The Federation of Public Employees (FPE) has dropped its lawsuit against Yellowstone County in exchange for an agreement of Yellowstone County commissioners to enter into contract negotiations.
Unintentionally, the FPE missed the deadline to notify the county that they wanted to open the contract, explained Deputy County Attorney Kevin Gillen. When the county failed to get a notice, the assumption was that the union didn’t want to enter negotiations and the terms of the contract would remain in effect for another year.
So in a sense, negotiations have been entered into by the two entities, as the union sought to get the county to agree to open the contract despite the missed deadline. To drop the lawsuit was the stipulation made by the county.
The Federation of Public Employees, which represents Yellowstone County employees, actually filed two law suits against Yellowstone County in March, claiming unfair labor practices. CLICK HERE TO READ MORE
