Commissioned vs civillian bosses

[Guest guest]

I need some input from you all. There is a rumor that our union may have to

replace our civilian mucky mucks with Commissioned personnel so that we can get

some other things we want. From those of you on both sides of the fence, what

are the benefits to commissioned people (who haven't worked our job or had our

experiences) versus someone who has? Can the commissioned get us more respect

from other uniformed personnel? I really like our structure now - everyone above

me has been in my position and knows what I go through. The rumor is that we'd

keep our civilian trainers and immediate supervisors but that the comm. center

manager and above would be replaced with a Lt at local level and a Captain in

Olympia. Any thoughts? Is it worth fighting and giving up other perks (like

allowing OT so that someone can go on vacation, automatic pay increases, etc.)

so that we can keep the current structure?

Rhonda Rowan x303

Washington State Patrol

Vancouver, WA