Headlines
OK: Tulsa city workers win fight vs. privatization with creative strategy
IL: Court curbs power of private police
MI: Lawmakers considering use of private prison contractors
FL: School Board backs off outsourcing idea
‎FL: Bipartisan legislative group stops prison privatization

OK: Tulsa city workers win fight vs. privatization with creative strategy
..In June 2011, city operations and maintenance workers were threatened with privatization. These workers handle electrical, mechanical, plumbing and carpentry duties for the municipality. ..Union organizers and workers were confident that the employees themselves knew more about how best to run their department than their bosses, so they prepared a plan of their own outlining ways to improve services, reduce costs and save the taxpayers money. They went directly to the city government and presented their findings and proposals. They would eliminate unnecessary expenses, relinquish two vehicles that were not regularly used, and upgrade their technology to use more efficient software and web-based solutions wherever possible. Not only did their plan save the people of Tulsa money while maintaining quality services, they included a “gain sharing” program in which unionized operations and maintenance workers would be rewarded for their extra effort…The mayor announced that the workers’ extra initiative not only saved their jobs from privatization, but saved the city $224,000 since July 2011. In a statement, Bartlett, who is generally anti-union, said: “Our own employees beat out local and national firms to do the job, and for the first time ever, were able to participate in the savings.” As part of the “gain sharing program” each worker in the building and maintenance department received a check for $3,863.53. The additional savings will be retained in public funds for the benefit of the people of Tulsa, instead of going into the pockets of CEOs from the private sector. People’s World

IL: Court curbs power of private police
Former Lombard police commissioner Ken Poris knew to pull over when he saw a vehicle’s flashing lights behind him while returning to his home in LaSalle County’s Lake Holiday subdivision. But he quickly realized the person who’d pulled him over, taken his driver’s license back to his squad car and written him a speeding ticket wasn’t a police officer…His case –– a type that lawyers rarely take up because they don’t pay — shines a light on what experts say can be a problem with the proliferating private security teams that now patrol large subdivisions, apartment complexes and even a Chicago neighborhood that taxes itself extra to pay for it.  “It’s a massive, ad hoc privatization of government services,” said Evan McKenzie, a University of Illinois at Chicago associate professor of political science and critic who has written two books on the topic. “That’s why you get these weird situations…An Illinois appeals court in a strongly worded ruling last month found that Lake Holiday’s practice of stopping and detaining drivers for violating homeowners association rules was unlawful. The court also found that the association’s use of amber-colored flashing lights on its vehicles was unlawful and that the association could be held liable for Poris’ false imprisonment claim. Chicago Tribune

MI: Lawmakers considering use of private prison contractors
Lawmakers are considering bills that could potentially allow a shuttered youth prison near Lake County’s Baldwin to reopen and house Michigan inmates of any age. The legislation doesn’t necessarily mean that would happen. But it opens up the opportunity for facility operator The GEO Group Inc. — or any other private corrections company — to competitively bid on contracts for housing Michigan inmates as long as it saves the state a certain amount of money…“In that particular budget, we sought to benchmark costs through competitive bidding so we have a better understanding of the services and custody costs when compared with the private sector,” said Sen. John Proos, R- St. Joseph. “We went to great lengths to insure that the department can bid on its own services should a vendor come in at 5 percent or greater in savings.”..The prospect of Boca Raton, Fla.-based GEO Group or another private operator contracting with the state met opposition from labor unions, including United Auto Workers and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees. UAW Local 6000 represents more than 2,000 state correctional workers. “The operation of prisons is basically a public responsibility. It’s one of the more draconian things a state can do, lock somebody up, deprive them of their liberty. Force is sometimes necessary to be used,” said Tim Hughes of the UAW. “And we just think that’s a function that should be inherently performed by government and not by private entities.”  MLive

FL: School Board backs off outsourcing idea
‎Palm Beach County Schools Superintendent Wayne Gent on Wednesday said school bus drivers, custodians, groundskeepers, and maintenance workers will be relieved to know the School Board wants to keep them on the payroll.  More than 2,700 employees have been anxious about a citizens committee’s recent recommendation to consider having outside companies run school district departments, in a potential cost-cutting action. But the board said it’s not necessary to outsource transportation and the other functions right now because a projected budget shortfall for the 2012-13 school year is not as severe as initially feared. Sun-Sentinel

FL:Bipartisan legislative group stops prison privatization
Two years in a row, Governor Rick Scott has not been able to get his plan to privatize 26 state run prisons through the Florida Senate and the courts….Gov. Scott thought this year he would get his proposal through the Florida Legislature, because there were a majority of Republicans in both the Houses. He never thought that a bipartisan coalition would come together to resist the governor’s actions. But it was a coalition of Democrats and Republicans that stopped and killed the privatizations of prisons this year.  Nine Republicans joined a united Democratic caucus of 12 in the Senate, and stopped the measure (SB-2038) on a 21-19 vote. There was intense lobbying and arm twisting from Gov. Scott and other Republicans, but in the end they still lost. This was a major victory for labor unions, police benevolent associations and state unions. Westside Gazette