A union of Benton County staff members is preparing to potentially go on strike Nov. 13.
AFSCME Local 2064 said it represents hundreds of workers at the county, spanning multiple departments.
Last week, participating union workers voted to authorize a strike. The move came after months of negotiations with the county on a new contract, which failed to produce an agreement.
David Malone, a member of the union’s bargaining team and a county land surveyor, said the administration’s latest offer doesn’t address several of the workers' concerns.
Malone said county staff are feeling the burden of higher insurance premiums and lacking holiday pay. Meanwhile, he said this agreement would leave some union workers with smaller salaries than their non-union counterparts.
“They're doing the same work, at the same level of responsibility," said Malone. "They should be paid the same."
Additionally, Malone said the union wants more measures to ensure that the county is addressing staff's safety concerns. For example, he said workers in the Health Department are currently lacking options to deal with a dangerous member of the public.
“The safety committee feels sometimes their concerns are just swept aside and ignored,” said Malone.
There’s still a chance a strike could be avoided, as the two parties have agreed to another negotiation session on Friday.
In an email to KLCC, Benton County spokesperson Anne Thwaits said the county is willing to coordinate further times to meet. However, Malone said he believes it's unlikely they'll reach an agreement in time.
"If they're saying they have no more room to move on, and we're saying you haven't met where we need you to be, I don't see a way to get past that other than a strike,” said Malone.
The county has said it's already started preparing departments for a possible strike, but it would expect reduced hours and services. Thwaits said the event would most strongly impact the Health Department and Community Health Clinics.
"Our priority is continuing to provide the vital services County residents rely on, especially our seniors and families," she said.
The strike would closely follow the General Election on Nov. 5, and final results aren’t scheduled to be released until Nov. 27. But in a statement emailed to KLCC, Benton County Records and Elections Director James Morales said management would meet all election deadlines.
