Dear Local 88 Family,
We bargained again with the County on May 19th and wrapped up a few housekeeping items and resolved some changes to our grievance process. At this point both our Union and the County have submitted all of their proposals and below is a breakdown of our initial positions on key economic issues. These are the initial proposals from each bargaining team. Since we are still early in the bargaining process, the County has not responded to many of our initial proposals and our Union hasn’t yet responded to some of the County’s initial proposals.
Financial Situation of the County
Multnomah County is in a better financial situation than perhaps at any point in recent memory. Historic department under-spending from the last fiscal year and ARPA funding has left over $46 million in One-Time-Only funding for Fiscal Year (FY) 2023. Simultaneously the Business Income Tax and the dissolution of several large Urban Renewal Areas means that there are expected general fund surpluses that will grow to nearly $40 million per year by FY 25’ and will continue to grow through FY 27’. Finally, the County will be saving close to $2 million dollars per year because of lower administrative costs when it switched from Moda to Cigna as the third party administrator of our PPO medical plan. Meanwhile workers are experiencing huge increases in prices everywhere, including rent and housing.
Breakdown of our Union and the County’s Initial Proposal | ||
Issue | Union | County |
Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) | Yr 1: 7.9% COLA 7/1/2022 | Yr 1: 5% COLA 7/1/2022 |
Minimum Wage | Increase to $20/hour – 7/1/2022 | |
Medical Insurance | Maintain current benefits and premium splits | Increase employees’ contribution to Full-time Kaiser from 5% to 6.75% |
Premium Pay/Differentials | – Double time pay for any mandatory OT. | |
Retirement | County contribution of 1% to deferred comp accounts to address reduction in PERS benefits. | |
Vacation Accrual | Increase all vacation accrual rates to the same rates managers and executive service employees receive. | County wants to be able to hire employees at any vacation accrual rate but current employees will be left behind |
Holidays | – Recognition of Indigenous Peoples’ Day as a paid holiday. | |
Rest and Meal Periods | – County wants to be able to schedule an employee for 1 hour meal period over the employee’s objection | |
The County’s initial proposal of a COLA that is far lower than inflation means that “real wages” would decrease! Further, their proposed increase to the employee’s contribution to the full-time(10/20) Kaiser Medical Plan of over $40/month for a family means that our take-home pay will be eroded. Our bargaining team will continue to fight for a strong contract that improves our wages and protects our benefits!
Click here for a complete list of our Union’s bargaining goals.
Natural Disasters and Essential Employees
We also made a robust response to the County’s proposed changes to our current contract language for natural disasters, inclement weather, and essential employees Our proposal delineated the difference of being an essential employee for inclement weather and employees that may not be essential for inclement weather but may nevertheless be asked to respond to disasters or community emergencies when other County operations are closed or operations are curtailed similar to what happened at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in the Spring of 2020. Our proposal included:
- A process for workers who have been identified as essential to request and receive a hardship exemption if the emergency or natural disaster prevents a worker from being able to do their regular assignment, they have dependent/family care responsibilities, or reporting to duty exposes the employee or their family to much greater risk than normal circumstances.
- 20% premium pay for work performed during a natural disaster/ community emergency when the County has closed or curtailed operations.
- Clear notice requirements to all employees to avoid misunderstandings in the future.
We bargain again with the County on June 2nd and June 30th! Show your support by wearing green, a union t-shirt or button on Thursday, June 30th.
In Solidarity,
The AFSCME Local 88 Bargaining Team:
Joslyn Baker, President
Matt Davis
Grant Swanson
Cynthia Arevalo
Robin Easton-Davis
Kristian Williams
Manuel Arellano
Darlena Hale
Percy Winters, Jr.
Niyia Batugo
Becky Lillie
Mecca Scott, Staff
Galen Cohen
Maya Noble
Brian Dunnaville, Staff
Eben Pullman, Lead Negotiator
