Teamsters’ fight to represent school support staffs goes to high court

Tuesday, Sept. 20, 2005 | 9:54 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- A three-year battle by the Teamsters Union to represent the more than 9,000 school support staff members in Clark County goes before the Nevada Supreme Court on Wednesday.

The Education Support Employees Association has been the bargaining agent for the school support staffs for 30 years in negotiating salary and benefit packages with the Clark County School District, but Teamsters Local 14 convinced the state Employees Management Relations Board in September 2002 that it had enough signatures to require an election.

The board said there was "good faith doubt" whether the employees association should continue to represent the workers.

But the state board also required Local 14 to obtain the vote of a majority of the employees in the bargaining unit, rather than a majority of those who vote in the proposed election.

The employees association, a branch of the Nevada State Education Association, sued to invalidate the election. The Teamsters don't like the requirement they will have to get a voting majority of the bargaining unit.

The Southern Panel of the Nevada Supreme Court has set aside one hour for oral arguments Wednesday on the cross-appeals.

The employees association, in its pre-hearing brief, said there was no verification that the rival Teamsters Union has sufficient signatures to require an election. It said it could not substantiate the claim of 4,121 names that wanted to unseat the present bargaining agent.

It said it could not verify the names and if there were duplicates. That association says there is no lawful basis on which to conduct an election.

The Teamsters Union said there is no requirement to submit a verified membership list of those it signed up. In arguing to uphold the decision of District Judge David Wall, the union maintained that the names are confidential. The union's appeal claims that it must get a majority of vote of the membership in the bargaining unit to be successful in ousting the employees association.

The employees association says that if neither union receives a majority of the unit, then the incumbent remains as bargaining unit. It argues that the state board's ruling should be upheld.

The legal brief by the Teamsters says, "It is unreasonable to count non-voters as if they voted for the " for the incumbents. The ruling by the state board "conflicts with well established election principals."

The Nevada State AFL-CIO filed a "friend of the court" brief supporting the Teamsters, saying the outcome of the election should be based on the votes cast, and not on the majority of the workers who are in the bargaining unit.