HARTFORD — More than a dozen of the town’s clerical workers are seeking a vote on whether to join a union.

The American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Council 93 has submitted a petition to the state Labor Relations Board to represent the employees, who include administrative assistants, finance specialists and other office workers, Town Manager John Haverstock announced at the Oct. 15 Selectboard meeting.

Hartford’s 13 clerical workers “are seeking to unionize in order to be an equal partner in the decisions that impact their work,” AFSCME Council 93 Staff Representative Kristin Warner said by phone Tuesday. They are interested in negotiating over “wages, hours and working conditions.”

The employees preferred not to speak publicly until after the vote, Warner said. The National Labor Relations Board hasn’t yet set a date for the vote.

Nationally, about 32% of public employees belong to unions, a rate roughly five times higher than in the private sector, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

In Hartford, the town’s firefighters, police force and public works employees already are each represented by unions.

“It is very common practice in Vermont for municipalities small and large to be unionized,” Warner said.

Clerical workers in Lebanon and Claremont are represented by AFSCME, according to collective bargaining agreements available through the New Hampshire Public Employees Labor Relations Board. Most recently, municipal clerical workers in Charlotte, Vt. voted last month to be represented by AFSCME Council 93. Haverstock said that the town would recognize and work with the proposed new bargaining unit.

“We would certainly respect such a decision and would act in good faith throughout any interactions with such a union,” Haverstock said by email.

If Hartford’s clerical workers succeed in their vote, Warner would serve as their lead negotiator.

“Once the workers win their union, they will start discussing their priorities, and those will be distilled into a platform,” Warner said. The workers would then bring their proposal to the town and both sides would bargain until an agreement is reached.

Selectboard member Brandon Smith spoke in favor of the effort at last week’s Selectboard meeting.

“I’d like to congratulate the town staff that filed for a union election,” he said. “It must speak to teamwork and solidarity among that team, and I consider us lucky to have them in place and I look forward to good negotiations.”

Last spring and summer were busy seasons for union efforts in the Upper Valley.

Last March, Dartmouth’s men’s basketball players voted to unionize, but remain without a contract in the face of opposition by the college’s administration. In February, the Boston office of the NLRB ruled the players were indeed employees of the college, entitling them to union representation. Dartmouth has appealed the decision, arguing the 15 players are student-athletes.

In late June, Dartmouth College’s graduate student union, GOLD-UE, successfully negotiated its first contract with the administration, earning its members expanded health care access, increased compensation and other benefits.

An alliance of nurses at Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center in June ended its four-month unionization campaign. The effort faced uneven support among departments and opposition from anti-union consultants hired by the medical center to dampen enthusiasm for union membership.

Christina Dolan can be reached at cdolan@vnews. com or 603-727-3208.