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Attempt to break with ODOT union a bust
Monday, June 05, 2006 | No comments posted.
SALEM (AP) - A move by some Oregon Department of Transportation workers to leave the largest state-employee union and form their own may be in trouble after a judge recommended against it.
A ruling is pending before the state Employment Relations Board, which oversees collective bargaining for public employees.
The workers want to break with Service Employees International Union Local 730, which represents about 2,700 employees in ODOT and form an independent Oregon Workers Union for about 1,900 ODOT employees, mostly in Highway Division offices and shops.
Not affected were about 800 ODOT employees in Driver and Motor Vehicle Services represented by a different SEIU local.
Objections last year by the union's Local 503, the parent organization that represents more than 18,000 state employees, triggered a hearing by an administrative law judge. ODOT also filed objections, but withdrew them before the hearing.
Chief judge Vickie Cowan, after three hearings last November, recommended against the separation.
“Oregon Workers Union has failed to prove that the petitioned-for unit has such a distinct community of interest that it can be a separate unit,” she wrote in her proposed ruling.
“We understand OWU's desire to return to the bargaining structure in existence prior to the (1969) merger of ODOT and DMV, and to be separated from the multiagency bargaining unit.
“However, as the old saying goes: There is too much water under the bridge. ODOT is a fully integrated agency.”
Craig Chadwick, a spokesman for the proposed union, said his group will object.
He said the larger union cannot promote and maintain unity, thus cannot bargain as an equal with an employer.
The national SEIU split off from the AFL-CIO last July.
“It's good to have a ruling come back, because this matter has been out there for awhile,” said Cameron McGinnis, Local 730 president. “Until this is settled, there are a lot of things that are unsettled.”
Local 730 vice president Kermit Meling said he has no hard feelings toward the dissidents, but said he thinks they were egged on.
“I think they felt they needed to do what they did, and I have defended their right to do what they have done. I do hope we can bring everybody back into the fold,” he said.
The state Employment Relations Board has until June 9 to receive objections to the proposed ruling. If there are any, the three-member board will set a date for oral arguments.
The board's decision can be appealed to the Oregon Court of Appeals.
A ruling is pending before the state Employment Relations Board, which oversees collective bargaining for public employees.
The workers want to break with Service Employees International Union Local 730, which represents about 2,700 employees in ODOT and form an independent Oregon Workers Union for about 1,900 ODOT employees, mostly in Highway Division offices and shops.
Not affected were about 800 ODOT employees in Driver and Motor Vehicle Services represented by a different SEIU local.
Objections last year by the union's Local 503, the parent organization that represents more than 18,000 state employees, triggered a hearing by an administrative law judge. ODOT also filed objections, but withdrew them before the hearing.
Chief judge Vickie Cowan, after three hearings last November, recommended against the separation.
“Oregon Workers Union has failed to prove that the petitioned-for unit has such a distinct community of interest that it can be a separate unit,” she wrote in her proposed ruling.
“We understand OWU's desire to return to the bargaining structure in existence prior to the (1969) merger of ODOT and DMV, and to be separated from the multiagency bargaining unit.
“However, as the old saying goes: There is too much water under the bridge. ODOT is a fully integrated agency.”
Craig Chadwick, a spokesman for the proposed union, said his group will object.
He said the larger union cannot promote and maintain unity, thus cannot bargain as an equal with an employer.
The national SEIU split off from the AFL-CIO last July.
“It's good to have a ruling come back, because this matter has been out there for awhile,” said Cameron McGinnis, Local 730 president. “Until this is settled, there are a lot of things that are unsettled.”
Local 730 vice president Kermit Meling said he has no hard feelings toward the dissidents, but said he thinks they were egged on.
“I think they felt they needed to do what they did, and I have defended their right to do what they have done. I do hope we can bring everybody back into the fold,” he said.
The state Employment Relations Board has until June 9 to receive objections to the proposed ruling. If there are any, the three-member board will set a date for oral arguments.
The board's decision can be appealed to the Oregon Court of Appeals.
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