Spokane County Fire District 8, Decision 13860 (PECB, 2024)
STATE OF WASHINGTON
BEFORE THE PUBLIC EMPLOYMENT RELATIONS COMMISSION
In the matter of the petition of: Spokane county Fire Disrtict 8 For clarification of an existing bargaining unit represented by: teamsters LOCAL 690 |
CASE 138841-C-24 DECISION 13860 - PECB ORDER CLARIFYING BARGAinING UNIT |
Taj Wilkerson, Business Agent, for Teamsters Local 690.
Peter A. Altman, Attorney at Law, Summit Law Group PLLC, for the Spokane County Fire District 8.
On April 4, 2024, Spokane County Fire District 8 (employer) filed a petition to clarify a bargaining unit of part-time firefighters represented by Teamsters Local 690 (union). The union’s bargaining unit is currently described as “All part-time firefighters employed by Spokane County Fire District 8, excluding full-time uniformed firefighters, confidential employees, supervisors, and all other employees.” Spokane Fire District 8, Decision 12061-A (PECB, 2014). At the time the bargaining unit was certified, there were approximately 26 employees in the unit.
The employer asserts that the part-time firefighters bargaining unit is no longer appropriate under RCW 41.56.060 and WAC 391‑35‑330 because the employer ceased using the part-time firefighter designation and there are no longer any part-time firefighters employed by the district. The employer also has no plans to employ or utilize part-time firefighters in the future. The union does not oppose the employer’s petition.
ANALYSIS
This agency has the authority to define new bargaining units of employees and to modify existing bargaining units to ensure their continued appropriateness. RCW 41.56.060. A one-person unit is inappropriate for collective bargaining. Port of Bellingham, Decision 1570-A (PECB, 1983). The agency codified this standard in 2001 when it adopted WAC 391-35-330. That rule states that “[a] bargaining unit cannot be considered appropriate if it includes only one employee.”
The parties agree that there are no part-time firefighters remaining in the employer’s workforce. Additionally, the employer has no intention of utilizing the part-time firefighter designation or hiring any part-time firefighters in the near future. Because no positions remain in the bargaining unit, that unit is inappropriate under RCW 41.56.060 and WAC 391-35-330. The part-time firefighters bargaining unit is officially dissolved to avoid any lingering confusion about the status of that bargaining unit.
ORDER
The certification issued by the Public Employment Relations Commission in Spokane Fire District 8, Decision 12061-A (PECB, 2014), is revoked.
ISSUED at Olympia, Washington, this 30th day of May, 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.