Bargaining Update #16

Glossary

COLA: Cost of Living Adjustment

TA: Tentative Agreement or Tentatively Agreed

PECBA: Public Employee Collective Bargaining Act

ERB: Employee Relations Board 

This week, our Union was the only one to present counters to management. Our counters can be found in our published proposals folder for everyone to read in more detail. Please don’t hesitate to reach out with questions about our Union’s proposals. Send us an email at bargaining@afscmelocal88.org!   

Proposals

Union Counter Proposals 

Article 5: Union Security, Representation, and Business

• • Management opened this Article with their initial proposal during March 6th’s session. They proposed restrictions on designated Union representatives and on the amount of Union Time Paid an employee is allowed.

• We rejected both of these in our Counter. 

• Our proposal expands the number of bargaining team members allowed and adds the ability to observe bargaining on paid time with supervisor approval. 
• Removing language that requires Union President communications to need County approval before being sent to employees via County email. 
• Improving access to employees for Designated Representatives (Union Leadership, Lead Stewards, Staff Representatives)
• Memorializing the Local 88 President to be on “full release time” and increasing the amount of time other Cabinet members have to perform their Union duties outside of their regular jobs. 

Article 20: Workload And Standards, Training, Performance Evaluation, And Organizational Excellence

• This was initially proposed in April 3rd’s session, Management Countered on April 17th rejecting our proposals around Non-Disciplinary Notices for Performance and Employee evaluations on their manager. 
  • Non-Disciplinary Notices are a Letter of Expectations (LOE) or a Performance Improvement Plan (PIP). 
• Revised language to allow bargaining unit employees to give anonymous, annual reviews on their supervisor or manager.  
• Slightly changing language we proposed that requires a supervisor or manager to give notice prior to a coaching session around performance issues and a summary of that coaching session 14 days after (we initially proposed 7 days).  

Did You Know? 

PECBA Timeline Update & Where Does The Union Member Come In? 

We covered PECBA, the Oregon law that sets rules on how we bargain contracts, in our March 3rd Bargaining Update under the “Did You Know?” section. We strongly recommend you review it, as we’re not going over it in detail here. As of this update, we have been in bargaining for 96 days out of the required 150 in the negotiation period. We’ll reach 150 days on July 26th 2025. We know this is after our current contract expires and the FY26 budget goes into effect on June 30th 2025. If we don’t reach an agreement before then, we will be updating you here with our next steps and how bargaining will look after.  

It’s important to clarify where the Bargaining Team’s power is and where our Union Member power is. As a bargaining team, our responsibility is to represent the needs of all 4,000 employees covered under our contract. The 12 of us do this by taking your feedback and priorities and write the Initial and Counter Proposals with those guiding us. The reason we say an Article or Addendum is “Tentatively Agreed,” is because the Bargaining Team doesn’t get to make the final decision on the contract. The new contract goes out to be voted on by Union Members. This vote is not just a formality, it’s the opportunity for Members to exercise their democratic right and vote if they believe it’s a fair contract. 

There is a difference between the voting rights for a bargaining unit employee and a Union Member. All represented employees are protected by our contract, but in order to vote yes or no on the contract, you must be a dues-paying Union Member. To sign up and become a member to exercise that right, head to our Join AFSCME Local 88 page on our website. You can also check your membership status there as well. 

Action Items & Events

Our Union still believes everyone deserves a living wage. The County’s most recent Counter Proposal maintains the COLA rates as they already are, which does not meet the need for a Living Wage for our employees. We need your voice to make future compensation counter proposals stronger! Tell the County How a Living Wage would Change Your Life. 

Please keep emailing the Bargaining Team at bargaining@afscmelocal88.org with your questions and concerns. Follow Local 88 on Instagram and Facebook and check out the AFSCME Local 88 website to stay up to date on all our Local’s news. 

We appreciate you reading our updates, observing our bargaining sessions, and repping your Union pride in Green, changing your work backgrounds and profile pictures. These actions make a difference! Stay strong and stay united!