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members
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Workplace Union Meeting
November 28, 2007
Pizza and Soft Drinks Provided to WPEA
Members
Mark your calendar and plan to attend your
scheduled workplace meeting and learn what the union is
working on for you. For more information, contact
your WPEA Staff Rep Cari
Trussell.
WPEA Wins Back Highline’s Mis-Classified Employees
In July of 2005, Highline Community College (HCC)
removed positions from the WPEA
bargaining unit without first bargaining the proposed
exclusion of the positions with the union and without filing
notice to change the bargaining unit with the Public
Employment Relations Commission (PERC) .
The College unilaterally removed 14 positions
in the Community and Employment Services Department alleging
that the positions were mis-classified. The positions in
question were classified as Instructional Technicians 1 and
2, and Social Worker Assistant. The former Executive
Director of Human Resources for HCC, Lorna Ovena, stated
that they reviewed the duties of the employees and “decided”
that there was no specification that perfectly described
their duties so they did not belong in the classified
service.
WPEA filed an Unfair Labor Practice (ULP)
charge in August of 2005 alleging that the employer (HCC)
engaged in unlawful skimming of bargaining unit work. The
College and WPEA met in March of 2006 to attempt to settle
this issue but were unable to reach agreement as the College
contended that it exempted the employees from civil service
to provide them with pay increases. By exempting these
positions out of classified service, the employees were not
eligible for any of the pay increases of the 2005-07
Collective Bargaining Agreement and the DOP Classification
Consolidation.
WPEA informed PERC that we needed to go to
hearing on the ULP. As the date for the hearing neared, the
State’s Attorney General offered a settlement proposal. The
College agreed that it did indeed inappropriately remove
bargaining unit positions and bargaining unit work without
first satisfying its duty to bargain with the union. The
agreement returns eight employees to classified staff.
All but two employees saw their pay increase anywhere from
$341 to $1832 for the remainder of the 2005-07 contract. The
employees will also be eligible for the pay increases in the
2007-09 contract.
“This just proves once again how important it is to have
union representation,” said WPEA Executive Director,
Leslie Liddle. “And how valuable!”
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