It's official: King County Library contract is signed

IT TOOK A WHILE, but it was worth the wait.

Almost two years after 550 King County Library employees elected to join Council 2, they overwhelmingly approved a first-time 3-year contract that lasts until 2006.

Members of Local 1857 voted 274-4 in September to ratify the tentative agreement reached earlier this year with the King County Library System.

The contract includes all the essential ingredients for which the workers were looking, such as union security, a grievance procedure with arbitration, seniority language, layoff and recall provisions and, most important, just-cause termination for all bargaining unit employees.

It also adds a one-time bonus called a “stay and completion bonus,” which pays full-time employees an amount ranging from $1,390 to $4,570.

The bonus recognizes the contribution made by library staff to developing, learning and implementing new ways of doing business.

Work began on negotiating a first-time contract for the employees in April 2003.
The negotiations proved demanding and led to a mammoth 15-hour mediation session held July 15 2004 and moderated by State Mediator Ken Lasch.

The resulting tentative agreement has now been approved.

Local 1857 President Cynthia S. Richardson and Bill Keenan, Council 2’s Director of Organizing signed the contract on behalf of the King County Library staff.

King County Library’s Human Resources Manager Charlene Richards said everyone involved had contributed their creativity and communication skills as they worked through the process of understanding everyone’s interests to produce the agreement.