It appears nobody has filed an exception to stop the dissolution
of McKean County’s newest labor union.
On Tuesday, County Administrator Richard Casey said nobody has
notified the county about filing an exception to the Nisi Order of
Decertification, which would officially dissolve the Court-Related
Unit.
Those seeking to stop the decertification had until Tuesday to
do so with the Pennsylvania Labor Relations Board.
County officials are now waiting on notification from the agency
that the dissolution has been officially completed.
Under the Nisi Order, the labor unit would cease to exist and
the 13 members who comprised it would no longer be under the
auspices of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal
Employees (AFSCME).
Earlier, Casey said the process is somewhat new to the county,
which is waiting on what the next step will be in the process.
The county and union have been trying to settle on a contract
for several months, but never arrived at a final agreement. Last
month, a meeting between both parties was postponed after union
members sent a request to the Labor Relations Board requesting the
union be decertified.
Casey said previously the petition to decertify the union was
filed by members of the unit on Oct. 10. In turn, AFSCME elected
not to contest the petition on Nov. 15, leading to the Labor
Relations Board issuing the decertification order on Nov. 28.
The affected employees are comprised of court-related staff in
the sheriff, district attorney, prothonotary, register of wills,
public defender and coroner’s offices. There has been no indication
that members will look to form another union in the future.
In August, Casey said both sides in the talks, which had been
ongoing for nearly a year, had laid their positions out on the
table and appeared to moving closer to a resolution and new
contract. That was not to be, however.
The union was formed in August 2005 after the sheriff’s deputies
“broke away” from the prison.
The county already has a handful of unions in place, including
some represented by the Pennsylvania Social Services Union.
