Recent negotiations with the Port of Seattle over contracts impacting our Officers and Sergeants bargaining units have resulted in our Union filing an Unfair Labor Practice (ULP) charge against the Port.  

This issue arose last year when the Port approached us with a proposal to furlough members of those units to offset a previously negotiated cost-of-living increase. 

Our Union rejected that proposal and engaged in a good-faith effort to reach an agreement on a solution that would both be acceptable to the membership and meet the Port's cost-saving targets. Throughout the process, we made it clear that we would not accept proposals that violated the terms of our collective bargaining agreements.

Unfortunately, the Port went ahead and unilaterally implemented a reduction to specialty assignments without fulfilling its obligation to bargain.

In response, our legal team filed ULP charges with PERC last week alleging that the Port interfered with our members' workplace rights, did not meet its statutorily-required obligation to bargain, and engaged in bad-faith bargaining tactics. 

As a remedy, we are requesting a return to the status quo as well as back pay, benefits and interest for all bargaining unit employees affected by the Port's reductions. You can read our ULP charges here.

PERC will determine soon whether to accept the charges for further case processing. If they do, a PERC examiner will be assigned to the case and a hearing will be scheduled.

We will keep you informed as more information about this case becomes available.