June 16, 2022
Earlier this month, the National Federation of Federal Employees (NFFE) welcomed 213 workers from GEO Broward Transitional Center to the NFFE-IAM family. After discussing with NFFE staff earlier this year, a majority of employees at the center expressed their wish to join NFFE by signing new membership forms. Once verified by a third party, NFFE requested voluntary recognition from GEO at the Broward facility. Pursuant to our national voluntary recognition agreement with GEO, GEO recognized NFFE as the union representative for the center.
Many workers were confident in joining NFFE to gain important workplace rights and benefits, such as the opportunity to shift from at-will employment to management requiring just cause for termination and discipline. Other workers were convinced that unionization was a worthwhile pursuit because of NFFE staff explaining the lengths the union goes to protect its GEO members. This includes advocacy in the local community and on Capitol Hill for GEO locations to keep them open in the face of closure. Workers were also impressed by NFFE’s recent negotiations of supplemental agreements for other GEO locals, who bargained for pay increases and an additional paid holiday.
The Broward County facility, located in Deerfield Beach, Florida, is a transition center for short-term non-criminal and low security detainees, and provides a safe and humane environment that promotes the welfare and socialization of detainees. Workers at the center serve the detainee population as facility officers, transportation officers, medical staff and nurses, as well as administrative employees.
“I am so proud to welcome another GEO facility to our union family,” said NFFE National President Randy Erwin. “It comes as no surprise that when these workers saw the benefits that NFFE has provided for other GEO employees, they took it upon themselves to organize their coworkers to join the union. I look forward to working with employees at the Broward Transitional Center to establish their local leadership, who I am confident will provide a powerful voice for every worker at the facility.”
“I look forward to working with the new members at Broward Transitional Center as we build their lodge and leadership team,” said Liz Pittaluga, NFFE National Business Representative for the Southern Region. “There is much work to be done and we are excited to get started!”