Enid City Employees Form Union

ENID, Okla. (AP) -- Enid city employees become Oklahoma's first municipal workers to form a collective bargaining unit under a 2004 state law.<br/><br/>The union's standing officially was certified

Friday, July 14th 2006, 6:27 am

By: News On 6

ENID, Okla. (AP) -- Enid city employees become Oklahoma's first municipal workers to form a collective bargaining unit under a 2004 state law.

The union's standing officially was certified Thursday evening after membership cards submitted two years ago were counted by a state official.

The certification ends a long process that began when municipal workers tried to form a union under the law, which required cities with populations of more than 35,000 to recognize labor unions for non-uniformed city workers.

Employees submitted a petition to the board in November 2004 to certify a bargaining unit, but they were hindered by legal challenges that went all the way to the state Supreme Court.

The court initially sided with city officials from Enid and other communities trying to block the law's effect, but the Supreme Court reversed its decision in March.