A majority of Lee County sheriff’s corporals and deputies are expecting more power in labor negotiations and more consistent disciplinary processes after voting to form a union.

By a 194-124 vote counted on Thursday, deputies and corporals agreed to form a chapter of the International Union of Police Associations. There were 76 eligible voters who didn’t cast ballots.

The vote comes more than seven months after Lee County sergeants started their own union, and two years after deputies and corporals voted 200-158 against forming a union with the Police Benevolent Association.

Union voters and the Sheriff’s Office both have 15 days to file post-election objections, according to the state’s Public Employees Relations Commission. Neither side is expected to file any objections.

If ratified, the deputies’ and corporals’ union gives its members collective bargaining protections and makes legal representation more available. The IUPA also provides advice on producing and negotiating contracts with Sheriff’s Office officials.

Due fee rates haven’t yet been set.

“We’re into this in a number of jurisdictions where we have a good, solid union in place,” said Rich Roberts, spokesman for the IUPA, which has about 15 Florida chapters. “You can’t balance the budget on the backs of public safety, and that’s the message we have to carry to every jurisdiction.”

Lee County Sheriff Mike Scott said he doesn’t generally support unions but appreciated the vote.

“I respect the process and a majority clearly feels that a union is best for them,” Scott said. “I wish them all well. These are my co-workers. I happen to not be in favor of unions, but time will tell what they accomplish.”

Scott said the sergeants’ union has had “very little” impact on the agency, but the union only recently submitted its first contract proposal.

Facing declining revenues, Scott offered a budget with $6.3 million in cuts for the fiscal year 2011-02, a 4.2 percent decline from last year’s $150 million proposal.

“I think unions served a wonderful purpose when 12-year-olds were forced to work 80 hours a week in dangerous conditions, but that was a different time,” Scott said. “In this economy, you have to be careful of wanting more and more. I do not believe the union is going to be able to do that for them.”

It’s too early to tell the impact a sergeants union has had on working conditions in Lee County, Roberts said.

“They’ve been in place less than a year and the deputies are just getting into place, so we can’t measure at the moment,” Roberts said. “We have to see how the sheriff reacts and how he cooperates with the officers.”

Roberts said after the union is issued a charter, members would have to elect officers. Attention would then turn to training and labor relations, with a contract proposal made in the coming months.

“It could replicate the sergeants’ experience coming into a new area,” Roberts said. “There’s going to be an educational process involved and they’re going to want to review a lot of contract models.”

While the lack of binding arbitration can make it difficult to influence wages, Naples police union president Robert Young said its Fraternal Order of Police chapter has helped with getting fair disciplinary processes.

“If you were to get dismissed by the sheriff, your only recourse was to appeal to the sheriff – the same guy that fired you,” Young said. “We’ve been fairly successful at helping members who have gotten into some hot water in having their punishments or even their dismissals mitigated.

“Some are beyond help, but to a certain extent, if we believe a member of the union has been unjustly disciplined, there are steps to follow.”

Roberts said Lee County union voters expect an improved disciplinary system.

“The deputies ought to have a fair, specific process,” Roberts said. “Too often discipline was arbitrary. This is something the deputies want.”

Roberts said there were no issues in this year’s union vote similar to 2009, when Sgt. Jonathan Washer filed a lawsuit against Scott claiming he was wrongly transferred as an act of retaliation against his union advocacy. Scott said the transfer resulted from Washer’s communication issues, noting Washer kept the same salary and rank.

The case was settled out of court and Washer retired from the agency after an internal investigation found he mishandled evidence in several cases.