PORT ANGELES — A Clallam County Superior Court judge has spiked — again — an attempt to change the city of Sequim’s process for labor negotiations with its employees.
Judge Erik Rohrer on Thursday granted the city’s and Teamsters Local 589’s motions for summary judgment and denied an opposing motion by Susan Brautigam.
Rohrer ruled in a memorandum opinion that the city had been correct to challenge a bid for an initiative on the Nov. 4 ballot that would have required Sequim to bargain in public with its union employees and allowed employees to opt out of union representation.
“The court finds that the proposed ordinances are beyond the scope of the initiative power,” the ruling says.
Neither Brautigam nor her attorney, Shawn T. Newman of Olympia, could be reached for comment Thursday afternoon.
“We’re disappointed in Judge Rohrer’s decision,” said Scott Roberts, citizen action network director of Freedom Foundation, which is representing Brautigam.
“His decision has stripped the power of initiative from the city of Sequim and given the city veto power over citizens’ ideas,” Roberts added.
Roberts said the Freedom Foundation has not decided if it will appeal.
The initiative was filed by Susan Shotthaffer of Port Angeles but never made it onto the ballot.
Rohrer initially had ruled in September against Brautigam’s subsequent lawsuit to force the initiative onto the ballot.
Aug. 5 deadline
Sequim city officials originally had argued that petitions for the initiative had failed to meet an Aug. 5 deadline by three days.
City officials and the Teamsters — which represent 50 of the city’s 73 employees — subsequently argued that the initiatives would curtail administrative powers granted to the city by the Legislature.
In his memorandum dated Nov. 26, Rohrer said that although courts generally refrain from pre-election reviews of initiatives, “it is well established that a pre-election challenge to the scope of the initiative power is both permissible and appropriate.”
He cited precedent cases involving the cities of Longview and Bellingham, and another case involving Sequim.
“The authority for private union negotiations and all aspects of collective bargaining are powers granted to the governing or legislative body, in this case the city council,” Rohrer wrote.
The ordinances proposed in the initiatives trespassed on such powers, he wrote.
Sequim City Attorney Craig Ritchie said, “We’re happy that the judge ruled this way because it probably makes it less risky to taxpayers that we’re going to run afoul of state law.”
Had the initiative gone to the ballot and been approved by Sequim voters, Ritchie said, it could have undercut any “good faith” in negotiations between the city and its employee unions.
The case is one of a quartet of similar actions brought by citizens, who are represented by the Freedom Foundation of Olympia.
Arguments or decisions are pending in cases in Shelton and Chelan, Roberts said, adding that petitions were brought to the City Council in Blaine, which rejected the initiative, but no suit has been filed there.
The four cities have fought the actions in a joint defense agreement, according to Ritchie.
________
Reporter James Casey can be reached at 360-452-2345 x 5074 or at jcasey@peninsuladailynews.com
