Union Vote For County Workers Begins Tuesday

County workers will vote starting Tuesday on whether they want to be represented by Teamsters Local Union 79.

Under the watchful eyes of a Public Employees Relations Commission representative, voting will be conducted Tuesday and Wednesday at four polling sites.

The results should be known by Wednesday evening.

County employees had decided in earlier balloting that - should the union vote be "yes" - they prefer to be split into two separate bargaining units: professional and non-professional.

John Sholtes, business agent for Teamsters Local Union 79, said there are about 15 professional, white-collar positions and about 540 non-professionals who would be represented.

A union rally was held Saturday at the Elks Club in Brooksville.

Union representation among government employees is more vital than ever, now that the county has begun trimming its workforce, according to Sholtes.

In all, Hernando County in the past 12 months has either eliminated or shuffled around 55 full-time positions, representing 7 percent of its workforce, according to county human resources statistics.

That number includes board of county commissioner employees, not constitutional office workers.

County Commissioner John Druzbick said he is used to dealing with blue-collar workers and the teachers' union from his 12 years on the Hernando County School Board.

During that time, he remembers only one impasse.

Druzbick said he has no problem with government workers voting for a union.

"It won't affect taxpayers," he said. "Unfortunately, who it will affect immediately are the employees. They will have to start paying union dues."

And, when contract negotiations begin, talks would "start from base zero," he said.

It will require 50 percent plus one of the county's eligible employees to vote in favor of union representation.

Should they opt to unionize, the state would certify the election and the Teamsters would become the employees' bargaining agent.

Then, the union would begin contract negotiations with the county.