By Chris Casillas and Jordan L. Jones
In Snohomish County, the Commission held that the Washington State Council of County and City Employees (WSCCCE) was inappropriately allowed to intervene in a representation case initiated by the Snohomish County Juvenile Court Supervisors Association (union). The Commission also held that the petitioned-for bargaining unit was appropriate and remanded to the Executive Director to conduct a unit determination election to establish the preferred bargaining unit arrangement of the employees.
In this case, the union filed a petition to represent a bargaining unit that consisted of seven employees working as Juvenile Corrections Officer Supervisors, a Juvenile Community Corrections Officer Supervisor, and a Kitchen Coordinator. The WSCCCE was subsequently allowed to intervene and the Executive Director of PERC determined that the petitioned-for employees shared a community of interest only with the WSCCCE juvenile detention bargaining unit and, in turn, that the union’s petitioned-for unit was inappropriate. The union then appealed this decision to the Commission.
In its decision, the Commission noted that intervention is only allowed in two instances. “First, an organization may intervene in a representation case if that organization has been the exclusive bargaining representative of part of the petitioned-for bargaining unit during the year preceding the filing of the petition” or “[s]econd, an organization other than the incumbent representative may intervene in a representation proceeding if it can demonstrate a 10 percent showing of interest among the employees in the petitioned-for unit.”
The Commission found that WSCCCE did not intervene under either of the two instances, but was allowed to intervene based upon its status as an “interested party.” The Commission noted that while an interested party may intervene in a unit clarification case and, in limited circumstances a ULP, “there is no general right to intervene in representation cases as an ‘interested party.’”
The Commission also held that the petitioned-for bargaining unit was an appropriate unit because the petitioned-for employees shared a community of interest.
The question before the Commission is whether the petitioned-for bargaining unit is an appropriate bargaining unit configuration, not the most appropriate bargaining unit . . . . The petitioned-for employees are all overtime-eligible employees performing support and oversight functions at the Juvenile Justice Center. The record shows that these employees shared a community of interest with each other when they were in a separate bargaining unit.
The Commission also found that including the petitioned-for employees in the WSCCCE’s bargaining unit would result in an appropriate unit. Subsequently, the Commission remanded the case to the Executive Director to allow for a unit determination election to allow the employees to choose between the two appropriate bargaining units.
**Visit our Premium Website for more information on Creation of an Appropriate Unit.
