Bill plays role in push by union

Friday, May 23, 2003 | 10:21 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- A battle between two unions that want to represent more than 8,000 secretaries, bus drivers, janitors and support staff in the Clark County School District has bounced from the courts to the Legislature.

And the Nevada State Education Association appears to have the upper hand over Teamsters Local 14 in Las Vegas because time is running out on a bill that the Teamsters are pushing, officials said.

"We're in an uphill battle," said Danny Thompson, executive director of the Nevada AFL-CIO, which is attempting to get a vote in the Assembly Government Affairs Committee on Assembly Bill 545.

The bill is a reaction to a January ruling by the Nevada Employee Management Relations Board that defined what a union must do to represent a public employees group. The board said that in an election, the union must get more than 50 percent of the votes.

Gary Mauger, secretary-treasurer of Teamsters Local 14, said the relations board "did a terrible wrong to the working people of Nevada."

The bill before the Legislature would require a union to get only a majority of the votes in order to represent the group in negotiations. A lawsuit is pending related to the Teamsters' desire for an election to replace the teachers organization.

Ken Lange, executive director of the state teachers association, said the Teamsters are trying to short-circuit the process by going to the Legislature.

"The bill needs more reflection than can be given in this session," he said. The session is scheduled to end June 2.

Teamsters officials have complained that Assemblyman Mark Manendo, D-Las Vegas, the chairman of the committee, is pigeonholing the bill.

"There are lots of problems with this piece of legislation," Manendo said Thursday. "We're at the end of the game and there are lots of priorities."

He said he did not know whether he would take a vote on the bill. He said he hoped both sides could work out a compromise. Manendo said the bill does not have to meet any deadline for passage by his committee.

Lange noted that the bill was introduced by Assembly Minority Leader Lynn Hettrick, R-Gardnerville. Every Republican Assembly member except Josh Griffin of Las Vegas joined in co-sponsoring the legislation.

Lange suggested the GOP was simply trying to draw labor support for future elections.

The Clark County Teachers Association, which is part of the state education association, represents the support staff in the School District.