests of information regarding the requests.”
Treatment Associates Director Jeff Warner also failed to return calls seeking comment, but sworn depositions collected by Van Os’s firm reveal how little stock Warner put in the complaints about erroneous results.
The urinalysis results that TA’s equipment provides are considered “preliminary” assessments, because the test can interpret substances like cold medicine, for instance, as methamphetamine. These misleading results are frequently referred to as “false positives,” and for this reason, paperwork from testing equipment used in Bexar County states that “a more specific alternate method must be used in order to obtain a more confirmed analytical result.”
Warner, on the other hand, insists repeatedly in his deposition that there is no such thing as “false positives.” He blamed a broken camera for any bad results.
“The software that recorded what the camera took a picture of was broken. The test wasn’t broke,” Warner said under questioning. “The result of the test was recorded wrong by the camera, which in turn lied to the software, which in turn lied to the department about what the result of the test was, or misrepresented about the test. But the test was not wrong.”
In June of last year, the District Attorney’s office encouraged probation officials to submit a random sampling of TA’s lab results for confirmation to restore confidence in the system. They refused. Since then, the DA’s office has stopped prosecuting probationers solely on the results of an initial dirty urinalysis. Herberg said too many questions have been raised about Treatment Associates’ testing to trust the results. The District Attorney’s office is now investigating complaints that Treatment Associates employees accepted bribes for clean test results.
“We do not want somebody being arrested in a system we don’t have confidence in,” he said. Before the Treatment Associates contract and resulting fallout, there was enough confidence in Bexar County’s preliminary testing that prosecutors who threatened to order a confirmation test could often evoke a guilty plea. “Nowadays, when a [defendant] says, ‘I want a test,’ it’s like, ‘Ooh. Yeah. We better test it and see what this damn thing says.’ It’s like, ‘Uh oh,’” Herberg said.
Warner fought repeatedly against orders to ship off client samples for confirmation testing by GC/MS, or gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, the industry’s leading technology. According to Kosierowski, several requested samples were never returned or were lost in the mail.
According to documents released by Bexar probation and the testimony offered in deposition, Warner was angry about all the requests for confirmation testing TA received after he gained the contract with Bexar County. Under the terms of the initial contract, his company was solely responsible for the cost of confirmation tests — a provision TA later renegotiated to make the department bear the cost.
After one local judge requested four confirmation tests be done on a single probationer, Warner objected in an April 2008 email, saying: “I think this is the most ridiculous request I have ever seen. I have no intention of spending $80 to confirm four tests on the same person. Why anyone would want to do that in the first place, is beyond me. This is exactly the type of thing that we discussed as being a deal breaker.”
As reported by the Current back in February, a few court-ordered confirmation tests did make it through the mail during that troublesome period in 2008. Of 26 supposedly positive drug tests performed by TA, only eight were actually tainted by opiates, cocaine, or methamphetamine, according to the GC/MS reading.
Bynum told the Current that many of the so-called “false positives” were the result of mismatched data shipped by TA staff. She said at least one out of four test results had mismatched client numbers and client names or other data-entry errors. Kosierowski said he even saw one drug test come back with the probation officer’s name on the form rather than the probationer’s.
Cline stated in her deposition for Van Os that she relies on Treatment Associate’s Warner for advice on confirmation testing. And Warner, in his deposition, in no way equivocated:
“My recommendation is that you almost never need it,” he said.
That practice sets Bexar County apart. A Current investigation last year showed that Bexar County is the only large urban county that doesn’t offer confirmation testing by GC/MS to any probationer who denies drug use following a positive result on a preliminary test.
Although, like Kosierowski, Bynum was not given a reason for her 2008 termination, she has so far chosen not to take her complaint to court.
“I’m not sure I’m going to do anything about it,” she said. “I’m not looking to retaliate or anything. I guess that’s been the hard part for me. I don’t want to hurt anyone, but at the same time I want to help.”
But if Bynum had any question about the legality of what she and Cline were up to, Cline set her straight. “[Cline] in fact told me it wasn’t right. She actually said that: ‘We are not supposed to be doing this,’” Bynum said. “I guess it was hard for me to think it was illegal on my part, because I was doing what I was told by my boss … In hindsight, I think I should have come forward to the chief.”
