Yea or nay: Union vote today

WASILLA — The first of three city departments considering unionization is due to make a decision this week.

The Department of Public Works is considering a bid from the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 302 to represent its employees, said Jean Ward, a hearing officer with the Alaska Labor Relations Agency.

Ballots have gone out and are due back to the agency no later than 4 p.m. today, she said. A final tally should be ready by Wednesday at 9 a.m.

Calls seeking comment from the union were not returned Monday.

Archie Giddings, director of public works for Wasilla, said he’s not in the group that will potentially be unionized.

“As administration, we’ve got strict guidelines on how we can speak to the staff,” Giddings said.

None of his employees have spoken with him about the unionization effort, he said.

Mayor Dianne M. Keller said she has been examining the union process Sitka went through. She said to get one union into that city took two years.

“We haven’t even got to the start line yet,” Keller said.

Two groups of employees are the subject of cases before the state’s Labor Relations Board — the police department and employees of the Wasilla Multi-use Sports Complex. Two unions have filed petitions hoping to represent the police department: the Public Safety Employees Association Local 803 and Teamsters Local 959. The city has objected to those petitions.

“They’ve objected on the basis of putting supervisory employees in with non-supervisory employees,” Ward said. The city is also objecting because the unions would also put non-law-enforcement positions in with law-enforcement positions and confidential positions with non-confidential positions.

The board is set to hear the city’s case for its objections Thursday and Friday in Anchorage, Ward said.

Laborers Local Union 341 is courting sports complex employees, Ward said. That unionization effort was ready for a vote when the union got a roster of employees from the city.

“When the union got the roster it realized that all the people it thought were going to be in the unit were not in the unit,” Ward said.

Union officials were expecting temporary employees would be included along with permanent positions in the collective bargaining unit while the city said they would not, Ward said.

Keller confirmed that that is the city’s position.

“They’re not full-time employees. I believe they’re determined irregular,” Keller said.

The union filed a case with the board, asking that it decide which employees should be included, Ward said. That case will be heard March 6 and 7.

Ward said the state Labor Relations Agency board has six members and cases are heard by a three-member panel, traditionally consisting of a representative from management, from labor and from the general public.

Keller said she encourages employees considering unionization to look at their current benefits and see how they stack up against the last contract the union seeking to represent them was able to negotiate.

“All I would ask is that every employee that’s involved do as much homework as they can,” Keller said.

Contact Andrew Wellner at andrew.wellner@frontiersman.com or 352-2270.