"Rule of 75" Bill Passes Metro Council!

Some Sheriff's Office Employees Getting Fairer Pension Plan

A bill supported by SEIU which would provide additional retirement benefits to certain employees in the Davidson County Sheriff’s Office passed on final reading at Metro Council on June 17. The ordinance, BL2008-206 (also known as the “Rule of 75 bill”), makes sure that employees who perform public safety duties receive the same benefits as their counterparts in the Metro Police and Fire Departments.

“This is a hard-fought victory that the Union has been working on for several years”, says Robert Gilmer, chief steward in the DCSO unit and one of the Union's key players on the campaign to pass the bill. “It’s important that all public safety officers who put their lives on the line, whether they’re in the police department, the fire department, or the sheriff’s office, be treated equally. This bill makes sure that happens”.

SEIU worked closely with the bill’s main Council sponsors - Erik Cole, Michael Craddock, and Vivian Wilhoite - as well as with Sheriff Daron Hall and the Metro Benefit Board, to make sure that the bill was fair and cost-effective. “This was definitely a team effort,” says Local 205 president Doug Collier. “Union members were working closely with legislators and administrators to get this done and we hope this is just the beginning of an ongoing effort to make sure that all of the concerns of the city’s public safety officers are addressed”.