Van Os said that it was doubly tragic that the department’s leadership, Cline and Fitzgerald, apparently focused on suppressing the union while drug-lab problems raged.
“They’ve got this obvious drug-testing scandal going on and they don’t put any effort into doing anything about that, but they put all this effort into intimidating employees about joining a union.
“The most important thing to … Fitzgerald and Cline and their top administration … is keeping employees down. That’s really what it comes down to.”
On 7/29/2009 12:51:07 AM, Anonymous said:
On 7/29/2009 8:11:41 PM, Anonymous said:
When will the county do something about this department?
On 7/29/2009 11:38:39 PM, Anonymous said:
When will you morons get a life and focus on the bigger, more important things going on in the world? This union is indeed scum, who do you think are fabricating these stories?
On 7/29/2009 11:46:52 PM, Anonymous said:
Or maybe the former employees are butt-hurt about finally losing their jobs. Maybe shitty performance has more to do with the terminations than union involvement. Why would administration give a rat's ass about some measly little union. If employees want to waste their money on a union, fine, but don't hide behind "union retaliation" when you get fired for: chronic absenteeism, poor performance, inability to meet goals and deadlines, or inability to complete ANY of the tasks in your job description. Get a life and a work ethic and quit being such damn babies!
On 7/30/2009 12:03:30 AM, Anonymous said:
If you don't work in the Department keep you mouth closed. You don't know what the hell your talking about!
On 7/30/2009 12:06:32 AM, Anonymous said:
If you don't work in the Department, keep you mouth closed. You really don't know what is going on!
On 7/30/2009 12:06:37 AM, Anonymous said:
The last two posters either don't realize what is going on in that department or are a part of the problem. They are trusted to properly handle convicted offenders, but are more intent on padding their own pockets and covering their own backsides. With NUMEROUS lawsuits pending and more on the way, the spotlight needs to be intensified in order to run these roaches out of town.
On 7/30/2009 1:27:01 AM, Anonymous said:
Stories like this are exactly why we should legalize marijuana in San Antonio
On 7/30/2009 2:13:14 AM, Anonymous said:
Cline stop blogging and go hire a lawyer!!! Insult your own actions! The employee's evals will not back up your claims!! You know they were good employees and you have been found out. 99% of employees all know Bynum is speaking the truth. 1% are the Bonnies of the Department and are in ignore the hard ugly truth mode.
Maybe people did not want to come to work because they were being involved in a Urinalysis cover-up or maybe they got tired of having to go drink with the boss at the Caddy Bar...maybe they could not get their work done because they were being pulled to do dirty spy work. What if all the work they did sat on someones desk who shows up late with hangovers and cannot think clear enough to approve the work.
Did Cline have to turn in her badge today and get escorted out pending investigation like any of us poor slugs? Hello... did she??? Bet the answer is no. Guess those rules arnt for all of us. Guess what the reasons why the workers were fired were never made public??? So we know it is administration blogging the lies they made up for firing employees.
Fabricating?? The facts and sworn statements and paper trail is the truth. All you can do is say Bynum is lying. We all saw...you and Bynum were best friends!!! Bynum and K are not union. Blame this where it belongs to Cline and Fitzgerald.
On 7/30/2009 10:05:01 AM, Anonymous said:
Why is Fitzgerald still there? He should have been fired months ago.
On 7/30/2009 1:41:25 PM, Anonymous said:
Why pick on Bynum for job performance? Noone in the computer department does any work
On 8/1/2009 11:12:28 AM, Anonymous said:
Boy, the FBI is needed here!!!
On 8/1/2009 12:08:29 PM, Anonymous said:
This little piggy went to the market. This little piggy went there. Can anyone guess where the third piggy went. Wow! I just learned Kathy may be human, she was seen crying yesterday. I must say, now she may now know the officers feel. Oh, by the way what the hell is amy diagnosed with DOC (earn that part time postion $50,000/yr)- that women is nuts - she fabercates stories in an attempt to burn officers. Must be more of admin's games.
On 8/1/2009 2:15:03 PM, Anonymous said:
On Thursday, there was a lunchon for the people who ride the #6 bus in to town for work on the 3rd floor. This individual went off because people were reading the current news paper (this individual is the wife of a manager - mmm meptotism). This individual staed these alligation were bullshit. Well, if that is true why does the chief not take legal action on teh sa current or the express news (prob because they got the evidence to back it up). If it was me and they were slandering me I would fight back. I'm assuming this must be true because the chief is doing nothing to fight back.
