Whitfield is Opposed By James at CCA;

Ballots Due May 21
Whitfield is Opposed By James at CCA

By REUVEN BLAU

Ballots will be counted May 21 for the Correction Captains' Association officer elections, which pit the union's longtime vice president against a veteran delegate for president.

The Chief-Leader/Pat Arnow HOPES TO RETAIN TOP POST: Correction Captains' Association Acting President Ronald W. Whitfield is seeking a full four-year term. 'I want to continue making this union well-respected,' he said. Captain Ronald W. Whitfield, who became president in January after popular CCA leader Peter D. Meringolo retired, said he's seeking to retain the top post because he wants to continue to help members "get better benefits and working conditions."

Wasn't Shy of Opinions

He joined the union in 1986 after his senior colleagues suggested he take his labor ideas further. "The tenured Captains saw that I had a reputation with many in giving suggestions on things," he recalled during an interview last week.

After a year, he became the CCA's legislative chairperson, and had been serving as the union's first vice president since 2004.

RUNNING FOR CHANGE: Veteran Correction Captains' Association delegate Keith James has been critical of the givebacks the union accepted as part of its last contract. 'Everything is about money and benefits,' he said. His opponent, Capt. Keith James, who has been a union delegate since 1998 and currently works in the department's Health Management Division, has been critical of the current administration.

During a phone interview last week, he pointed to the concessions the union accepted as part of its last contract. "We've steadily had givebacks," he said.

Last summer, CCA members overwhelmingly ratified a four-year, 6-1/2-month pact that provided them with a 17-percent wage increase. But the deal also requires newly promoted Captains to work an additional six tours a year while making them work longer in the rank to reach maximum salary.

Yoked to PBA Deal

Mr. Whitfield said that the union had little choice in the matter, noting that the first two years of this round of bargaining were shaped by the pattern set by the Patrolmen's Benevolent Association's attrition-based arbitration award in June 2005.

A significant portion of the wage hikes for the PBA was offset by the reduction in the pay scale for future hires. But because savings to the city are greater under the PBA deal due to the higher attrition rate among cops, the Bloomberg administration demanded additional savings from the CCA and other smaller unions with more stable work forces to even out its costs.

Mr. Whitfield said that he wants to negotiate back some of those concessions this next round of bargaining. "We are not going to promise anything that we can't deliver," he added.

He stressed that he's always had an open-door policy with the union's 870 officers. "My members know that I've been there for them for the past 20 years," he said, after a colleague noted that he often answers the union office phone himself.

Wants Member Input

Captain James, who has created a campaign Web site www.votekeithjames.com, said that he wants to broaden the decision-making process beyond the union's board members. "Most people couldn't name the board," he said. "They don't know what they look like, because they haven't been visible enough."

Captain Whitfield and his entire slate said that they have been campaigning for 18 hours a day over the past few weeks. "It's been an overwhelmingly good response," he added. "The door of communication is always open."

He noted that during his tenure as a union officer, the CCA's lawyers have successfully defended scores of Captains brought up on serious disciplinary charges at the Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings.

"We will continue to have an executive board member at all OATH pre-trial hearings," Mr. Whitfield's campaign literature stated.

Pension Gain

The CCA also persuaded Governor Pataki to sign a pension bill that virtually equalized the pension costs for new Correction Officers and those promoted to Captain.

The bill, which Correction Officers' Benevolent Association President Norman Seabrook supported, corrected an imbalance created over 15 years ago by former COBA President Phil Seelig that provided a full pension after 20 years to Correction Officers under Tier 3 but forced Captains belonging to that pension tier to contribute more than twice as much in salary for the same benefit.

The officers on Mr. Whitfield's slate are: Patrick Ferraiuolo, first vice president; Karen Coad-Rogers, second vice president; George A. Aufiero, treasurer; Guy Brown, secretary; Rodney Albury, financial secretary; William Inman, legislative chairman; Frank Soto, sergeant-at-arms.

The officers on Mr. James's slate are: Hasan Muhammad, first vice president; Rosemary Ohene, second vice president; Edgardo Jimenez, treasurer; Tracy Holden, secretary; Sandra Ellis, financial secretary; Daniel Williams, legislative chairman; Charles Donovan, sergeant-at-arms.