Tuesday, February 27th, 2007...11:57 am
Last Day to File to Represent Pima County Employees
Today is the last day for unions who wish to represent Pima County employees to file to participate in a yet to be scheduled election. County employees will be asked what union they want representing them, or if they want to be represented by any union at all. Unions that wish to have their names listed were required to get at least 30% of county employees to sign petitions.
Earlier this month, SEIU turned in over 2,400 signatures. The signatures are being checked but their leaders are confident that they have well over the number necessary to be put on the ballot. They are also hoping for a big turnout in the ensuing election.
AFSCME, who has represented county workers in the past but hasn’t been able to force a vote for “meet and confer” status, doesn’t seem to have mounted any sort of high profile campaign to get the signatures. This doesn’t mean that they haven’t been quietly doing so, and workers that signed SEIU’s petition are not enjoined from signing a petition for AFSCME as well. At least two of the organizers who were brought in late last year in a push to counter SEIU have since been transfered to Nevada, so it is not clear who is organizing their effort to also be on the ballot, if there is one at all.
Whether SEIU or AFSCME ends up representing county employees, just the fact that a the labor movement can achieve a victory like this in a right to work state is huge, and good for the progressive movement in general.
The date of the election has not yet been set by the County Administrator, but it is expected to come over the next month.
1 Comment
March 4th, 2007 at 9:36 pm
SEIU all the way. AFSCME has troubles all over the place. AFSCME managed to bungle the state organizations in Arizona and Nevada. Rumor is that there is a high level investigation into the conduct of Western Regional Director Walker. Those two organizers were pulled from Arizona to cover for the mess AFSCME created in Nevada, where they allowed a group of ineffectual do-nothings to try to run their organization from Las Vegas. Viva SEIU!!!!!!!!!
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