Why, don't we start laying off people whom are related to the hr person. Like, Sylvia - since being in teh new building she has been placed in 3 differant jobs. My guess is because she can't handle the jobs she has been handed. Therefore it seems to me maybe it is time for her to retire. But, I dont see this happenning. Why, because she is the mother of LE (hr directer) - mm nepotism again. go figure - you must be related to get protection. kinf of like a mob family.
On 8/1/2009 3:34:12 PM, Anonymous said:
Yep nepotism is a little prob for the HR director. Hey, why did she hire her husband? Why was he fired??? For what...hmm I wonder? Hired her mother and how many cousins. Hey but no prob....Im sure they wont be laid off!!!
On 8/1/2009 3:34:29 PM, Anonymous said:
Yep nepotism is a little prob for the HR director. Hey, why did she hire her husband? Why was he fired??? For what...hmm I wonder? Hired her mother and how many cousins. Hey but no prob....Im sure they wont be laid off!!!
On 8/1/2009 6:26:55 PM, Anonymous said:
Intimidating employees from joining unions? I heard the Chief has met and is working closely with the Nationl Association of Public Employees under the Director Rosa Rosales (The Hat Lady) Ms. Rosales is going on her 4th term as LULAC President.
On 8/1/2009 7:23:02 PM, Anonymous said:
Natalie Bynum ?? She got arrested and escorted out of the department. Did she forget that? She also was booted out of the county information system dept. before she landed in with the Probation Department. Can anyone expand on this? I mean anyone that wants to be complete with the stories.
On 8/1/2009 8:00:06 PM, Anonymous said:
Speaking of getting arrested why were you moved from the 227th DC back to the 379th DC. Could it be that the apple (son) does not fall far from the tree. hey Ms Rita you should really audit the cases in your court - bet one in particular SUX. I give you one guess whom it might be.
On 8/1/2009 8:14:24 PM, Anonymous said:
Dirty, Dirty and quick to jump away from the article. I heard about what you are talking about (last blogger). Ask him and he will tell you himself. He's not hiding anything, and he told all those who are near to him - I respect that he is down to earth, he doesn't back down, and he will tell it to you as it is. However, Natalie is the one making comments in this article, and the one who worked within the department. So do understand that difference.
On 8/1/2009 8:38:27 PM, Anonymous said:
As I read the article it tends to cover one major point. "The department focused more on supressing the union while drug problems raged". This is not all true. The union was already in tact and was making demands within the department. What is true is that "The union is more focused on the return of it's President Sherri Simonelli while department problems rage" The union has lost focused to help the deparment and is all in just the interest of one person. Talking about being unfair, selfish, wrongfully focused, brainwashed and just plain stupid. Thats a Steelworker.. This union that was created to help is now in total lock down tied down by any lawsuit that can be mustard up. What is it doing for the department? It's only helping it get further and further behind. It's costing the taxpayers, and if your not helping the department in anyway your also not helping the community in anyway. Your job is in public service. Now the Steelworkers I can understand. They stand on losing alot of money if they don't win their lawsuits. But you Officers have to get smarter. Who is truly winning here? Can it be Mr. VanOS. Think about it. What do you get?
On 8/1/2009 10:37:11 PM, Anonymous said:
Yea, that great big union of the 3 missfits that deserted. When the tough got going, they got out. I hear that. Don't leet him fool you. I see yall have not learned yet, you play with snakes they will bight your ass. If your really nice to him may you wont have to reapply next time they get a wild hair up something.
On 8/1/2009 10:51:07 PM, Anonymous said:
Man, the above would be a good point if true! We all know that you are blogging this SID??? The Steelworkers could care less about you smearing your false facts. This is about more than you could ever understand because your brain is all about getting even with those co-workers that loathe you. Sorry, we don't hate you we just feel sorry for you and your sorry two friends. Stop blogging lies and stop using poor Rosa. She already has the low-down on you and your crazy friends. The Current prints the truth something you would not be able to recognize. I highly ask all other officers not to blog. The more we feed into SID the more he spins out-of-control. Just worry about your self and your own little group of emloyees you represent. We want nothing to do with you and your two friends. Also, taxpayers arnt paying for a thing...do your research. What are you doing about the problems??? The union picks our own agenda...if you dont like what the chief is doing go talk to him yourself. Don't critisize something you know nothing about. Besides why is your union calling us begging to meet and help you. Sorry, we turned you down. I heard it all myself at the meeting. The president you talk so much about was very nice about you and your crazy two friends. I wanted her to call you out for what you are but we need to take a high road. So, I need to get off the low road and stop blogging about stuff.....you have so many things you have done that are bad.....you should not insult NB. People could air out all your skelatons on here.....now that would not be nice? We would have to write all night also.
