County Won’t Accept Union

The Nez Perce County Commission has voted 2-1 to withdraw recognition of the county employee union that has represented workers for the last two years.

Commissioners James Soyk and Earl Ferguson voted to withdraw recognition, after two years of negotiations failed to produce contract agreement. Soyk and Ferguson are Republicans. Democrat LaFawn Hamm voted in opposition.

The action at a special meeting Thursday left a lot of county employees unhappy. Union representation was an issue in the last County Commission race.

“I thought they treated the employees of Nez Perce County pretty unfairly today,” said Mike Acree, a member of the negotiating team.

County employees voted overwhelmingly in 1993 to have a union represent them. The County Commission recognized the Service Employees International Union shortly after that.

Contract talks were hung up for a long time over the amount of compensatory time workers could accumulate per month. That later was resolved, but the County Commission rejected a contract approved by the workers.

In response to criticism from workers over the commission’s rejection of the proposed contract, Soyk said he believed the agreement was tentative and blamed his lack of experience for his actions.