Wednesday, June 8, 2011
Page 3
ADDA Says It Will Push for ‘Agency Shop’ Election
By a MetNews Staff Writer
The Association of Deputy District Attorneys, the certified bargaining representative of Los Angeles county’s prosecutors, is seeking member support for the an “agency shop” election.
An email to members from ADDA President Hyatt Seligman yesterday said the union’s goal is to hold a vote before the end of summer.
Seligman did not return a message requesting comment.
If approved, the agency shop would require all deputy district attorneys who are not already members to join the union and pay dues, or pay a fee for opting out.
Seligman, in his email, insisted every deputy district attorney “should support Agency Shop” because it “strengthens our union’s collective bargaining while making your Board more representative of the whole.”
An agency shop also “spreads the burden of dues to all deputies in the bargaining unit,” and “ends the inequity of some getting something for nothing,” Seligman claimed.
Last month, the ADDA also began soliciting members to vote for affiliation with the Association of Federal, State, County and Municipal Employees in preparation for the agency shop vote.
According to a flyer on the ADDA website, a majority of the union’s board feels “affiliation will help us to guarantee a subsequent agency shop victory” since “AFSCME District Council 36 has expertise in running dozens of agency shop elections for its 49 Local affiliates in Southern California—and has never lost an agency shop election yet.”
A spokesperson for the District Attorney’s Office declined to comment, saying “it would be improper to comment on matters concerning this topic.”
Copyright 2011, Metropolitan News Company