"I don't give a rat's ass about morale."
A.J. Melton, President
Progressive Correctional Officers Association
The Honorable Carlos Alvarez, Executive Mayor
Dear Mr. Alvarez:
In June of 2007, we asked for the resignation of County Manager George Burgess after witnessing the corruption and scandal that he allowed on his watch. There was one shameful scandal after the other, all of which he deflected the blame to his subordinates or outside agencies. Because of the lack of oversight on the part of Mr. Burgess, he further solidified the perception to outsiders, that
The purpose of this letter is to express my concerns regarding the Manager’s agenda for Miami-Dade Corrections & Rehabilitation. He has put Director Ryan on a path that is destructive, divisive, and lacks direction. As you know, Mr. Burgess recently rejected Director’s Ryan table of organization for his command staff, and as a result, this will perpetuate and environment of uncertainty and consternation for another six (6) months.
The truth is this; Mr. George Burgess has no plans of improving Miami-Dade Corrections. In fact, he could care less about the work that we do everyday. This was expressed through Director Ryan this week when he stated to a room of lieutenants, captains, and commanders that he “was not concerned about their families” and “his obligation is to do what’s best for the County.” To add insult to injury, Deputy Director Guevara told the same group, “that she did not give a rat’s ass about morale.” So now the question becomes; why do they feel so comfortable making such insensitive statements to command level employees without the fear of repercussions? The answer is so simple that it eludes most of us. Truth is; they are both aware that the George Burgess has a personal vendetta against Miami-Dade Correctional employees because he failed to do his homework prior to appointing Tom Allison as the new corrections director in 2004 only to back track and settle for Charles McRay. According to the
Contrary to popular belief, not everyone can be a correctional officer. Yes, the job looks easy, but that’s because good employees make it look easy. For years now, many of the senior employees and dedicated employees are leaving the Department and that trend won’t end until a new county manager is installed and Director Ryan is allowed to make the changes in the command staff that needs to be made. There is no doubt that he has the experience and skills to do the job, however, he is being handcuffed by a manager who is playing politics for the interest of a few instead of the masses. Many may think that losing senior employees is a good thing because now they can hire employees at a lower wage which ultimately make the bottom line look good. It does in the beginning. But when you look at poor decision making that costs the County money via lawsuits, you see a pattern from employees that have only been on the job less than 10 years.
We would urge you one more time to please force the resignation of County Manager George Burgess. It will take years of restructuring and dedication to undo the damage he has done to
As always, I would like to thank you and your staff for the time you spent reading this letter.
Sincerely,
A.J. Melton
A.J. Melton, President
Progressive Correctional Officers Association
Cc: The Honorable Bruno Barreiro, Chairman, Board of County Commissioners
The Honorable Barbara Jordan, Vice-Chair, Board of
The Honorable Dennis Moss, Chairman of the Health and Public Safety Committee
John Rivera, PBA President
Denis Morales, Chief of Staff, Mayor’s Office
“I don't talk about accountability - I demonstrate accountability. If the manager held me accountable, I would hold the majors, the captains, [and] the lieutenants accountable for what they do. That's the message. It's crucial. It's extremely important that as a leader you tell the people under you what you expect of them and then you follow through”.
-Mayor Carlos Alvarez-
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