Valley reaches agreement on union

Spokane Valley city officials and city staff reached a tentative agreement this week on which employees would be included in a new city union.

At issue was whether employees in a dozen jobs should be allowed to join the Washington State Council of County and City Employees.

Management and staff initially agreed to include about 25 positions in the union and classify 12 more as exempt, but several positions remained in contention.

A hearing with the Washington State Public Employment Relations Commission was scheduled for Thursday to resolve the issue, but the parties reached a tentative agreement earlier in the week, said Spokane Deputy City Manager Nina Regor.

An administrative assistant to the city manager, budget analyst, two senior engineers and a long-range planning manager will be classified as exempt employees.

An accounting manager, public works superintendent, part-time construction inspector, part-time computer specialist and a traffic engineer will be included in the union.

Two other positions have been vacated and will be classified later, Regor said.