By BRETT R. WHITLING
Clarion News Writer
Employees of the Clarion County Sheriff’s Department are considering joining a union again.
Notices posted in the courthouse state an unspecified number of deputies are seeking representation through the Butler County Community College Campus Police Department Independent Union.
For the petition to be have been posted, at least 30 percent or more of the employees needed to sign cards showing interest in joining a union.
Employees at Clarion County Children and Youth Services recently unionized with the UMWA and are in the process of negotiating a labor contract with the county.
Efforts to unionize additional county employees last summer didn’t gain much traction.
The sheriff’s deputies were formerly represented as a union by the Teamsters Union. However, for reasons never made public, those deputies voted to decertify their union membership about a year ago.
Even though several members of the Clarion County of the deputy sheriff staff work part- or full-time for other law enforcement agencies such as Clarion Borough Police Department, union president Michael Pearson said belonging to more than one union is not a problem as long as there is no conflict of interest or goals.
Pearson said each union serves a different purpose to benefit the worker.
Pearson said even though he was not aware of the deputies’ association and decertification from the Teamsters union, that history does not affect any future unionization.
Clarion County Commissioner Ted Tharan said “(The deputies) have every right to do that; but as long as they are in that process, I cannot talk on it.”