Employees of the Snohomish County clerk’s office could bring Superior Court justice to a near standstill if they follow through on a threat to call a work stoppage that would affect businesswith judges, prosecutors, attorneys and the public.
The Snohomish County Clerks Association, which represents more than 70 county employees, overwhelmingly authorized the job action, president Michelle Strohrmann said Thursday.
“It’s not a strike,” Strohrmann said. “It means we will not be here. We won’t be picketing.”
The protest was threatened because of lack of progress in negotiating a labor contract with Snohomish County Executive Aaron Reardon’s office.
The association was formed in January 2005 after members broke off from a larger union of municipal employees. The clerks have been bargaining as a separate unit since March 2005, but Strohrmann said they are not satisfied with the progress.
The clerks already are required to pay considerably more for medical insurance than most other county employees.
Strohrmann said she is being deliberately vague about when a job action would happen, and if it would last more than a day or two.
No trials would be conducted if the clerks fail to show up, because state law requires a clerk in court for all proceedings, presiding Superior Court Judge Thomas Wynne said.
Snohomish County Clerk Pam Daniels, the clerks’ boss, said she would have at least seven supervisory personnel on hand to conduct business. The office would have shorter hours, she said, but criminal hearings would continue in both adult and juvenile courts.
“For a short work stoppage, we could manage to conduct some business,” Wynne said.
But a lengthy one “could severely shut down court operations.”
Mark Soine, deputy county executive, said strikes of public employees are illegal in this state. “I can’t imagine the court clerks would engage in any work action that was illegal,” he said. “I’m disappointed if they would. We’re continuing the negotiation process.”
If the clerks all call in sick, Soine said it could call into question their personal and professional integrity.
Soine said the County Council has asked the executive’s office to continue negotiations.
The clerks and executive representatives have scheduled a mediation session for Thursday, Strohrmann said. She said nothing will happen until after that, and if anything does it will depend on whether contract progress has been made.
She said the county asked for the mediation session, and Strohrmann said she hopes that’s an indication of a change in the county’s posture. She also said the clerks have made numerous concessions in previous talks.
The clerk’s office is the hub of the county justice system. It receives civil and criminal lawsuits, tends to evidence in trials and accepts court-ordered payments of restitution.
Strohrmann said the clerks have filed several complaints alleging that the county has not bargained in good faith. The state Public Employment Relations Commission is expected to start hearings on those complaints in the summer. The same state commission authorized mediation late last year.
“We’ve been bargaining with the county for over a year, and the contract progress is becoming regressive,” Strohrmann said. “They haven’t bargained in good faith with us, and there is nothing else we can do at this point.”
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