Union Committee To Gather Saturday

BROOKSVILLE - This Saturday, county employees have a chance to meet their union organizing committee and talk to Teamsters representatives at a 3 p.m. gathering at the Hernando County Fairgrounds, 6436 Broad St.

The meeting is limited to Hernando County bargaining unit employees, and any upper management officials seen at the event will be reported to the Public Employees Relations Commission, according to a Teamsters flyer.

John Sholtes, business agent for Teamster Local Union 79, fired off a letter to County Administrator David Hamilton asking him to respect the rights of 12 employees who are actively engaging in union-organizing activity.

Hamilton, in a June 19 response letter, said Hernando County is "fully committed to the principle that its employees should be allowed to freely decide whether or not they wish to join a labor union."

The county, Hamilton wrote, will not attempt to restrain the organizing committee from communicating its message to employees.

"In return, the county expects the committee to refrain from conducting organizing activities on county property or during any employee's hours of work," Hamilton added.

Sholtes said Friday he is pleased to have a commitment in writing from Hamilton that he won't try to restrain the organizing committee.

However, Sholtes takes issue with Hamilton's request that the committee refrain from conducting organizing activities on county property or during company time.

"This contradicts (a Florida statute) which clearly states that employees are allowed to engage in the distribution of union literature on the employer's property in non-work areas," Sholtes said.

Such areas would include break rooms, lunch rooms and parking lots, as long as the employee is on non-work time, he said.

The employees on the union organizing committee are Ron Aliff, Kathy Connell, Mike Rollins, Donald Finn, Penny Oliver, Richard Longboat, John Burnett, Debbie Johnston, Henry Browning, Dan Oliver, Rachelle Jones and Jerome Golden.

It would require 50 percent plus one of the county's approximately 800 eligible employees to vote in favor of representation.

This is the third time county employees have tried to organize and form a union. They voted down earlier alliances with the Teamsters and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME).