Letter: Reilly reiterates view on collective bargaining

Thursday, Feb. 26, 2004 | 9:25 a.m.

In response to your Feb. 24 editorial regarding employee salaries and collective bargaining, I feel compelled to set the record straight on my opinion as it relates to these important issues.

Your editorial characterizes top management at Clark County as wishing to withdraw collective bargaining for employees at the county. This is not my position, nor is it the county's position. I am personally in support of collective bargaining and this is made clear in your Feb. 20 article, which states, "Reilly, the county manager, said his discussing this issue of wages and benefits is not an effort to take away collective bargaining. He said that unions and management both have to come together to address the issues of wage increases that are going up faster than those for the rest of the population."

Clark County has some of the best employees of any local government in the country and, frankly, without their great work and increased productivity over the past several years, we would not have been able to offset some of these staffing shortages. However, the county's ability to add staff to keep up with growth in the community has been compromised over the past several years, in part, by the escalation of employee salaries and, if not addressed, this seriously will impact our ability to provide services in the years to come.

However, under no circumstance should our concerns at the county be viewed as an endorsement of withdrawing collective bargaining in local government.

THOM REILLY

Editor's note: Thom Reilly is the Clark County manager.