On 8/2/2009 11:03:54 AM, Anonymous said:
I say the Current will print facts. What you call (all) the facts. It will also accept the members money you are spending on one selfish cause. I believe if you pay you can stray. Did anyone care to mention the new union who is working on a positive approach? Of course not.. Why not? Well, again its not in the interest of its fellow employees. It's self centered with the employees expense. The Steelworkers have developed into a very negative association just itching to win at least one lawsuit. And please don't give yourself credit for SL, he did it all on his own. He had a good case and he did have the smarter attorney, where in your case, half of your lawsuit was dismissed due to your attorney, and the unions bad direction. Again, think to yourself "whos winning?" Tell yourself this - Why is it that all the cases (large or small) are all taken by only VanOS? Why doesn't any other attorney take a case if it can be prosecuted? Doesn't it appear unethical? Can a liberal yell out lawsuit abuse? It shows the desperation of the union when you go out and look for your plaintiffs, and manipulate them (quess who)to think they have a great chance of winning. Again you go deeper and deeper and the department is left behind. Upseting right? Well if you want to make your case - Tell me what has the union done the last two years for its employees to get the department ahead. Stopped the retention interviews!!! Well remember that was before the Steelworkers. And think deep.... using some common sense. Is the union on a path to help? Ex. don't continue to say we are preventing retention interviews to ever happen again. Give me a break... the initial lawsuit brought attention to that--but seriously do you think the Chief would try retention interviews again?? I'll have to give him credit, he has more sense than that and he can't be that off-- He played Sherri due to her negative approach but thats her fault and she was told, and she should of kept her hands off the urine samples. Remember to serve the people, and remember that two years is going by. You just can't be saying the Chief is leaving. You have said that the last two years and for that reason it is funny. Thanks for the laughs, and thanks for going back to the future in your prospecting for a new Chief. Steelworkers don't cease to amaze me.
On 8/2/2009 11:09:28 AM, Anonymous said:
Some good points, the department could use the help. You guys need to think of the department, some of us still work here. Your just bringing us and what we stand for down and down.. I've been told by the public do you still have that mess going on?
On 8/2/2009 1:22:54 PM, Anonymous said:
SID, worry about your own business....your not in focus. You are telling your normal lies. Who the heck wants to sit down with Fitz??? Last I looked he had 15 lawsuits and is looking at charges. You are out of the loop and have no idea what is going on. I warn anyone who reads these blogs.....some bloggers are spreading lies for their own backstabbing reasons. Remember what goes around comes around. SID time for you to go....RETIRE before they push you out. Did they not tell you your name was second on the HIT list and still is???
You got played by Fitz to sell Fabela to the judges....open your eyes....he is bragging behind your back how stupid you are??? Did you really believe they would take you serious. They have been laughing at you 3 for a while ...so keep kissing up it is working well for you.
On 8/2/2009 2:49:23 PM, Anonymous said:
I think the Steelworkers have gotten into a mess that will not prevail to help the Officers and it will take more and more time to resolve. Good Luck to those who are truely trying.
On 8/2/2009 4:34:58 PM, Anonymous said:
Steelworkers false god's , Fitzgerald " No Brain" , Kline the scam, Sherry fired, The Probation officers not idea, HR manager the rat, The Little General half rat, Von Os no public office ever, The department closing soon, reality. lol lol
On 8/2/2009 6:25:36 PM, Anonymous said:
go place with your new union and you only two friends - hope they stay faithful you might just need them. unlike you. wasnot it you, sid that encourage this law suite and then jumped ship when you did not get your way. you false charges against sherri are bullshit as they were when u attmepted to get her ousted remember that sat we spent all day. YOU LOST LOOSER. now be a good boy and go play with your other friends because we all know you full of shit.
