MEA board members say no to drug testing

MAT-SU -- MEA board president Larry DeVilbiss joked Monday night that MEA board members "failed the drug testing" after the board, through a tie vote and nearly 40 minutes of discussion, killed a motion that would require the board to submit to random drug testing.

The matter was placed as an agenda item by board president Larry DeVilbiss and stems from a request made by former board member Barbara "Tamie" Miller at the cooperation's April 6 annual meeting. After vote tallies had been announced at that meeting, the floor was opened up for member participation.

At that meeting, Miller asked that board members, prior to the April 8 board meeting, take a drug test. When a show of support for the idea was requested, then-president Bill Folsom counted 33 members in support of the idea and 13 against. He clarified that the motion was not binding and was simply a straw poll of those members still at the meeting.

Monday, Miller again spoke to the board and cautioned that not forcing board members to submit to testing may open up the group to charges of discrimination. All new employees, she said, must submit to testing, and the board could be seen as holding employees to a higher standard than they were willing to attain. She also said bidders who are not awarded contracts by the board could sue MEA if they felt a board member voted with an unclear mind.

Although board member Scott Daugharty challenged Miller's numbers, asking if 40-some people accurately represented the desires of the 1,100 members present at the meeting, Folsom took up Miller's charge.

"I feel that if that question was put before members, they would vote 'yes' overwhelmingly," Folsom said. Folsom made the motion to institute drug testing.

Daugharty immediately objected to the consideration of the motion, stating that there were not enough details included in the motion to make an accurate decision. He added that there was no information about who would perform the testing, who would see the results or what current MEA employment testing practices were.

"To be quite blunt with you, I'm on medication … and I don't want people knowing what kind of medications," Daugharty said.

He added that, were the motion to pass, he would follow with a recommendation that board members should submit to breathalyzer analyses by Alaska State Troopers before every board meeting.

"I intend on doing all that stuff to make sure that we're clear-headed when we come in here, because it appears we haven't been in the past," Daugharty said.

MEA's general manager Wayne Carmony and human resources and corporate affairs director James Spalding said Miller's assertion that all new MEA employees are randomly tested is not correct.

"The testing we do of employees is pre-employment," Carmony said. He explained that the second type of testing done by MEA is for commercial drivers' license-holding employees who must be tested regularly in accordance with federal laws. The only other type of drug testing done at MEA, Spalding said, is as a result of or based on an observed problem.

"I believe the motion was made … in absence of a complete understanding of what the current practices are," Carmony said, referring to the motion's wording that would make drug testing follow MEA's existing practice of testing its employees. Essentially, the motion would mean board members must be tested before being on the board or for cause.

Folsom amended his original motion to fit the manager's suggestion -- with an addition that was suggested by board member Michael Janecek. The new amendment would require the general manager and MEA directors to be randomly tested for illicit drugs.

Daugharty suggested the amendment be expanded to include all MEA employees, but Spalding said that would conflict with MEA's labor contract. Daugharty changed the amendment to include all MEA employees not bound by the labor contract, but Carmony said that, too, may be illegal.

"We're reasonably certain that the motion, as stated now, continues to have some legal problems," Carmony said.

Spalding explained that some companies have run into legal problems when including employees not in safety-sensitive or financially sensitive positions in random drug testing. MEA's chief corporate counsel Stephen Ellis said he had some serious questions about whether the board could impose random board-member testing on its own.

"As far as the board is concerned, I have some serious questions in my mind as to, I don't think the board can superimpose a requirement of any type … if it's not in the bylaws," Ellis said.

The motion ultimately failed, with board members Folsom, Jim Hermon and Larry DeVilbiss voting in favor of the testing and Daugharty, Lois Lester and Janecek voting against.

Folsom, during board member comments, said he was disappointed in the vote and those who voted against the issue should be prepared.

"I'm a little disappointed that the board didn't at least stop and say they're willing to have drug testing," Folsom said. "… I think that's going to bode badly as a reflection of the board."

Daugharty, after the vote failed, offered to meet other board members at Mat-Su Phlebotomy the following morning.

"I feel it was a McCarthy-style witch hunt," Daugharty said of the motion. "I'm against drugs, and I'll be glad to take a test anytime, but I don't believe people should be forced to do so."