SUPERIOR, Mont. β Mineral County's sheriff's deputies, detention officers and 911 dispatchers are on strike after working for nearly 11 months without a contract.
Teamsters Local 2 business representative Shawn Fontaine says the union notified the Mineral County Commissioners on Friday that its 16 members intended to strike, beginning Monday morning.
Sheriff Tom Bauer, Undersheriff Mike Boone and clerk Roni Phillips are staffing the jail, dispatch center and handling public safety and coroner duties.
Fontaine said the union had been trying to get a long-term contract for years, but has had to settle for one-year contracts. The last one expired on July 1, 2015.
Union members are picketing and handing out leaflets that say the sheriff's department has seen a decline in funding for the past 10 years.
Commissioners Duane Simons and Laurie Johnston declined to comment Monday.
