A brief reminder that our General Membership meeting has been moved to 7:00 to allow members to participate in the Rally at Chapman Square (starting at 4:30).
The July General Membership meeting will be pushed back to 7:00pm so that members can participate in the Labor Rally at Chapman Square downtown starting at 4:30 to support the bargaining efforts of our sisters and brothers with the City of Portland (and they can support us in our bargaining). More details to come.
So how much is the COLA going to be and when do I get it? The Cost of Living Adjustment is determined by the Consumer Price Index for Portland Area Urban Wage Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (also known as Portland-Salem CPI-W) by comparing the second half of the most recent year to the second half of the previous year. That number is 2.2%. It is effective (normally) on July 1 of each year. However, because our contract expires on June 30, 2017, and we are in bargaining with the County, the COLA will be applied retroactively to July 1, 2017 whenever the contract is formally ratified by the membership and the County Board of Commissioners. Three years ago, the final ratification did not occur until December 4, with the retroactive COLA being applied in the February paycheck. The COLA amount is technically subject to bargaining.
Interested in serving on an Oregon AFSCME committee or caucus with members from around the state? The application form is here. Council 75 President Jeff Klatke reviews the applications and makes committee appointments. Those appointments will then be ratified by a vote of the Executive Board at the July meeting.