BY AMELIA BISCARDI
Daily Post Staff Writer
San Mateo County Sheriff’s former Chief of Staff Victor Aenlle threatened to sue union leaders in what appears to be an attempt to intimidate them, the unions said in a complaint filed with a state agency.
The unions representing deputies and sergeants have been critical of Aenlle and Sheriff Christina Corpus over their mandatory overtime policies and what the union claims are anti-union actions by Aenlle.
The unions say they received a letter Oct. 4 from Los Angeles attorney Deborah Drooz, who is representing Aenlle, which demands they “retract their falsehoods” or face a lawsuit.
The letter caused union officials to believe that they couldn’t effectively tell union members about what was going on in the sheriff’s office, according to a complaint against the county, Corpus and Aenlle that the unions filed with the Public Employment Relations Board, which arbitrates disputes between government agencies and their unions.
“The Aenlle letter was sent with clear intent to interfere with, intimidate, restrain, coerce and discriminate against the (unions) because of its exercise of protected rights to speech and grieving against unfair labor practices,” the unions’ complaint says.
The unions’ PERB complaint said that deputy’s union president Carlos Tapia felt threatened and that he couldn’t communicate with union members for fear of being sued.
Tapia was arrested on Oct. 12 by the sheriff’s office for allegedly falsifying time cards. Later that day, a scathing report by retired Judge LaDoris Cordell came out about Sheriff Christina Corpus and Aenlle’s leadership in the department. The report, cited in the latest PERB complaint, includes allegations of retaliation and abuse of power.
The unions filed a PERB complaint on Aug. 30 against the sheriff’s office saying Corpus imposed a new policy that increased the mandatory overtime without meeting and conferring with the union beforehand.
Who is paying for Deborah Drooz’ representation of Victor Aenlle? In 2019 she charged $500 per hour. I’m sure it has gone up since then…
Looks like the DSA should consider pursuing an emergency protective order (EPO) or temporary restraining order (TRO) in court against whomever they are fearful of, or whomever they seek protection from, during these unprecedented trying times. Get these matters into a courtroom for some decorum, sworn testimony or sworn deflations, and to avoid the trail of public opinion.
I am confident that there are a prohibition, or two, that an EPO or TRO could place upon those restrained that would increase the safety of all involved. No worries about silenced, or any other, weapons being available to those who make chronically poor decisions or who tend to intimidate others.
Drooz website indicates one of her notable cases was one in which she, “…persuaded the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals that the union’s statements were protected expressions of opinion that could not give rise to defamation liability.” It should be entertaining to see how that one case argument of hers influences the one threatened against the DSA and OSS. Anyone can pay a lawyer to write a letter. Will the letter rise to the level of, “Abuse of Process,” if it is followed by a frivolous lawsuit?
Leadership is ACTION – NOT a position