By a more than 3-to-1 margin, corrections officers on this island chose Alianza Correccional Unida (ACU)/Servidores Públicos Unidos (SPU)/AFSCME Council 95 as their union. The long-awaited election, which was completed on March 14, resulted in 2,447 votes for SPU and only 692 for Federación de Oficiales de Custodias (FOC), a rival union comprised mostly of supervisory officers.

With this victory, more than 6,400 corrections officers in all 46 corrections facilities now have a voice at work with AFSCME Corrections United (ACU).

"This is even better than the election we won three years ago," says ACU Local 3500 President Maria Mauras during a celebration following the election triumph. "Corrections workers have always wanted to be part of ACU, and their strong desire to have a union kept our hopes alive."

The Puerto Rico Public Employees Relations Board voided a 2002 election that SPU won by a 2-to-1 margin — based on an alleged incident in a single polling area. Instead of rescheduling a vote in the "contaminated" area only, the board ordered one for the entire island. An election rescheduled within six months was delayed even further when FOC dragged SPU into a court battle, challenging its right to organize public-sector workers. Although the courts eventually ruled in SPU's favor, paving the way for a new election, three years passed.

"Now that we have been vindicated, we can look forward to bargaining for a first contract," adds Mauras. "It's about time our COs, who have been abused by management, get the recognition and respect they deserve."