City Light managers, advisers want to unionize

Seattle City Light managers and strategic advisers whose jobs were targeted for cuts this year by Mayor Mike McGinn have notified the city they want to unionize.

McGinn in late January started to back off on his call to demote or eliminate 200 unrepresented employees across city government. He says he still intends to trim back, but as part of midyear budget cuts later this spring.

About 145 Seattle City Light employees filed last month with the state Public Employees Relations Commission, or PERC, to organize under the Washington Council of City and County Employees.

The proposed new bargaining unit would include Seattle City Light supervisors, managers, strategic advisers and labor-relations coordinators. They make up the last big group of unrepresented employees at Seattle City Light.

They could vote to join the union within three weeks, said Bill Keenan, the director of organizing for the Washington County of City and County Employees, Council 2, which is affiliated with the national union AFSCME.

The new represented group could pose complications if McGinn still plans to cut jobs, since he would have to reach an agreement with the union about how to do any layoffs or furloughs.

McGinn's spokesman, Mark Matassa, said the mayor's office has no comment.

"The biggest difference between being represented and non-represented is that layoffs or furloughs are mandatory subjects of bargaining under state law," Keenan said.

Employees affected by McGinn's call for the job cuts on his first day in office in January have met several times with the Seattle Civil Service Commission. The commission is designed to protect employees during political transitions.

It's not clear what help the commission could provide, and the union could provide better representation, said an employee in the group who did not want to be named, out of concern about possible repercussions. Employees felt "personally targeted and maligned" by McGinn's call for job cuts, the employee said.

McGinn said during his campaign that he would cut strategic advisers, a job classification he said was made up of "political appointees." Strategic advisers include engineers, computer technicians, power marketers and others with special skills.

Several employees expressed concern at a Civil Service Commission meeting last month that they were being unfairly targeted.

Emily Heffter: 206-464-8246.