Deputy Oregon DAs ask to form union

BEND, Ore. (AP) — Deputy district attorneys in Deschutes County have filed a petition to unionize with the Oregon Employment Relations Board.

The prosecutors have declined to discuss what prompted the move that would create a bargaining unit that could include all 18 deputy district attorneys and one investigator.

More than half of them would need to sign off on the unionization plan for it to move forward.

The union discussions come at a time when the Deschutes County district attorney’s office is gearing up for a major transition.

District Attorney Mike Dugan, who has been the county’s top prosecutor since 1987, was unseated in last fall’s election by Bend attorney Patrick Flaherty, who once served as his chief deputy.

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Information from: The Bulletin, http://www.bendbulletin.com