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City union goes to employee vote, could form June 14
5/30/2012 10:29:31 AM
By Kelly Moore
Splash Staff Writer
Progress on unionizing city employees reached a milestone last week: Ballots on the matter went out to city employees May 23. Votes are due back in Olympia June 13, and the Public Employment Relations Commission (PERC) will certify results at 9 a.m. June 14.
"It's been an interesting week in Liberty Lake," said Bill Keenan, a representative from Council2, the potential union. "The day before ballots went out, the city sent out notices to employees for three mandatory meetings. I'm not going to try to sugar coat it, but basically they were to convince the employees of the errors of their ways and why they shouldn't vote for the union."
According to Keenan, the meetings were deemed an illegal move by the city. He sent a letter to the city and after "a back-and-forth," the meetings moved to optional after-hours sessions.
"The city has gone to unprecedented lengths to keep this union from forming," Keenan said. "I've definitely never seen anything like this before."
Interim City Administrator Mike Cecka said his intent in scheduling the initial meetings during work hours was to make them convenient and easy for employees to attend. He also cited confusion over the rule, which prohibits anything considered campaigning within 24 hours of the election. Cecka explained the city's understanding was that the Election Day would be considered June 13. Advertisement
Cecka said the rescheduled informational meetings would discuss "factual things to consider before they vote."
"If the city operated in an illegal or inappropriate manner, it needs to be identified, and the city needs to be held accountable," Liberty Lake City Council member Josh Beckett said.
Keenan did say a positive development in the process was reaching an agreement on who could be included in the union. Previous negotiations stalled progress until early May, when all but one or two employees were left in question. At that point, he said unionizing could move forward and a hearing would follow on the remaining contested employees, but that will no longer be necessary. He said 21 employees were included in the union election out of 25 who were part of the original paperwork.
If a new union is successfully certified, he said the city would be required to maintain the status quo in the workplace for the next 12 months, and any changes to the status quo would have to be negotiated. Keenan said employees typically form unions to improve their voice involving working conditions.
"I support whatever the outcome is," Beckett said. "Whether you're in a union or not, you're going to be paid what you deserve to be paid. Otherwise, it's giving 21 people a voice who feel they don't have one on their own."
Mayor Steve Peterson disputed Keenan's claim that the city was taking unprecedented steps to block the union.
"It's not unprecedented to point out what employees have right now and what the union has historically achieved in benefits," Peterson said. "We're just trying to present the facts. We're not going to fire anyone for joining a union."
Peterson added that the city provided PERC with the relevant information they requested, including a complete list of municipal employees and a rundown of staff who would normally be excluded from a union, such as department directors and part-time workers.
Peterson pointed out that the police department union was organized during his initial term and said no layoffs have occurred at City Hall while he has been mayor.
"We have good working conditions, good benefits," Peterson said. "Raises have been given, promotions have been made."
Paperwork filed with PERC shows the proposed union originally included 25 employees, including finance, police support staff, community development and the library. The unit would encompass all municipal employees with the exception of police officers, directors and confidential employees. A separate bargaining unit already represents police officers.
To initiate the unionizing process, Keenan said a majority of the city employees first had to sign authorization cards, which are kept confidential, to prove they want to form a union.
Council2 currently represents employees throughout the region, including city employees in Spokane Valley, Spokane, Cheney, Airway Heights and Medical Lake, as well as Spokane County employees and employees at KSPS-TV and Spokane Housing Authority.
Splash Editor Craig Howard contributed to the reporting of this story.
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