Election at odds for care providers

By Adam Wilson | The Olympian • Published March 30, 2008

Half a year after their first contest, two groups vying to represent adult family home providers are in a cliff-hanger election.

The Washington Federation of State Employees backed a bill last year to allow the 1,800 people who care for adults in residential settings to unionize and bargain with the state over reimbursement rates.

A professional group, the Washington Residential Care Council, joined the fray last summer, and has been battling the union ever since.

Last week, a second election in the contest favored the council, 597-534. But another 144 votes from adult family home operators are in dispute, enough to change the outcome of the race.

"We beat them except, except this time there was a (63) vote margin," said Aaron Mountain, president of the council.

In a run-off in September, the council won by a much greater margin, 594-214. But the option of not having a union received the lowest number of votes and was eliminated.

Pleased with progress

As it stands, the federation is pleased with its progress, said executive director Greg Devereux.

"We got 323 more votes this time and they got three more," he said. "Quite frankly, the providers can't lose either way, because we have shown a light on their plight."

The federation, the largest general government workers union in the state, used its political clout to win a reprieve from the governor's office on a requirement for the homes to buy new insurance.

And both the union and the council worked this year to win an increase in reimbursement rates from the Legislature.

But Mountain said the federation also has been going negative in the campaign for representation.

"They've been beating us up pretty good. We didn't respond to all of it. They were trying to deep pocket us, and they were successful," he said.

Final word on which group will represent the group in bargaining will likely hinge on the 144 votes being challenged.

Depending on the complexity of the challenges — which could proceed ballot-by-ballot on whether a homeowner was eligible to vote — a hearing on the issues could take days or weeks, said Cathleen Callahan, executive director of the Public Employment Relations Commission.