Police supervisors union suing North Las Vegas in labor dispute

The North Las Vegas police supervisors union is suing the city in its ongoing dispute over its labor contract.

In the lawsuit filed Wednesday in District Court, the North Las Vegas Police Supervisors Association alleged the city breached its contract and has engaged in unfair labor practices. The union asked for a restraining order to stop pending cuts to pay and benefits for the police department’s 60 sergeants and lieutenants.

The dispute centers on whether the newly created supervisors union members fall under the labor contract they had when they were under the larger North Las Vegas Police Officers Association. The supervisors split from the larger union last fall and were recognized as their own bargaining unit by the city in November.

At the time, city management said it intended to keep the supervisors under the terms of their previous contract until a new collective bargaining agreement could be reached. But in a June 8 letter, Acting City Manager Mary Ann Ustick said that a new contract had not been reached and that the new union did not fall under the old contract.

“The city’s position has been, and continues to be, that there is no contract currently in force,” she wrote to union President Leonard Cardinale.

On Tuesday, Ustick sent Cardinale another letter outlining cuts to cost-of-living raises, bilingual pay and other benefits. The cuts are supposed to take effect Sunday.

The union’s lawsuit contends that its members are covered under the previous contract and that the city cannot legally make its planned pay and benefits cuts.

City spokeswoman Juliet Casey said the city had not yet been legally served with the lawsuit and had no comment.

The supervisors union and city also have a pending case before Nevada’s Employee-Management Relations Board.

Contact reporter Brian Haynes at bhaynes@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0281.