Union sues over Wash prison job cuts
Thursday, October 14, 2010
SEATTLE (AP) -- The union representing 6,000 Washington Department of Corrections workers has sued to block the department's recent job cuts.
Teamsters Local 117 Secretary-Treasurer Tracey Thompson says it filed the lawsuit Wednesday in King County Superior Court because the state is changing the workers' wage, hour and working conditions without bargaining over the issues. The state recently cut 299 jobs in the department and closed the Larch Corrections Center in Yacolt.
Earlier this month, the local said its members overwhelmingly rejected a contract proposal from the state that froze wages and increased health care costs.
A Corrections Department spokeswoman could not immediately be reached for comment.
