First responders are expected to pack the Redmond City Council meeting Tuesday night as they seek clarity in their attempts to express religious exceptions to complying with a COVID-19 vaccination mandate.
KXLY
July 15, 2021 7:48 PM Elenee Dao
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County Commissioners are butting heads with the Washington State Council of County and City Employees.
Commissioners want the public to see how union contract negotiations are done, but the council wants to keep it private the way it’s been done for years.
It’s not unusual for politicians to have disagreements with workers, but this one is getting dragged out of the conference room and out into the open.
“Nothing’s worse than politicians who claim to support public safety and frontline workers, but disrespect their service and sacrifice, like Spokane County Commissioners Josh Kerns and Al French,” ran a particularly charged radio ad.
City and county employees say recent measures mandating union bargaining happens in public are illegal and unethical. Author: Casey Decker Updated: 6:20 PM PDT July 9, 2021
SPOKANE, Wash. Spokane city and county employees picketed Friday afternoon outside the Spokane County Courthouse, the latest development in a long-running dispute that centers around whether union negotiations should be held in public.
Historically, the meetings between local governments and their workers unions are private, and union members want to keep it that way. The process works just fine. It s kind of an if ain t broke don t fix it sort of a thing, said Gordon Smith, staff representative for Washington State Council of County and City Employees
Updated: 10:37 PM PDT July 7, 2021
SPOKANE, Wash. Spokane County and City employees are holding an informational picket on Friday to raise awareness and pressure officials about how many of them have been working without a contract for over a year, according to the union.
The picket will be held on Friday, July 9 from 12 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. at the Spokane County Courthouse.
According to a press release, members of the union will speak out about being asked to work for months, some more than a year, without a contract and will demand that both County and City officials bargain in good faith and in accordance with state law.
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