Three groups of city employees represented by the International Association of Machinists & Aerospace Workers (IAM) have each voted to leave the union. The results were confirmed last week and affect 768 city employees, or about 21 percent of the IAM’s local membership. The IAM leadership immediately challenged the results, filing a charge with the California Public Employment Relations Board (PERB), which oversees collective bargaining statutes.

 

The decertification effort began late last year by the groups representing city refuse workers, the skilled and general supervisors, and the skilled and general basic employees. The workers felt IAM was not representing them adequately in negotiating pay raises and benefits with the city.

 

Ken Walker, labor relations manager for the city, told the Business Journal that a mail-in vote occurred during April and that ballots were counted last week. The city hired a vendor to conduct the secret mail ballot vote and count the ballots. Each of the affected groups as well as IAM had observers present during the count.

 

The results, according to Walker, were as follows:

• Ballots were mailed to 595 employees in the skilled and general basics group. There were 308 eligible ballots counted. The final vote was 159 for decertification and 149 against.

• A total of 89 ballots were sent to the refuse workers group. There were 35 eligible ballots counted, with 21 voting yes on decertification and 14 voting no.

• Ballots were mailed to 84 employees in the skilled and general supervisors group. Of the 57 eligible ballots counted, 46 voted for decertification and 11 voted against.

 

The city must now wait further action until PERB makes a decision on the IAM charge.