Montana State Trooper terminated in alleged case of retaliation for sharing climate assessment

HELENA, MT - A highly respected Montana Highway Patrol Trooper and President of Union local, Alicia Bragg was terminated from her role after a ten-day suspension in April allegedly in retaliation for sharing a workplace climate survey summary with her union representative.

The Daily Montanan stated that according to allegations outlined in an unfair labor practice complaint, the Montana Federation of Public Employees has accused the department of engaging in alleged illegal retaliation against Trooper Bragg, a decorated member of the force.
 

Congratulations to Trooper Alicia Bragg on five years of service with the Patrol. Alicia began her law enforcement career as a dispatcher before training to become a trooper. She is pictured here receiving her stars from Acting-Sergeant Dave Gleich.

Well done Alicia! pic.twitter.com/7KTYGJ0gwE

— Montana Highway Patrol (@MTHwyPatrol) April 4, 2020

MFPE President Amanda Curtis explained, “It is illegal to retaliate against a union president for sharing information related to her members’ working conditions with her union staff.” She added, "We’re working to address this excessive punishment, get Alicia’s job back, and tackle MHP’s rapidly deteriorating working conditions for all troopers."

Responding to Bragg's complaint to the Department of Labor and Industry, the Montana Dept. of Justice stated, "Respondent generally denies all the allegations of the complaint, and asserts that all alleged actions, to the extent that they were actually taken as alleged, were warranted responses to employee misconduct."

The response was signed by Chief Human Resource Officer Melissa Gardner and General Counsel Chad Vanisko on the letterhead of Attorney General Austin Knudsen(R) according to the outlet.

In the letter, the DOJ claimed that the "climate survey document" in question was distributed to a small committee on which Bragg sat and committee members were "ordered by commanding officers, both in writing and verbally, not to disseminate the document until it was authorized for release.”

By sharing the document with her union representatives, the DOJ claimed she violated orders. The DOJ added, that when the summary was released publicly and members were asked if they shared it with anyone, Bragg stated that she had. 
 

“MHP troopers, as law enforcement officers, are subject to strict rules regarding orders of commanding officers and obeying the same,” the DOJ concluded.

Bragg told The Daily Montanan that for three years since she was elected President of her Union local, she had shared contract negotiation information, new policies, and documents regularly. She told reporters that she provided a summary of the survey to the union field consultant as usual and never imagined it might cost her a job.

When asked if she envisioned losing her job in the course of her union business she replied, "Absolutely not."

“I was extremely frustrated because I had worked so hard and communicated with troopers throughout the state about it being a safe process for them to share their opinions about the Highway Patrol,” Bragg said.

Bragg, joined by union representatives for her interview with the Montanan said she had in fact convinced Troopers who were afraid to complete the survey not to fear retaliation for their answers. She noted, "It was really frustrating to me to be the first one to be taken out by the survey."
 

“The good troopers need to stay,” Bragg said to the reporter. “There’s quite a few troopers that are leaving. I don’t want them to feel any stress about going to work because they’re worried about retaliation or anything ugly coming out of the survey."

An internal grievance and Bragg's complaint to the Department of Labor and Industry are pending as of this report. If the grievance is resolved in her favor, Bragg could be back on the job potentially with back pay, but it could be as long as nine-months before it is concluded.