EVERETT – Snohomish County Superior Court clerks say they are quietly celebrating a major victory in their ongoing battle for a labor contract, but County Executive Aaron Reardon is vowing to continue the fight.
Reardon and deputy executive Mark Soine broke state law by delaying contract negotiations with the Snohomish County Clerks’ Association over the past two years, a state examiner for the Public Employment Relations Commission ruled Monday.
The ruling also said Reardon intimidated a county worker at a Silvertips hockey game.
“We disagree strongly with the opinion of the examiner,” Reardon said Friday. “We plan to appeal and our attorneys are confident this will be overturned on appeal.”
Examiner Starr Knutson said Reardon’s administration “deliberately delayed, frustrated and avoided agreement” with the association.
One of the delays, Knutson wrote, happened when Soine angrily canceled a meeting after a newspaper article was written about clerks’ rising medical costs as a result of the impasse.
“No delay tactics were employed,” Reardon said.
In her review of the “incident at the hockey game,” Knutson said Reardon’s comments about the association’s attorney were disparaging, and as a result, intimidating to a labor group mired in negotiations.
“I made no disparaging remarks about the attorney or the guild,” Reardon said. Instead, he said, he was accosted at the hockey game by the court worker.
Reardon’s staff plans to meet Monday with the County Council at a closed-door discussion about mounting a legal appeal.
As part of the ruling, the county was ordered to settle the clerks’ contract through arbitration, an uncommon move, said Ken Latsch, operations manager for the Public Employment Relations Commission.
More often, state examiners first send governments and labor back to the table one more time to settle a contract, Latsch said.
“It is a very strong decision,” he said. “I don’t know of any other decision where this particular kind of remedy has been issued.”
The state’s decision demonstrates the years of abuse felt by the clerks, association president Shirley Johnston said.
“Winning arbitration rights is huge,” Johnston said. “This actually shows what our frustration has been the last two years, with executive department and Mr. Soine in particular.”
Members are waiting out the 20-day response period during which the county must appeal or file paperwork to begin contract arbitration.
“We don’t want to gloat about it,” Johnston said. “We just want to move forward and get back what has been held back from us since 2005.”
The clerks left AFSCME – the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees – in 2005 and formed their own association with about 70 members.
Reardon claims strong labor ties, and his clearest ties are to AFSCME. The labor group has about 1,600 county employees and won favorable contract concessions from Reardon’s administration in 2005, including cost of living raises and a cap on employee medical costs.
“I have a great history with labor,” Reardon said. “As a candidate for county executive, I’m solely endorsed by organized labor and have been for 10 years based on my conduct and fair treatment of organized labor, unions large and small.”
But Knutson said the clerks’ association wasn’t treated appropriately.
Each passing month of delay during the past two years of contract negotiations brought more talk of rejoining AFSCME, Johnston said. The divide in the association over whether to rejoin AFSCME could persist until the contract is settled, wage levels are restored and medical costs reduced, Johnston said.
County Council members said the state’s ruling is a mark on an otherwise good record.
The ruling is embarrassing and “blemishes the relationship between the executive and all the unions,” Republican County Councilman Gary Nelson said.
The clerks’ concerns were validated, Nelson said. Council members watched as Reardon’s administration dragged its feet.
“I know they are very angry with the executive and have a right to be; the order reflects that,” he said. “He only wants to recognize AFSCME.”
County Councilman John Koster said he wasn’t surprised at the ruling.
“Canceling a meeting because somebody is angry borders on juvenile,” he said. “And the executive should know better than make comments on labor negotiations at a hockey game.”
The County Council wants the contract settled, Democrat Kirke Sievers said.
“I think we got a very harsh message from Olympia and we should get these negotiations behind us as soon as possible,” Sievers said. “I’ve received calls from other council members throughout the state and they were astonished that a ruling like this could happen in Snohomish County.”
“If we had a new contract next week to sign, I think we would look very favorably on that,” he added.
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