Board Members
				Darold Bussio
				Louis Stock
				Charles Harris
				Ron Ellis
				Sonny Carothers
				Pam Hand
				John Roberts Secretary/Treasurer
				Charles Davis
				Daniel Holtzclaw
				Dwayne Hart - President
				Keith Walburn
				Kim Ferguson
				Leslie Lentz
				Vacant
				R.D. Bell - Executive Board
				Kim Irby
				Loretta Albin
				Shawn Harper - Executive Board
				Dennis Moss
				Shawn Harper

SAY NO TO HOUSE BILL 129
By Cynthia Gross    Mon, February 25, 2013

Help us say no to House Bill 129 which is sponsored by Representative Gatschenberger.

This bill would take away three state holidays and give the day after Thanksgiving. Again, this is an attempt to go backwards on state employee benefits.

Please take the time to contact your legislators and let them know that this is a very bad bill and shows NO respect for state employees and the benefits they have always had. Missouri state employees already suffer low morale due to some of the lowest salaries in the country and this bill would only serve to lower it even further.

We are already lobbying against this bill but your help is a must to stop this bill in it's tracks.

Thank you, Gary Gross

MOCOA President Retires from Department
By Cynthia Gross    Thu, January 31, 2013

The MOCOA Board of Directors would like to recognize and deeply thank PCC Board Member and MOCOA President Edward Tourville. Ed has been a member of MOCOA since it began. He jumped in on the ground floor and volunteered to serve as the PCC Board Member. He has held that position for over 12 years until his retirement on November 31, 2012. With over 18 years in the department, Ed brought with him insight into the true needs of corrections professionals and thus helped to make MOCOA a success. Ed has helped to guide MOCOA in the right direction and has always been a shining example of what a true and professional corrections officer should be. We at the MOCOA office and on the Board are lucky to count Ed as a friend throughout these many years.

Ed has served as the President of MOCOA for over 10 years and performed his duties well. He was always professional and selfless, volunteering for every event we held and working tirelessly for the betterment of Missouri Corrections Officers.  

During his retirement years Ed plans on spending time with his family, especially his grandchildren. He plans on fishing and learning the new trade of taxidermy, which we hear he is enjoying. His biggest plan is to no plan….to eat and sleep when he feels like it. Good for you Ed.

Thankfully, MOCOA has not seen the last of Ed. He will be handling the recruiting for MOCOA at the academy for us, still volunteering to help at events and has an open invitation to help me at the Capital while visiting with legislators on behalf of MOCOA.
Again, thank you Ed ….for everything. Enjoy your retirement and hope to see you soon.

Gary D. Gross
MOCOA Executive Director

Announcement
By Cynthia Gross    Thu, January 31, 2013

Session has started and we are now busy promoting legislation on behalf of corrections officers. We have filed the following legislation on your behalf:

Corrections Officers Pay Bill, sponsored by Rep. Fitzwater from the Potosi area. This legislation would create a pay range for CO’s ranging from $32,000 to $37,000 based on years of service.

Another piece of legislation filed by Rep. Fitzwater would create a statute that would increase salaries any time health insurance increases by the amount of the increase.

A Bill is being filed to change the wording of the overtime law which we feel will clarify the employees’ rights in controlling their overtime. This is being filed by Rep. Caleb Jones of the California area and Rep. Munzel of the Boonville area.

We are also supporting legislation that if a ten hour per day employee has requested off on a holiday and it is approved they would not have to use two hours of their own time.

Gov. Nixon has proposed a 2% raise in his budget for state employees. As most of you know unfortunately the changes in federal tax codes is consuming last year’s 2% raise. We will be lobbying for other forms of compensation in the House and Senate to hopefully increase the size of next years’ raise.

On Tuesday, February 5th, our overtime lawsuit is being heard in the State Court of Appeals in Kansas City. I will be attending this with our attorneys to present our case. Hopefully the outcome will be in our favor.

Thank you for your support,

Gary D. Gross
MOCOA Executive Director

Election Results for Governor
By Cynthia Gross    Wed, November 7, 2012

The election is over for another four years and I am sure most of you know by now that Governor Jay Nixon has been re-elected to a second term. Gov. Nixon was not our choice because of the non-funding of overtime which causedthe current "flexing of time" mess. This directly lead to our lawsuit. Other issues were lack of raises and health insurance increases. We feel corrections officers should be paid all overtime that they accrue if they choose to do so.

All though there has been differences of opinion between our organization and this administration we will continue our efforts to work with Gov. Nixons office, the legislature and the department to achieve our goals.

Thanks for your support!

Gary Gross, MOCOA Director

FMLA Updates
By Cynthia Gross    Mon, August 20, 2012

In an attempt to curb the use of FMLA leave, the department is now restricting the use of approved FMLA to the exact number of days your doctor estimates that you may need to use. This estimate is written on the FMLA paperwork you submit to the personnel office.

BE CERTAIN TO explain to your physician that even though the number of days on the FMLA form is an estimate, your employer WILL NOT ALLOW one day more than what is estimated on the forms. Make sure your doctor allows enough days of usage to cover your condition so that you don't get into a leave issue.

Take The Time To Vote August 7th.
By Cynthia Gross    Fri, July 27, 2012

The upcoming election cycle is one of the most important in our history. Many people don’t feel the need to vote in the primary election. However, this determines who will be the November candidate and possibly your future representative in your area.

I cannot stress strongly enough how important this primary election is in the Farmington, Bonne Terre and Potosi areas as well as the Boonville representative race.

If you have questions about the candidates in your area feel free to talk to your institutional MOCOA representative of give us a call toll free at 1-866-346-6262.

Although I have mentioned certain areas in the above paragraphs, we are paying very close attention to the Governors race as well.

Encourage your friends and family members to vote August 7th.

Thank you for your time,

Gary Gross, Executive Director
MOCOA

Raise Still In The Budget
By Cynthia Gross    Mon, May 7, 2012

The two percent raise for state employees has survived the House and Senate in the budget process. Currently, it will be for employees making less than seventy thousand dollars per year. It now has to go to conference committee for final approval then to the Governor for signature. It appears that this raise will most likely happen in July of this year.

The overtime lawsuit is headed to the State Court of Appeals
By Cynthia Gross    Mon, May 7, 2012

The judge in Cole County ruled against us in a weak ruling stating, “He didn’t know who was right”. He went on to basically suggest we appeal his decision to the State Court of Appeals. Our attorneys are in that process now and expect the suit to be heard sometime in August of this year. There will be further updates as the suit progresses in the courts.