County Board to OK 1 union contract; 2 others in waiting
By KEVIN P. CRAVER - kcraver@nwherald.com
The McHenry County Board likely will approve a new contract with one of its unions, but a federal mediator has been called in to aid negotiations with two more.
The board’s Human Resources Committee on Monday recommended approving a four-year contract with the Illinois Fraternal Order of Police unit that represents 74 non-sworn employees of the sheriff’s office.
A federal mediator will meet at the end of the month with the county and Service Employees International Union Local 73, which represents coroner’s office staff members, county Human Resources Director Robert Ivetic said. The office is one of several groups of county employees that have unionized in the past year.
“The first contract is always the toughest,” Ivetic said.
A federal mediator met last week for the first time with the county and the unit of International Union of Operating Engineers Local 150 that represents county highway workers. Their contract expired last July.
Ivetic said that progress was being made with the Metropolitan Alliance of Police, which represents employees of the circuit clerk’s office. Bargaining sessions began in February with the new local, but have not required federal assistance.
The FOP contract approved in committee Monday, retroactive to Dec. 1, offers 3 percent raises through 2010, and a 3.25 percent raise in 2011. It goes before the board Finance and Audit Committee today, and then will move to the full County Board next Tuesday.
Employees of Animal Control filed a petition of majority interest with the Illinois Labor Relations Board, which has not certified it. State law allows public employees to organize if a majority sign authorization forms, commonly known as card check.
This year, the County Board approved a three-year contract with the Local 150 unit that represents the county’s building maintenance technicians.
