PORT ANGELES — Clallam County and its largest union have a deal.
After more than 20 months of good-faith bargaining, county officials and Teamsters Local 589 have signed a labor contract that runs through December 2017.
Two of the three commissioners voted Dec. 9 to approve a four-year agreement with the union.
That was contingent on Teamsters members voting to ratify the same contract by 4:30 p.m. Monday.
“Yesterday, we received notification from the Teamsters that the membership had voted in favor of the contract,” Clallam County Human Resources Director Rich Sill told commissioners Tuesday.
“In order to comply with the process, we needed to get the signature of ratification from the union itself.”
Sill drove to Kitsap County on Monday to collect the required signatures from a Teamsters official.
“They agreed to meet halfway,” said County Administrator Jim Jones, who thanked Sill for “going the extra mile.”
“They met in Silverdale and got the signatures yesterday afternoon at about 2 o’clock. So we do fully comply and we have a deal.”
Teamsters represents about 200 Clallam County employees — more than half of its workforce.
Seven other unions represent other county employees.
Clallam County now has labor agreements with all eight unions.
The four-year Teamsters contract is retroactive to last January.
The agreement contains a pay freeze for Teamsters members until July 2016.
That’s when other union-represented employees at the courthouse will catch up with Teamsters members on the salary scale through a series of cost of living adjustments, or COLAs.
Commissioners Jim McEntire and Mike Doherty voted Dec. 9 to approve the four-year contract contingent on union ratification.
Commissioner Mike Chapman voted no, citing process, timing and an overriding interest to “hold the line” on public sector wage growth.
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Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5072, or at rollikainen@peninsuladailynews.com.
