Grant County, Decision 13768 (PECB, 2024)
STATE OF WASHINGTON
BEFORE THE PUBLIC EMPLOYMENT RELATIONS COMMISSION
In the matter of the petition of: grant county and teamsters local 760 For clarification of an existing bargaining unit. |
CASE 137963-C-23 DECISION 13768 - PECB order amending certification |
Augustine Gallegos, Business Agent, for Teamsters Local 760.
Anthony F. Menke, Attorney at Law, Menke Jackson Beyer, LLP, for Grant County.
On November 9, 2023, Grant County (employer) and Teamsters Local 760 (union) jointly filed a unit clarification petition under WAC 391-35-085 asking that the agency amend an existing bargaining unit certification to reflect a change in job title of certain employees in the bargaining unit and a change of the name of the location where those employees work. The union represents a bargaining unit of crisis services and intake/triage employees that is currently described as “All full-time and regular part-time crisis services and intake/triage employees employed by Grant County, excluding supervisors, confidential employees and all other employees.” Grant County, Decision 10965 (PECB, 2011). During the course of representation, the employer changed the titles for employees in the intake/triage employees job class. The employees in that job class are now in the “initial services specialist employees” job class. The employer also changed the name of the location where the employees work from “Grant County Integrated Services” to “Grant County RENEW.” The parties jointly state that the petition does not alter the configuration of the bargaining unit and that no question concerning representation is raised by the petition.
WAC 391-35-085 provides a process for an organization to petition for an amendment to an existing certification, stating:
A party may file a petition to amend an existing certification to reflect a minor change in circumstances, such as a change of an employee organization's name or an employer’s name, and the executive director may amend the certification if the amendment does not add or remove positions from the existing bargaining unit or change the bargaining unit’s configuration and there is no question concerning representation.
Here, the parties’ petition merely seeks to amend the existing certification to reflect changes to the crisis services and intake/triage job class. The bargaining unit’s structure has not been altered, and no question concerning representation exists. The joint request for amendment is granted.
ORDER
1. The bargaining unit represented by Teamsters Local 760 and described in Grant County, Decision 10965 (PECB, 2011) is amended to read as follows:
All full-time and regular part-time crisis services and initial services specialist employees employed by Grant County RENEW, excluding supervisors, confidential employees and all other employees.
2. The amendment to the certification issued in this proceeding does not give rise to a new “certification bar” year under RCW 41.80.080 or WAC 391-25-030(3).
ISSUED at Olympia, Washington, this 3rd day of January, 2024.
PUBLIC EMPLOYMENT RELATIONS COMMISSION
Michael P. Sellars, Executive Director
This order will be the final order of the
agency unless a notice of appeal is filed
with the Commission under WAC 391-35-210.