EPIC And Its Union: Still Negotiating

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Story Published: Jun 2, 2009 at 5:48 PM PDT

By Melissa Wagner

YAKIMA - Union negotiations hit a roadblock at EPIC. The center serves children in need. But will new employees know what they're walking in to?

" If you're not respected at work it's gonna trickle down to the fact that, even though we give all we can to the kids and to the families, we still feel left out by our employers," said Angie Solis, EPIC Team Teacher.

The workers at EPIC unionized less than a year ago. They've been negotiating new contracts since February. And union members already filed with the National Labor Board." The allegations are surface bargaining or lack of bargaining," said Rocky Jackson, EPIC Attorney. EPIC filed a similar charge against the union. While they agree on some stuff, they don't agree on other issues. Like plans to drop an end-of-the-year bonus. EPIC wants to pull it. Union members say it'll be harder to get workers to stay. Solis said, "It's hard to keep staff within that time because it's not a year round job."

But take a look at this. A job application with that program at EPIC still offers the bonus. So Action News wanted to know what happens if a person is hired right now believing they will get that bonus, and then it's stripped during the negotiation process? When I asked if they're being upfront on this issue with new hires, EPIC's attorney couldn't tell me. Jackson said, " You can come in believing you're going to get a 10% pay raise, but if the collective bargaining process doesn't result in an agreement with a 10% pay raise, it doesn't happen."

So the risk is in your hands, if you take a job when a clear contract is not on the table. EPIC will meet with the union again next week.

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