City staff check out area unions, select Council 2

WHEN A GROUP of City of Lakewood employees decided they would like to investigate joining a union, they formed an exploratory committee of 10 members to set the process in motion.

As a start, the committee compiled a questionnaire, which they sent to prospective unions.

City of Lakewood employees pose for a picture after selecting Council 2 as their union. They are (from left): Janelle Sorrell, Erica Meeks, Dallas Allen (in front), David Jones, Cynthia Wright, Rebecca Hendricks, Justin Dapping, Kris Nash and Tim Nash.

The questionnaire asked for background on the organization, examples of similar groups that the union managed and requested copies of the organization’s charter and the amount of dues paid.

They also questioned the organization on how the dues were spent, what assistance it provided in contract bargaining, whether it provided legal representation and was part of a national organization and what experience it had in representing a diverse workforce.

Once the questionnaires were received, the Lakewood employees set up interviews with several of the unions. Toward the end of February, Council 2’s Director of Organizing Bill Keenan attended an interview and presented the union’s approach to a meeting of the workers.

The following day, Council 2 was selected as the union that they would like to join.

The organization committee asked their fellow workers to sign cards authorizing their representation by Council 2.

More than 70 percent signed the cards, meaning a card check would be ordered. The independent Public Employees Relations Commission (perc) checked the validity of the signatures. The process was completed June 23.

The new members represent all the city employees, except those who work for the fire and police departments.

“They have formed a large contract committee to start on the bargaining,” Keenan says. “They are meeting weekly until the contract is completed.

“A major concern driving them to seek the security of a union was the bad economy and the result on the city’s budget.

“They wanted a united voice.”