Managers and supervisors join Council 2
June 3, 2010
WHEN 140 MANAGERS and
supervisors at Seattle City Light heard earlier this year that their
jobs were targeted for cuts by Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn, they turned to
Council 2 for help.
“They were concerned about having a voice so they could provide input
into their conditions of employment,” says Council 2 Director of
Organizing Bill Keenan.
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| Posing for a picture after the signing of a voluntary recognition for employees at Seattle City Light are, from left: Seattle City Light Human Resources Director Davonna Johnson; City of Seattle Labor Negotiator Julie McCarty; City of Seattle Labor Relations Director David Bracilano; Council 2 Research Director Bill Dennis; and Seattle City Light Strategic Advisers Jennifer Greenlee and Sandi Fukumoto. |
“They
realized they needed to consider organizing and appointing
representatives so they would have a united voice with which they could
negotiate issues such as furloughs and layoffs.”
The employees filed with the state
Public Employees Relations Commission, or perc, to organize under
Council 2. Approval was given.
The employees signed authorization cards
indicating their voluntary approval to be represented by Council 2.
The support was stronger than the 65
percent that the city has ruled are needed in order for recognition as a
bargaining unit.
The employees involved are supervisors, managers and strategic advisers.
Agreement was reached in mid-May to
establish multiple units, with managers in one, supervisors in the other
and strategic advisers in the third.
Those units will be distinct from the
present unit.
The units will bargain for a master
agreement which will be tailored to the needs of each individual unit.
“This is our first large unit of
managerial and supervisory employees in Seattle City Light,” says
Keenan.
“With the exception of the existing
group whom we already represent, all the others are represented by the
International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers.
“It is also the first unit consisting of this high a level of management.”