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Attorneys representing line prosecutors in the Washington County District Attorney’s Office filed a petition Dec. 30 to certify a new bargaining unit with the Oregon Employment Relations Board. That is a significant initial step toward forming a union.
The paperwork states that more than half of the office’s approximately 40 prosecutors wish to be represented, which is the threshold. The new filing comes in the same week that The Oregonian reported on allegations of misconduct by the office’s former longtime top deputy, Bracken McKey.
If prosecutors are successful in forming a union, they will join their peers in Lane, Marion and Multnomah counties as union shops. Clackamas County prosecutors are not represented by a union. Chris Wyrostek, an attorney representing the Washington County prosecutors, declined to comment on their behalf.
Like any other boss, Washington County District Attorney Kevin Barton is required by law to remain neutral on the formation of a union, but Barton notes his team is experiencing difficult times.
“Washington County is facing the prospect of significant budget cuts and resource reductions, even though our prosecutors have some of the highest caseloads in the state and work long hours serving the community,” Barton says. “A union provides prosecutors with collective bargaining rights to help ensure adequate support, compensation, and public safety resources.”