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Nevada State Workers Moving Closer To Collective Bargaining After Gaining Right Last Year

Ken Edmonds reads a statement.
Daniel Clark
/
The Nevada Independent
Ken Edmonds, a developmental support tech at Desert Regional Center, reads a statement before filing for recognition as AFSCME with the Government Employee Management Relations Board in Las Vegas on Sept. 20, 2019.

Lee en español.

Nearly half of the state employee groups granted collective bargaining rights under legislation passed last year are taking steps to certify their employee unions and begin bargaining with the state over working conditions.

The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Local 4041 said in a news release on Jan. 14 that the union has been certified to represent three units of state workers, including professional health care workers, non-professional health care workers such as dental assistants and pharmacy technicians, and category III peace officers such as correctional officers and forensic specialists.

Those three employee groups are part of 11 different units of state employees, classified by type of employment, identified in legislation passed in 2019 that allows state workers to select bargaining representatives and negotiate with the state over salary and certain specified benefits. So far, five of these units have selected unions for exclusive representation.

“We are one step closer to taking our seat at the bargaining table to negotiate wages, working conditions and safety on the job, and resources so we can continue to provide our communities with the best services possible,” Harry Schiffman, the president of Local 4041 and an electrician at UNLV, said in a statement.

AFSCME Local 4041 is one of several unions that represents state employees in Nevada, which have been organizing workers for more than 50 years but only gained the legally approved, official right to collective bargaining in 2019 under SB135, a bill signed by Gov. Steve Sisolak.

Visit The Nevada Independent for the complete story.

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