King County, Decision 12631 (PECB, 2016)
STATE OF WASHINGTON
BEFORE THE PUBLIC EMPLOYMENT RELATIONS COMMISSION
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In the matter of the petition of:
KING COUNTY COURT PROTECTION GUILD
For clarification of an existing bargaining unit of employees of:
KING COUNTY
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CASE 128500-C-16
DECISION 12631 - PECB
ORDER AMENDING CERTIFICATION |
Jared C. Karstetter Jr., Attorney at Law, for the King County Court Protection Guild.
Diane Hess Taylor, Legal Advisor, for King County.
The King County Court Protection Guild (union) represents a bargaining unit of court security employees at King County (employer). That bargaining unit is currently described as “[a]ll full‑time and regular part-time commissioned officers of the King County Sheriff’s Department working courthouse security, excluding supervisors, confidential employees, district court security, and all other employees.” King County, Decision 7947 (PECB, 2002). The employees in the bargaining unit are charged with protecting and maintaining security in all employer‑owned buildings and are commonly referred to as court marshals.
In 2015 court marshals were granted interest arbitration rights. RCW 41.56.030(13)(i). To reflect that recent change in law, the union changed its name to the King County Sheriff’s Office Marshals’ Guild. On October 21, 2016, the union filed a unit clarification petition under WAC 391-35-085 asking that the Commission amend an existing bargaining unit certification to reflect a change in the union’s name.
The Commission’s rules provide a process for an organization to petition for an amendment to an existing certification under WAC 391-35-085:
A party may file a petition to amend an existing certification, and the executive director may amend the certification, provided that the purpose of the amendment is to reflect changed circumstances such as the name of a labor organization or the name of an employer, and the bargaining unit is not affected by the change and there is no question concerning representation.
Here, the union’s petition merely seeks to amend the existing certification to reflect that the union’s name has changed. The petition does not seek to alter the configuration of the bargaining unit, and no question concerning representation is raised by the petition. The request for amendment is granted.
ORDER
1. The certification issued in King County, Decision 7947, is amended to reflect that the certified bargaining representative has changed its name to the King County Sheriff’s Office Marshals’ Guild.
2. The amendment to the certification issued in this proceeding does not give rise to a new “certification bar” year under RCW 41.56.070 or WAC 391-25-030(2).
ISSUED at Olympia, Washington, this 14th day of November, 2016.
PUBLIC EMPLOYMENT RELATIONS COMMISSION
MICHAEL P. SELLARS, Executive Director