A view of a Pueblo County Sheriff’s Office facility. (Screenshot from Pueblo County Sheriff’s Office video)
The Colorado Department of Labor and Employment denied Pueblo Sheriff David Lucero’s appeal of a decision requiring him to bargain with the recognized labor union representing the department’s staff.
Members of the International Brotherhood of Police Officers Local 837 organized after the Colorado Legislature passed a law in 2022 giving government employees in many counties the right to collectively bargain over pay, benefits and working conditions. But Lucero has argued that his office is excluded from the state definition of “county,” and that the law does not apply to his office “because of the elected and constitutional nature” of the sheriff’s position.
The state recognized IBPO Local 837 as the union for Pueblo Sheriff’s Office employees in December 2023. In February, members of the newly established union asked to begin contract negotiations with Lucero, when he “refused to bargain,” according to the state’s initial decision on the union’s March 14 unfair labor practice complaint.
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The state ruled in the union’s favor in July, ordering the sheriff to begin negotiations with union representatives. The first meeting for contract negotiations was held on July 31, and Lucero then appealed the ruling on Aug. 9.
The state’s decision on that appeal, signed by administrative law judge Raja Raghunath on Wednesday, says the constitutionality of the sheriff’s office “does not mean it cannot be regulated by statute.”
“That an elected Sheriff is a constitutional office in Colorado and is separate and distinct from the board of county commissioners does not mean that the legislature is prohibited from enacting laws that govern the sheriff’s relationship with employees of the sheriff’s office,” Raghunath wrote.
Raghunath’s order cited Douglass v. Kelton, a 1980 Colorado Supreme Court decision, in which the court ruled that “the mere creation of an official position does not automatically vest that official with unlimited powers.”
Lucero’s office did not respond to a request for comment by the time of publication.
Brad Riccillo, president of IBPO Local 837, said he felt encouraged by the appeal decision. He said he thought the initial decision was clear in describing how the new law applied to the sheriff’s office, and he’s glad to see that reaffirmed after the sheriff exercised his right to appeal.
Riccillo said negotiations are scheduled to continue on Friday, Nov. 8. He said that while negotiations so far have covered basic issues such as definitions, he’s hopeful that now they can move on to more substantial issues relating to their contract.
“I am optimistic that bargaining is going to improve. I don’t want to see any further trouble,” Riccillo said. “In a perfect world, I would like to see negotiations that last all day for several days in a row.”
With negotiations having started in July, Riccillo said the bargaining process should be over by now, and his fellow union members have been upset and discouraged by how the process has gone so far.
“The membership wants to see some things change, and I don’t blame them,” Riccillo said. “I want to see some things change, too, without retaliation.”
Lucero reassigned Riccillo to clerical duties at the end of August over a 2013 disciplinary incident, a move he and labor advocates said was retaliation for his union involvement.
With its decision Wednesday, the state canceled an appeal hearing initially scheduled for Nov. 12.
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