On Monday, November 13, at 2:00 pm, County Executive George Latimer addressed COBA after the corrections union protested in front of the county offices at 148 Martine Avenue early in the day.
Black Westchester has been exclusively covering this story from the beginning. Let’s take a look at how we got here. On Thursday, November 2nd, Damon K. Jones, Publisher of Black Westchester, and the New York representative of Blacks in Law Enforcement of America (BLEA), expressed his concerns publicly regarding a recent proposal made by Westchester County to the Westchester Corrections Officers Benevolent Association (COBA), as stated by COBA’s President, Neil Pellone, in his November 1st letter to the COBA members.
According to Pellone, the County had approached COBA with a contract settlement plan, acknowledging the collective efforts of COBA members on social media and with the support of local legislators. The proposed contract would cover the years 2020 and 2021, a two-year contract for a combined 6% despite the fact that COs went 4 years without a contract.
Deputy County Executive (DCE) Ken Jenkins reached out to Damon and vehemently denied that the County had made such an offer and the County issued a statement of their own in response. There were claims of misinformation, with both sides telling a different story, which led to our third installment by Damon K Jones detailing the challenges and controversies in the 2023 Westchester County and COBA contract negotiations.
That brings us to the Monday, November 13th rally & protest in front of the county building.