On 8/2/2009 6:38:01 PM, Anonymous said:
Wow! not to long a go the three stooges (slick willy sid, celsa the racist, and garza the space invader) were all for this legal action. They wanted the chief out more then anyone. What happen since that time to thin this man is the greast thing since sliced bread / cheese. you guys are a trip.
On 8/2/2009 8:33:54 PM, Anonymous said:
Have to admitt that the three stooges are doing a whole lot more than the inflated number of Steelworkers. (P.S. What I mean by inflated is you have lost some membership since you can't get anything done for them, but you won't admit it) These guys (What you call the Three Stooges) at the very least have created a position for negotiation, and can also get their foot in the door. Sherri, VanOs, and Roy Robinson can't even do that at the very least. You want a laugh? Well imagine Sherri walking in the department. Now thats a laugh.... Remember she is President for the second term primarily to give the lawsuit strength. I'll also say they (the three stooges) are good people. Here is a major FACT.. From the beginning as they were considering a new union, they announced their actions to steelworker memberes, and welcomed to assist the steelworkers if needed. To this date as expected they have been ignored and have since worked an agenda to help the department and it's workers. Now, Why were they ignored?? Quite Simple - The Steelworkers only have their personal interest on their agenda. Sherri, wants her job back at anyones expense, The Steelworkers want to keep the numbers as their primary objective, and VanOs wants to keep food on his table at the departments expense which includes you the worker. I know many wanted to get rid of the Chief, but you had one chance with the initial lawsuit of retention interviews but Sherri and VanOs both screwed it up. It's now the long haul for his pocket, and he will tell you "It's Victory"
On 8/2/2009 8:50:54 PM, Anonymous said:
Question: Why don't the Steelworkers talk to the Judges regarding the hurt we the Officers are in with the re-distribution of fees?
Answer: Presently, they are to busy asking them (the Judges)for help in removing the Chief. The Officers again are not in their interest, but the failing lawsuits are. Come on and ask yourself again. Who's winning and who's loosing??
Question: Is the new Union doing anything to help?
Answer: You bet you... Althoug upsetting to the steelworkers, the new union is not clouded with individual lawsuits, and they are not confined by numbers. They are helping because they want to. They have taken a positive approach in helping the department and not merely demanding from the department. For those of you that don't get it - They are planting the seeds and the fruits will grow.
On 8/2/2009 8:56:00 PM, Anonymous said:
With the help of their Union Director Rosa Rosales, I hear these guys are talking to many politicians to bring the attention and help to our department. P.S. I do think that is positive.
On 8/2/2009 9:28:43 PM, Anonymous said:
SO sid what good have you done, I see no changes, where are the changes. What good has the chief done since you began talking. They treating with layoffs, furloughs, and parttime position. Where is the good in this. The way I see it probably if he did stuff the right way maybe, just maybe, the judges would raise there sf's. The first thing I see is to dump that sorry lab, then go out and find a lab that does well (with ceo that somewhat cares about whats its doing other take $6.00 from def's; and then given out bad info from false positive to stating that people never submited. Then later after action taken on case sending emails stating that def did submit. Do you agree with this?
On 8/2/2009 10:50:34 PM, Anonymous said:
What positive reality is in places, Von Os stroking the Steelworkers for more money. Perhaps the problem is not the union workers but the Probation Officers who don't speak up. The department does not belongs to a few Steelworkers but the masses that stay silent. Wake up Officers and speak up.
On 8/3/2009 7:00:02 PM, Anonymous said:
Texas has always had a anti-union mind set equating unionism with communism. San Antonio has been the exception due to the Hispanic population however the right to unionize is being loss by the lack of involvement by the labor educated.
On 8/3/2009 8:34:23 PM, Anonymous said:
Guys please we have to stop in the name of God, why do we keep on fighting we will never get any where with this, let give it up to the Lord, and he will fight for us.
On 8/3/2009 8:35:00 PM, Anonymous said:
Guys please we have to stop in the name of God, why do we keep on fighting we will never get any where with this, let give it up to the Lord, and he will fight for us.
On 8/3/2009 8:41:52 PM, Anonymous said:
Guys, lets leave in the hands of God, we keep on fighting and it will never stop till we let God do it for us.
