Collective Bargaining Will Go to Idaho Voters.

COEUR D'ALENE, Idaho--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 22, 1998--Coeur D'Alene voters will have the final word on whether police and city employees will retain their right to bargain collectively.

Representatives of the Coeur D'Alene Police Officers Association and the Lake City Employees Association yesterday (Sept. 21) turned in petitions calling for a ballot initiative to restore bargaining rights to city employees. Petitions contained more than 1,400 signatures, well over the 897 signatures needed to place the measure on the Feb. 2 ballot.

City officials last spring abolished the 16-year old ordinance that granted collective bargaining rights to employees. Officials said collective bargaining was "non-productive." The city council took the unprecedented action after negotiations with police officers reached an impasse and talks with the other union were set to start.

At stake are the bargaining rights of more than 50 police officers and 90 city workers in the departments of public works, planning, finance, and parks and recreation.

"We have had overwhelming support from the community," said Pat Thompson, Director of Legislation and Political Action for the employees association. "People recognize that city officials made a bad decision by taking away workers' right to bargain as a group."

The city has 10 days to validate the signatures. If the count falls short, the unions will have 30 additional days to gather more signatures.

"Voters will decide," Thompson said. "Judging from the response we've received gathering signatures, they will respond favorably toward restoring employee rights to bargain and protect themselves from abuses in the workplace."

The Idaho unions are affiliated with the Washington State Council of County and City Employees. With more than 13,000 members in the two states, the union is the fastest growing labor organization in the nation.