Dive Brief:

• Flathead County, MN landfill workers recently voted to strike, after filing an unfair labor practice complaint against the Flathead County Solid Waste District. The actions came as a result of a disputed change in work schedules.
• The union’s vote to strike is contingent upon the grievance’s outcome; if the complaint isn’t satisfactorily resolved, the workers will strike. Approximately 18 to 20 workers are represented by Local 400 of the International Union of Operating Engineers.
• The waste truck workers, green-box site supervisors, and landfill equipment operators are angry that Solid Waste District officials switched the schedules of most landfill workers from four 10-hour shifts weekly to five 8-hour shifts. The new schedule began in April, though the union had no opportunity to bargain about it, Local 400 business agent Craig Davis said.

Dive Insight:

"In fact, when the union requested that the employer negotiate the schedule change the employer told the union that it had no obligation to bargain the issue," the complaint states.

But Flathead Cty. Public Works director Dave Prunty said that under the collective bargaining agreement, the county has the right to change employees’ work schedules. The union’s bargaining agreement expires June 30.