On 8/3/2009 8:42:12 PM, Anonymous said:
Guys, lets leave in the hands of God, we keep on fighting and it will never stop till we let God do it for us.
On 8/3/2009 8:42:47 PM, Anonymous said:
Guys, lets leave in the hands of God, we keep on fighting and it will never stop till we let God do it for us.
On 8/3/2009 8:43:41 PM, Anonymous said:
stop
On 8/3/2009 8:44:52 PM, Anonymous said:
stop
On 8/3/2009 11:16:02 PM, Anonymous said:
If you choose Union. Then join a Union with a positive direction.............
On 8/4/2009 3:06:04 AM, Anonymous said:
HELLO EVERYONE
On 8/4/2009 3:07:07 AM, Anonymous said:
Sid, James shut up and just continue doing what you believe in your own minds is a good thing. If you think you can help the employees then do so and stop whining about it. Let us know when you do because no one is really paying much attention to you. Most don’t even know who you are, much less care what you feel you can accomplish.
I am not member of either group but if I had to support or join one, it would be the steelworkers for if not for their members, many of the questionable on-goings with the current administration may have never been known or exposed. At least they have the guts to stand up for themselves, their co-workers and the public’s best interest.
How much more can this administration afford or tolerate I do not know but something has to and IS going to give. This is one aggressive union and appears that it is not going to go away until it meets its objective and that is to do away with its internal problems and rebuilt. While it may be true that the Steelworkers can do positive things for the department, I can see why they choose to put those positive things on the back-burner and deal with the issues at hand. Why should they work to improve a department that has threatened and intimidated them? I don’t believe that there is any other CSCD director in the state of Texas who has more lawsuits filed and pending against him and that cannot be a good thing. When is enough enough? Any department is only as good as its leader. You can say that ours is pretty much at the bottom right now. There is no question that our director is going to have a difficult time getting us all on the same page. In fact, I have to say that it is almost impossible.
It is also obvious to those of us who are neutral that people like Amy Sharp or Sid are in panic mode knowing that once this administration leaves, their jobs are in jeopardy. Employees like Amy Sharp have no choice but to protect their interest, lash out at union members and attempt to discredit the Steelworkers.
The United States Steelworkers are a wealthy, strong and well recognized organization with one major objective, protect the interest of its members. They are obviously vicious, stern and proud. The days of intimidation and abuse are over. This is exactly why our department is in the position we are in. Bill, Amy and supporters, buckle in, these people aren’t going away. They’re aligning allies and they’re coming with more.
On 8/4/2009 7:35:48 PM, Anonymous said:
Sid, you are like a used car salesman. You and your little band of machismo, woman need to know their place are an embarassment to the Chicanos. Did you tell Cline it was you and your little band who were so upset with Sheri for even meeting with the Chief. Wasn't it YOU who insisted the Union to stop meeting with the Chief? Although that probably was your ONE good move. Those were all just part of Fitzgerald's farce. You are such a hipocrite you're laughable. Sheri has taken many hits because she is the Union President and we will prevail, while you will eat crow you Weasel.
On 8/5/2009 12:20:34 AM, Anonymous said:
Wow, I didn't know titty babies knew how to type. Maybe you should switch to delivering pizzas for Domino's since you obviously can't handle the TRUTH. If my comments weren't true, then you wouldn't even glorify it with a response. Whose bringing the chips to the unemployment line picnic? Cock suckers!!! Oh, your mom called, she kissed you every night after she blew your uncle.
On 8/5/2009 12:38:32 AM, Anonymous said:
So sorry, but I feel that the only way for you to understand is to stoop to your level.
On 8/5/2009 12:23:53 PM, Anonymous said:
Hey,
“Oh. you’re mom called, she kissed you every night after she blew your uncle”
does not make sense. If you’re trying to be funny, try this one. “Hey 12:20 Anonymous, Your mothers been bang more times than a screen door in an hurricane” or “Your momma so nasty, she has to pour salt water down her pants to keep the crabs fresh.” Now that’s funny.
On 8/5/2009 4:08:04 PM, Anonymous said:
What is truly embarrassing is the utter lack of spelling and grammar proficiency exhibited by these government workers. Is there not some sort of pre-employment basic skills testing you must pass? There is not one person blogging above who is able to consistently spell or conjugate their verbs correctly. I am appalled at the ongoing drug testing inadequacies as well as the low caliber of English proficiency exhibited. And you are supervising other human beings on Probation? Very sad.
