Oregon Public Broadcasting

A group of Deputy District Attorneys in Deschutes County has voted to form a union.  The move comes just months before a new DA will take over the office. 

As David Nogueras reports, the lawyer representing the group says the union’s primary objective will be job preservation.

Labor attorney Becky Gallagher says the new union will push for employee protections such as a “just cause” provision.  Deputy DA’s currently serve at the pleasure of the District Attorney.

Incoming DA Patrick Flaherty hasn’t said anything publicly about personnel issues.  But last month, a letter surfaced that he wrote to the current Chief Deputy DA. 

In it, Flaherty told the Chief Deputy to start looking for a job.

Flaherty says he respects the prosecutors’ legal right to form a union, but he says he has the legal right to hire deputies that share his objectives.

Patrick Flaherty: “It is not workable to require any elected public official to work with employees who may disagree with those objectives.  It has great potential to frustrate the will of the electorate.”

Flaherty takes office in January.  It will likely be the current DA, Mike Dugan who negotiates with the new union.