LAS VEGAS – Thousands of additional Nevada state employees filed for an AFSCME union election with the Nevada Employee Management Relations Board earlier this month.
Workers in this bargaining unit, Unit C – Technical, are asking to hold an election to recognize AFSCME as their exclusive representative, allowing them to join contract negotiations this fall.
Unit C employees include Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) services technicians, family support specialists at the Department of Welfare and Support Services (DWSS), engineering techs at the Department of Transportation (DOT), library techs at all Nevada System of Higher Education institutions, and others.
“An election is the quickest way to certify our bargaining unit. We’ve gone four years without a union contract, and it’s time we take our seat at the table with our fellow state employees,” said Jackie Bertot, a DMV services tech and an AFSCME member.
AFSCME Local 4041 is the largest union for Nevada state employees, representing thousands of state workers across all agencies. It’s the exclusive bargaining representative for three bargaining units of workers. Unit C is one of the new bargaining units Local 4041 is organizing.
With a union election, employees in Unit C will choose between AFSCME and no union, as no other union reached the 30% threshold for appearing on the ballot. Voting yes for AFSCME does not commit an employee to becoming a union member.
“Since winning collective bargaining rights in 2019, having a union contract has improved working conditions for all state employees. But without having that seat at the bargaining table, employees in our bargaining unit lack the resources to make specific changes to our working conditions that would improve the services we provide,” said Cedric Williams, a family support specialist and AFSCME member.
Many state employees in the technical unit provide direct services to Nevadans throughout the state at DMV branches, state welfare offices and college and university libraries.
“Workers in this unit are spread across Nevada but being AFSCME gives us unity because we all face similar issues at work regarding safety and resources. Together, we can better advocate for ourselves and for the services we provide,” said Bertot.
Once the Employee Management Board sets an election date, ballots will be mailed to state employees in Unit C.
Nevada state employees have been organizing as Local 4041 for decades. In 2019, Local 4041 members won the right for 20,000 state employees to bargain collectively over wages, working conditions and resources to improve state services. State workers must now file with the state for exclusive representation, based on bargaining units determined by job classifications.
AFSCME represents 1.4 million public services workers across the country.