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Council wins union battle with federation

• Published May 09, 2008

The Washington State Residential Care Council won out over the Washington Federation of State Employees in their nearly-year-long battle to represent adult family home operators.

The council posted news of the victory here:

The WSRCC of Adult Family Homes and the Washington Federation of State employees both were working to be the representative; however the final election tally placed WSRCC winning by nearly 100 votes. The Public Employee Regulatory Commission finalized and certified the election today. There is a 7 day period that would allow for any procedural objections; however, as the meeting closed today, Megan Park, representative for the WFSE conceded the election and offered the WSRCC representatives, “Good luck” as the bargaining begins.

It was the federation who backed 2007 legislation to allow about 2,250 adult family home operators – but not their employees – to unionize. But the council, a professional group, entered the election to become the group’s representative in negotiations with the governor. That led to two hotly contested elections, both of which the council won.

Strangely, whether employees of the unionized managers would also be able to unionize was an issue throughout the campaigns. The council strongly opposed the idea, while the federation, a sworn champion of collective bargaining rights as the largest state workers union, tried to say neutral.

Hat Tip: Evergreen Freedom Foundation