Flagler Beach city employees voted on Tuesday on a proposal to join a union. Thirty of 39 eligible employees cast ballots. The unionization bid failed by two votes as 14 voted for and 16 against.
It was the second time in five years that Flagler Beach employees tried unionizing. They succeeded in February 2005, when the city had the same number of eligible employees and 18 or 24 employees voted to form a collective bargaining unit under the Coastal Florida Public Employees Association. But the union was decertified shortly after.
As in 2005, the vote was not received enthusiastically on the commission. Had it succeeded, City Commissioner Ron Vath said, the money wouldn’t have been there to accommodate any raises, and benefits and wage structures would have had to restart from scratch.
Unionization efforts have been few in Flagler. Flagler County’s firefighters unionized in 2005. In Flagler Beach, police officers are the city’s only unionized workforce .
Strling says
Ron Vath would only wish he could be so powerful. The UNION Vote was voted down because the city scared the employees with just that info. Well it voted down and for the 3rd year in a row the employees have not recieved a raise although the commission got theres. The cost of working for the city also went up but the employees didn’t get their raise. So what other threat can you do Ron. You are out in this coming election, we can’t afford your threatening ways. Have a nice retirement.