Evergreen union seeks earthquake pay

ALMA D. SHARPE, THE OLYMPIAN

The Evergreen State College's classified employees union is asking university officials to compensate members for not working the day after the earthquake rattled the region and forced the closure of many government buildings, including the campus.

Tim Welch, spokesman for Local 443 of the Washington Federation of State Employees, said the union is arguing for the "spirit" of Gov. Gary Locke's assertion after the quake that state employees would be paid for their time off -- even if the union contract dictates otherwise.

While most state employees are compensated when called off work due to a natural disaster, classified employees -- secretaries, custodians and library workers, among others -- are not compensated if given advance notice of closures.

All state workers, including classified employees, will be paid their regular hours for Feb 28. But classified employees were told the same day that work would be suspended the following day, and therefore can't claim wages for hours lost, said Ann Daley, the college's vice president for finance and administration.

The rules allow classified employees to make up for lost time by coming in early or staying late during the 90 days following the quake, she said. Others can use vacation time or comp time to fill in the gap.

"We're following the same policy we've used for years," she said. "In reality, people who work for me were affected, and they're making up the time by coming in an hour early for eight days."

The governor was supportive of the different rules, university officials said in a statement. Locke may have misspoken, but he had the right idea, union leaders said.

"We're getting calls from our members, people are concerned about this," Welch said. "We're hopeful that the university will do the right thing."

Alma D. Sharpe covers education for The Olympian. She can be reached at 754-4226.

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