Tulare County is crying foul over its largest union's handling of a recent labor dispute.
The county on Wednesday filed a complaint with the Public Employment Relations Board against Service Employees International Union, Local 521.
The county alleges that union members engaged in several unfair labor practices by failing to bargain in good faith, giving intentionally false and misleading notice of a strike and committing numerous violations of state law during a one-day strike on Oct. 8.
Those accusations come from Tulare County Counsel Kathleen Bales-Lange in a prepared release made public on Thursday.
Union officials denied the accusations.
In addition to asking that PERB issue multiple charges of unfair labor practices against SEIU, Bales-Lange said the county is requesting an order for the union to cease and desist from these activities, and is seeking attorney fees.
"Union negotiators have systematically tried to bypass the legal process and jeopardize the safety of workers and the public in order to try to bully county leaders," Bales-Lange said. "They have the right to strike in a lawful manner, but they must do so in a legal fashion. SEIU's conduct was irresponsible."
The union is accused, among other things, of failing to give proper notice of the one-day strike, misleading the Board of Supervisors the day before the strike by stating only non-essential county workers would take part in the work stoppage, and breaking state law in their handling of strike-day activities.
Specifically, union members are accused of blocking access to and departure from county facilities during the strike, using county equipment to travel between strike locations, and disrupting county officials in the execution of their duties - in a manner forbidden under state law.
That's not the case, according to Anthony Cardona, an SEIU Local 521 bargaining team member who works at the courthouse in Visalia.
"This was a peaceful protest," he said Thursday night. "It might have been the first in Tulare County for county employees, but I think it went pretty smoothly."
Cardona specifically addressed one of the issues raised by Bales-Lange in the county's filing - that emergency dispatch operators took part in the one-day strike in violation of legal strike guidelines covering those deemed essential employees.
"It's the county's responsibility to keep the essential workers working," Cardona said. "If essential workers were trying to walk out, the county can get a court order to prevent them from leaving. They didn't do that."
"Do they even really care if the 911 operators were on strike or not? They had plenty of time."
Cardona said union officials told all essential employees to remain on the job.
"They were told to stay at work," he said. "They chose not to. And the county knew about it."
The county's filing with the state, Cardona said, is retaliation for a similar filing by SEIU against the county alleging unfair labor practices.
Tulare County spokesman Eric Coyne said the county is relying on documented information as the foundation of its accusations contained in its state filing.
"They wanted to make sure they could back up everything that was claimed," he said. "County counsel of making some strong accusations."
The Public Employment Relations Board was created by the state legislature to prevent and remedy unfair labor practices and interpret and protect the rights and responsibilities of employers, employees and employee organizations.
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