On 8/5/2009 4:44:17 PM, Anonymous said:
Blow it out your egocentric ass, Sharp.
On 8/5/2009 6:42:49 PM, Anonymous said:
I would like to know if the Budget Directer must pass a psych eval prior to employment. If so how did she get through the loop, because she is obviously NUTS. She loves to make false allegations against others for no apparent reason. So Doc, whats that truth on that one.
On 8/5/2009 8:52:30 PM, Anonymous said:
KISS MY ASS AMY SHARP AND CONJUGATE THIS. Find any grammer errors in that one?
On 8/5/2009 11:29:37 PM, Anonymous said:
4:08 blogger go teach your English Composition class and stay out of the Criminal Justice field.
On 8/7/2009 10:30:01 AM, Anonymous said:
Anonymous at 4:08:04 PM, I couldn't agree more. Not only is the spelling and grammar atrocious, the lapsing into name calling and vitriole is appalling. Are these posters truly representative of the quality of the employees? I understand the situation is difficult but please, some civil discourse.
On 8/8/2009 12:56:04 PM, Anonymous said:
You are not spied upon until they put a camera in your very own office. How's that for trust from adminstration to your employees?
On 8/8/2009 1:16:21 PM, Anonymous said:
If they are going to drug test anyone, they should start at the top and work their way down, not at the bottom and stop when they get to the managers and evryone else above them.....
On 8/27/2009 10:55:41 AM, Anonymous said:
kathy cline human??
havent you ever seen a cow cry??
Search by:
Cuisines (701)City (689)
Neighborhood (114)
Reviewed (173)
Critic's pick (56)
Open 24 hours (17)
Late dinner (303)
Brunch (54)
Takeout (142)
Delivery (36)
Outdoor dining (124)
Kid friendly (156)
Serving
Food (50)No alcohol (18)
Featuring
Dance floor (8)Darts (1)
Billiards (7)
Games (2)
TV (10)
Outdoor seating (25)
Dress code (2)
No smoking (11)
Wheelchair access (42)
WEEKLY CONTENT
HOME
NEWS & POLITICS
ARTS & CULTURE
COLUMNS
FILM
MUSIC
NEWS & POLITICS
HOME
THE QUEQUE
MASHUP
THE SAY-TOWN LOWDOWN
COLLEGE GUIDE
BLOGS
CURBLOG
QUEBLOG
SUBSCRIBE
CALENDAR
CRITIC'S PICK
SEARCH EVENTS
ADD AN EVENT
SUBMISSION GUIDELINES
© 2009 San Antonio Current
ARTS & CULTURE
HOME
VISUAL ARTS
PERFORMANCE
BOOK REVIEWS
OPERA & CLASSICAL
MUSIC
HOME
SOUND & THE FURY
LOCAL MUSIC
MIXX TAPE
REVIEWS
BIG MUSIC ISSUE
BIG MUSIC AWARDS
SCREENS & TECH
HOME
S'NUFF FILM
TV REVIEWS
FILM REVIEWS
FILM VAULT
VIDEO GAMES
LOCAL FILM
FOOD & DRINK
HOME
AMUSE-BOUCHE
RESTAURANT REVIEWS
CAFE SA
THE OMNIBOIRE
VALUE VINO
THE BAR TAB
ADD A RESTAURANT
COLUMNS
HOME
DEAR UNCLE MAT
¡ASK A MEXICAN!
FREE WILL ASTROLOGY
CLOTHES MINDED
MIXXED MEDIA
SERENE DOMINIC SHOW
JEFF TURNER'S VIDEOS
BEST OF SAN ANTONIO
2009 | 2008 | 2007 | 2006
BEST OF MAP
CLASSIFIEDS
PLACE AD
HOUSING
SERVICES & PROFESSIONALS
MASSAGE THERAPY
JOBS
HOME
SEARCH FOR JOBS
POST RESUME
EMPLOYERS LOGIN
SA CURRENT STUFF
NEWSLETTER
EVENT PHOTOS
FREEBIES
MYSPACE
LINK TO US
Good reporting Harman!!!!
Get out of town Cline and Fitzgerald!!!
Fitzgerald is that not insubordination by cline??