Union responds to EWUA Board claims about staff communication

||| FROM CORY HARRINGTON |||

For months, EWUA members have repeatedly been told that the Board could not communicate directly with staff or move forward with an outside investigation because of the ongoing union negotiations.

Today, I received a letter from IBEW Local 77 dated May 20, 2026 directly addressing that claim.

According to the union representative:

• Union negotiations do NOT prevent the Board from conducting a neutral third-party investigation into workplace concerns.
• The Board is NOT prohibited from communicating with staff members regarding workplace or operational issues.
• Prior Board investigations and interviews with employees have already occurred in the past.
• The union itself supports an independent outside investigation into the concerns raised by employees.

This is important because the inability to communicate with staff has repeatedly been presented to members as a limitation tied to the union process. The union has now publicly clarified that this is not the case.

At this point, the question is no longer whether the Board can independently investigate workplace concerns and hear directly from employees. The question is whether they are willing to.

Transparency and accountability matter — especially when it concerns the operation and stability of our public water systems.

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