Union Has Become Issue In Sheriff’s Race Thompson Says It’s Proof Clegg Is On The Outs With His Deputies

When 85 Kootenai County sheriff’s deputies decided to unionize, they landed in the middle of a political controversy.

Whether they did so intentionally has become fodder in the race for Kootenai County sheriff.

Karl Thompson, a juvenile probation officer running for sheriff, is touting the union issue as a sign Sheriff Pierce Clegg is on the outs with his own deputies.

He said the deputies’ choice to join the Service Employees International Union is a sign of the “extreme frustration they feel” with Clegg.

Clegg, a two-term sheriff, denies he is the reason the deputies joined the union - a stance backed by the vice president of the Kootenai County Deputy Sheriff’s Association.

Deputy Ted Norgaarden said officers decided to join the union in order to give them more clout on the state level. He said they hope to change the state law to allow collective bargaining for deputies.

Their benefits and pay now are subject to great change with the comings and goings of county commissioners.

“They’ll leave and, whoosh, everything can be changed,” Norgaarden said. “It’s real tough to be secure and stable.”

Still, Thompson insists, “The act of joining a union is symptomatic of a much greater problem.” He said many deputies have talked to him about their concerns and are afraid to come forward and speak out against the sheriff for fear of retaliation.

Clegg pointed out that when deputies picketed the county courthouse one years ago for better pay and an established path to future raises, they told the sheriff their frustration was not directed at him but at the commissioners.

On Oct. 13, the majority of sheriff’s employees received raises ranging up to $3 an hour. A path through the pay scale also has been laid out and went into effect this week.

, DataTimes