We hope Legislative Session is going smoothly for all. For those that are new to the role of Legislative Assistant, welcome! As you may know, IBEW Local 89 is in the process of bargaining a first contract and solidifying our standing as a union represented position.
Negotiations to build a first contract formally began in January 2022. Throughout 2022, the Union and the Employer continued to meet and bargain on the range of proposals necessary to comprise a full contract Agreement. While progress has been made, additional engagement is necessary to complete the process. With additional time and effort on both sides, we believe we are on track to reaching an Agreement.
Over the past several months, we have seen negotiations slowed or paused on a number of occasions. While it was not surprising to see bargaining temporarily paused during the end of year holidays and into early 2023, given the importance of this process and the length with which it has already gone on, we had hoped and requested that the Employer find ways to continue working with us toward a contract. We have continued to encourage the Employer to find time to bargain throughout 2023. As of now, nearly two full months into 2023, our efforts have not been reciprocated. The Union bargaining team has continued to work on proposals since December and many proposals are now at a stage where we are needing feedback or counter proposals from the Employer.
While the Employer has generally referenced workload and availability as reasons for not being able to meet, our team has expressed willingness to find creative ways to work through similar challenges on our end.
We have also heard that workers are being told by the Employer that the parties have agreed to not bargain during session. We believe this opinion from the Employer is a misstatement of ground rules determined over a year ago when we started bargaining. The relevant ground rule states:
“The parties agree to schedule the date and time of sessions in a manner that minimizes disruption to the operations of the OLA. The parties recognize the least disruptive times for negotiations are when the OLA is not in or preparing for a session, including Legislative Days.”
Your bargaining committee believes there are opportunities to continue bargaining during session, which could both honor the commitment to minimize disruption and move us forward toward our mutual goal of reaching an Agreement.
We will continue in our efforts and pursuit of opportunities to meet with the Employer in order to reach a first contract, showing recognition of the desire expressed by the successful vote of represented staff over a year ago..
We would like to remind everyone that, although we are still in the process of negotiating our first contract, there are still rules in place for how the Employer operates in the workplace. For example:
- The Employer must inform the Union of any significant changes in the workplace. This includes changes to the wages, hours, or working conditions of workers in the bargaining unit. If you are notified of any potential changes, or are aware of any changes that may have already taken place, please contact IBEW Local 89 at (360) 755-6900.
- All members of the bargaining unit have representation rights under their Weingarten Rights (NLRB v. J. Weingarten, Inc). If you are called into a meeting that may be disciplinary in nature, or you believe may lead to discipline, you have the right to union representation. When the Employer informs you of the need to meet, or if you are already in a meeting and it becomes investigatory or potentially disciplinary in nature, you may request Union representation. This can be as simple as stating:
“If this discussion could in any way lead to my being disciplined or terminated, or affect my personal working conditions, I respectfully request that my union representative be present at this meeting. Without union representation, I choose not to answer questions.”
Recognizing that many of you may have questions about bargaining or working in a union represented environment, IBEW representatives will be walking around the Capitol to meet LAs as your schedule allows on March 8, from 7am-9am and 10am-noon.
If you have questions and are not able to meet IBEW representatives on March 8, or if you would like to speak to a Union representative away from the Capitol, please contact IBEW Local 89 at 360-755-6900 (call or text) or email to Local89@ibew89.com.
In Solidarity,
The IBEW Local 89 Bargaining Committee