LCEA seeks council support in contract talks

COEUR d’ALENE — The president of the Lake City Employees Association requested the support of the City Council on Tuesday in contract negotiations with city administration.

“We have made some headway in those negotiations,” said Nick Goodwin, also the city’s urban forester with the parks department. “We’re getting close to maybe the finish line, depending on how votes go.”

Several LCEA members attended the council’s meeting in the Library Community Room in a show of solidarity for each other and the council, Goodwin said.

The current collective bargaining agreement between the city and LCEA is for five years and runs from Oct. 1, 2018 to Sept. 30, 2023.

The talks that began earlier this year do not include police officers or firefighters as they are presented by their own unions.

Negotiations cover different classifications and levels, including building inspectors, planners, heavy equipment operators, utility supervisors, billing specialists and maintenance workers.

It addresses wages, benefits, different types of leave, tuition reimbursement and job descriptions.

“We’re going to need your support to get across that finish line and to get a contract ultimately passed,” Goodwin said.

Mayor Jim Hammond and the City Council did not initially respond, but later in the meeting Hammond said he wanted to address Goodwin's request and offered support of LCEA's membership.

“You people are important to us. We appreciate the work that you do. We’d be lost without you,” he said. “We agree. We hope we can get things worked out quickly and to your satisfaction as well as ours so when negotiations are done you feel as valued as we know you are. I’m sure the council all agrees.”