The Montgomery County Council voted down proposed changes to unions’ collective bargaining process Tuesday.
The two bills before the council would have opened up the collective bargaining process to public opinion in a way that union representatives have argued would take away the unions’ negotiating ability. As proposed, one bill would have created a public impasse arbitration hearing presided over by a panel of arbiters, and the other would have required both the union and the county executive’s office to reveal their initial positions on major economic issues.
Going with the recommendation of the council’s Government Operations and Fiscal Policy Committee, the council voted 7-1 to reject both bill proposals. Councilman Phil Andrews, D-Gaithersburg/Rockville, voted in favor of both bills, and Councilman George Leventhal, D-at large, was absent.
Councilman Hans Riemer, D-at large, suggested that the collective bargaining process might be made more efficient if the county’s budget goals were clarified at the start of the process.
“I’m reluctant to make sweeping changes in bargaining,” Riemer said. “I don’t think it’s the problem.”
