Clerks and clericals employed in the Cook County Circuit Court system on Thursday voted to be represented by a union for the first time.
By a vote of 770 to 622, workers in the court clerk`s office opted for representation by the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees rather than remain nonunion.
The result affects a total of 1,775 employees, the largest single group of nonunion employees in the county government. The group also is the largest in the state to vote to join a union since a law giving public workers the right to bargain collectively took effect on July 1, 1984.
A two-day runoff election was prompted when none of the three unions, nor an alternative to remain nonunion, won a majority three weeks ago.
Paul Booth, AFSCME`s area director, said the victory was a ”big step toward organizing the remaining” nonunion county workers
He alleged that the county government ”is shot full of backward employment practices and we`ve proven that quickest route to change is union representation.”
AFSCME`s campaign centered on claims that the workers` wages are inferior to those in other major city court systems and that a wide disparity often exists between an employee`s duties and pay grades, which range from $849 a month to $1,635 a month.
The union maintained that patronage was largely to blame for the disparities. The county did not deny some disparities. It admitted that a
”few vestiges” of patronage might acount for some pay differences, but said the disparities were fewer than the union claimed.
