Willow Glen Resident
News
San Jose firefighters, police unions still upset over the release of data
By Eli Segall
Tensions between the San Jose firefighter and police unions came to a boil on March 15 at the fire and police retirement board, which addressed the unauthorized release of confidential information pertaining to 2,000 active city police and firefighters.
Police Officers Association president Bobby Lopez called for the resignation of retirement board chairman Mark Skeen, a retired San Jose firefighter who is also vice president of firefighters union Local 230. The police union attorney, John Tennant, repeatedly accused Skeen of releasing the data to advance Local 230's pension negotiations with the city.
Both Lopez and Tennant said Skeen's dual roles pose a conflict of interest that solely benefits the firefighters union.
Skeen did not respond to Lopez's statement during the meeting. He did, however, dismiss Tennant's remarks as partisan sniping.
The tension dates back to December 2005, when the police union agreed to a collective bargaining agreement with the city that did not include the firefighters.
Beginning in the summer of 2003 through December 2005, police and firefighters negotiated their contracts jointly with the city. However, that joint negotiation ended when the POA reached a separate agreement with the city. At that point, firefighters Local 230 sued the city, claiming any agreement must be made with police and fire together at the same time and with identical benefits.
The Santa Clara County court ruled in favor of the city shortly after the lawsuit was filed, stating that no agreement had to be obtained simultaneously with the two departments .
At the March meeting, Skeen refused to step down, but acknowledged the ongoing rift between the groups.
"The retirement board chairman is like a quarterback," Skeen said after the meeting. "We get all the credit and all the problems."
San Jose Fire Chief Darryl Von Raesfeld, who did not attend the meeting, said that despite the rift, the agencies work well together on day-to-day operations. But he does hope "the unions can get to good terms with each other."
Von Raesfeld relinquished his Local 230 membership three years ago after he earned a senior rank. This is fire department policy.
San Jose Police Chief Rob Davis, who also not at the meeting, declined to say whether he supported Lopez's request, noting, "it's a union issue."
The unauthorized release of information occurred last November after Skeen asked Ed Overton, director of the San Jose Retirement Services Department, to send encrypted pension information to Bolton Partners, Local 230's actuarial firm.
Overton passed the request on to a retirement services staff member, who mistakenly forwarded the data without first deleting sensitive information. Such information included the names, Social Security numbers, date of birth, date of hire and pension compensation for all 2,000 city police and firefighters, Overton said.
City manager Les White launched an investigation into the matter shortly after the leak was discovered at an arbitration hearing last December among the city, Local 230 and Bolton Partners.
The investigation concluded in mid-February, said chief deputy city manager Kay Winer. According to Overton, the staff member who released the data was the only city employee under investigation and will undergo more training in lieu of punishment.
Skeen himself was never investigated for the release, and a recent memo from White cleared him of any wrongdoing. According to the memo, when Skeen asked Overton to release the data, Skeen specifically said the file did not need to include social security numbers or any personal identifiers.
White's memo also said Skeen made the request as chairman of the retirement board, not as vice president of Local 230.
The fire and police retirement board is an independent body made up of retired police officers and fire fighters, as well as city council members, attorneys and staff members. The board oversees the pension plans of San Jose police and firefighters.
