Union sues to block state prison job cuts

The Associated Press • Published October 15, 2010 Modified October 15, 2010

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The union representing 6,000 Washington Department of Corrections workers has sued to block the department's recent job cuts.

Teamsters Local 117 Secretary-Treasurer Tracey Thompson says it filed the lawsuit Wednesday in King County Superior Court because the state is changing the workers’ wages, hours and working conditions without bargaining . The state recently cut 299 jobs in the department and closed the Larch Corrections Center in Yacolt.

This month, the local said its members overwhelmingly rejected a contract proposal from the state that froze wages and increased health care costs.

A Corrections Department spokeswoman could not immediately be reached for comment.

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