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Judge Grants Temporary Restraining Order to Stop Release of Employee Personal Information
August 27, 2007
We are very pleased to report that IFPTE Local 17, Teamsters Local 117 and Amalgamated Transit Union Local 587 were successful in securing a Temporary Restraining Order in the case of the County’s pending disclosure of records containing employee information to the Seattle Times!
This win is terrific, but it is not a final decision. It is just a win “for now.” The Court held that the documents cannot be disclosed today and that the County is restrained from giving the information to the Seattle Times until the matter can be fully heard and briefed on a motion for preliminary injunction.
The Court expressly disapproved of the manner in which the County handled this situation, by giving the employees and unions such short notice, especially since the County received the request from the Times over seven weeks ago. Judge Paris Kallas relied on this and the sense of urgency and recognized that once the information is release, there is no getting it back, and no damage is done to the County or Times by delaying release until the preliminary injunction matter can be heard and decided.
A date for the preliminary injunction hearing has not yet been set but will likely be held in the next 2 or 3 weeks. We will, of course, keep you posted on the results of that hearing.
This victory is sweet, but the overall issue continues to be an uphill battle that will most likely be fought in Olympia next year with a push for legislative change. Please help by contacting your State Representative and Senator and request HR 1942 be reintroduced.
Unions Work with King County IT on Proposed Re-Organization
March 06 - King County Executive Ron Sims recently announced a proposed change to the Information Technology (IT) infrastructure.
The change incorporates "all Executive Branch IT resources and services into an integrated organizational structure consolidated under the oversight and management of the Chief Information Officer (CIO)," according to a County factsheet.
The Coalition of Unions had previously submitted concerns to the Executive about potential impacts of a reorganization plan after learning about actions suggested in a consultant's report.
It appears that the Executive has taken the letter submitted by the unions into consideration in his proposed infrastructure changes. Some of the interests the unions’ provided were the following:
• Maintain current levels of employment
• Limit use of contract and temporary employees
• Maintain department security and business continuity
• Maintain a manageable workload for existing employees
The new structure defined in the Executive’s communication provides a point person in each department, known as an IT service delivery manager, who will report directly to the county’s chief information officer and to the department director.
The plan does not outline a disruption to the reporting structure for IT union. The Executive has acknowledged unions’ request to work with the coalition and the Joint Labor Management Information Technology Committee (JLMITC) to address employee issues of concern and to work in a collaboration to find solutions that address both the County and the unions’ interests.
The committee members are listed below, committee meetings are scheduled monthly or more frequently, as needed.
Management Representatives:
David Martinez – CIO, King County IT
Anita Whitfield – Division Director, Human Resources Division (HRD)
Nancy Buonanno-Grennan – Labor Relations Manager – HRD
Labor Representatives:
Whitney Hupf – Local 17 Union Representative
Behnaz Mansouri - Local 17 Union Representative
Janet Parks - Local 17 Union Representative
Peg Taglianetti – Local 17, ITS
Tim Hansen – Local 17, Finance
Matt Pope – Local 17, DOT/Roads
David Baker / Steve Coffing – Local 17 DOT/Transit
Denise Chanez – Teamster Local 117 Business Representative
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