Unionized officers in the police department of Liberty Lake, Wash.—a small city east of Spokane and the last stop on Interstate 90 before crossing the border into Idaho—have successfully voted to replace Teamsters Local 690 with an independent union they created.
The Washington State Public Employment Relations Commission (PERC) certified the Liberty Lake Police Guild as the exclusive bargaining representative of the nearly 20-officer department on Jan. 26.
The certification was the culmination of a multi-year effort led by officer Mark Holthaus, with Freedom Foundation assistance, to change unions.
Holthaus previously worked for the Lakewood Police Department, which is represented by a guild unaffiliated with any major unions and comprised solely of the officers in that department.
The independent union model has many advantages over representation by an international union, not least of which is lower costs, since there are no higher-level affiliates demanding a cut of the dues members pay.
Additionally, independent unions don’t have the political or ideological baggage that comes with representation by an international union. Instead, they have the freedom to set their own agenda and, because they’re closer to their members, can provide better service, communication and specialization.
While Holthaus was initially “open minded” about Teamsters’ representation when he moved to Liberty Lake, that changed when the officer serving as the union steward resigned to work full-time for Teamsters 690.
On his way out the door, the former steward filed an unfounded grievance against the city for failing to provide him with retirement benefits he hadn’t earned. While the city eventually prevailed, the expensive and cumbersome grievance disrupted the officers’ working relationship with the city, prompting the officers to ask Teamsters 690 to assign them a different union business agent.
When the union refused, every single officer in the department resigned their membership in protest and Holthaus started working to set up an independent guild as an alternative.
Holthaus initially petitioned PERC for an election to replace the Teamsters in January 2020. Unfortunately, the petition was dismissed because Washington law arbitrarily limits public employees’ ability to file petitions to change or decertify an unwanted union to a 30-day window near the expiration of the union contract, which can be up to six years long. In this case, Teamsters 690’s collective bargaining agreement with the city did not expire until the end of 2022, forcing the officers to accept representation by a union none of them wanted for another three years.
When the 30-day filing window opened in October 2022, Holthaus and the officers tried again. This time, with Freedom Foundation assistance, the petition was accepted and PERC conducted an election. The vote in favor of switching to the Liberty Lake Police Guild was unanimous.
Following its certification, the new guild quickly negotiated a successor agreement with the city, a process completed with less acrimony absent the Teamsters’ involvement, according to Holthaus.
Although the process of changing or decertifying unions in states like Washington is unnecessarily difficult, it’s far from impossible, especially with the right help.
“It’s definitely a doable, achievable process,” Holthaus explained, advising employees interested in changing unions or decertifying to “do your research” and “reach out to the Freedom Foundation.”
“The Freedom Foundation was there for us to help guide us or answer questions or even file court proceedings on our behalf,” he said. “We are thankful for their support through this process.”
