Syracuse, N.Y. – It seemed like a simple idea: replace uniform patches worn by Onondaga County Sheriff’s Ofsce employees with a new one that everyone could wear.

That simple idea has led to a grievance being filed by the union representing the patrol deputies and a counter lawsuit filed by the sheriff’s office against the union.

Sheriff Toby Shelley, who took office in January, proposed changing the employees’ uniforms by replacing the department-specific arm patches with a standard patch that says “sheriff.”

Currently, the arm patches specify which department – custody, corrections, police or civil – an employee works for.

After Shelley’s administration proposed the change to the uniform, the union representing the police division pushed back and filed a grievance. The union says the uniform change violates its collective bargaining agreement.

In the grievance, union president Laura Collins states that the police division deputies want to keep their department-specific arm patches as a “matter of safety and pride.”

“This will promote legitimate, earned pride in position, enhance safety and avoid the unnecessary expense of replacing patches and/or uniforms,” Collins wrote in the grievance.

The sheriff has gone to State Supreme Court asking for a judge to toss out the grievance.

Undersheriff Jeffery Passino – who was a former union president – said in court papers that the change in patches will save money and unify the sheriff’s office’s employees.

“The Administration...

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