Bargaining Update #39

DCJ: Department of Community Justice

KSA: Knowledge, skills, and abilities (related to premium pay)

PTU: Passenger Transportation Unit

TA: Tentative Agreement

JwJ: Jobs with Justice

JVP: Jessica Vega Pederson (Multnomah County Commissioner Chair)

GM: General Membership

AWF: America’s Workforce (labor podcast)

On November 6th our Union presented five articles and five addendums to the County. We did not receive any counter-proposals from the County. Sign-up to observe our next bargaining session on November 13th via this link. 

Union Proposals

Addendum E: Auto Reimbursements, Travel Compensation, and Transit Subsidies

• We proposed that employees let their supervisors know that they’re using personal time to travel during work hours, rather than be required to have prior approval to do so. 

Addendum K: Limited Duration Positions

• We proposed that limited duration appointments of greater than 30 days be offered to internal employees first with consideration of the minimum qualifications for the position and then class or county seniority. If there’s no interest in the position from current employees and the recall list has been exhausted, the County would then be able to post the position externally. 

Addendum L: On-Call & Temporary Employees

• We again proposed that on-call employees receive certain benefits and protections of our contract.

Addendum M: Jail Side Assignment Premium

• In our counterproposal to the County we specified that the Cook and Food Services Worker positions in DCJ should receive the jail side assignment premium for all hours and not just on an ad-hoc basis.

Addendum N: Shelter Staffing

• We proposed that employees with a KSA language premium who volunteer in shelters receive their premium pay for the full shift, rather than only ad-hoc.
• We proposed that if an employee has volunteered for a shelter shift on their regularly scheduled day-off and the shift is cancelled or delayed with less than an hour and a half notice, the employee still receives an hour and a half’s worth of their base pay. 
  • We also proposed that the employee only not receive that pay if they were also offered PTU transportation to another shelter site.
• We struck-out the County’s language stating that employees who volunteer for a shelter shift can be reassigned any duties as needed by the County.
• We struck out the County’s language stating that employees will be asked to sign-up for shelter shifts during an emergency, and proposed that they be asked to “volunteer” instead.

Article 2: Definitions

• We proposed that temporary employees only be used to backfill positions for up to nine (9) months, as opposed to the County’s suggestion of eighteen (18) months. 

Article 10: Other Leaves

• We re-proposed our suggestion for a standardized practice of offering paid leave to employees who have experienced trauma or violence in the workplace.

Article 15: Job Profiles and Pay Ranges

• We reached agreement with the County on this article. There is no TA at this time as Article 15 was proposed as part of a package.

Article 22: Shift and Work Assignment

• We reached agreement with the County on this article. There is no TA at this time as Article 22 was proposed as part of a package.

Article 24: Non-Discrimination

• We adjusted our language to define microaggressions as actions “against a marginalized group or identity”, since the County declined our language about maintaining a power imbalance.

Action Items & Upcoming Events

48 cents letter campaign

While our Union’s Bargaining Team has fought for a fair wage increase for all employees- especially those lower wage earners- the County has maintained a wage proposal that doesn’t honor the work we do every day. The County’s wage proposal would represent a mere forty-eight cent per hour increase to the lowest wage earners in our Union. We think the County can do better!

We are doing a letter campaign calling on the Multnomah County Board of Commissioners to take action- amend the budget to provide fair wage increases in the interest of the people who keep the County running.

Sign our letter here to add your voice to our message to all County Commissioners and Chair Jessica Vega Pederson. Let’s remind them that the County works because we do!

Vote for JVP as Scrooge of the Year!

Every year Jobs with Justice (JwJ) holds a competition to name the worst boss in Portland, otherwise known as the Scrooge of the Year. In light of our challenges at the bargaining table this cycle, the Bargaining Team submitted County Commissioner Chair Jessica Vega Pederson (JVP) as a contestant for Scrooge of the Year. You can read a poem highlighting all of the Scrooge-worthy actions here.

• Vote for JVP on Facebook 

• Vote for JVP on Instagram

• Vote for JVP on Bluesky

Join the Local 88 Strike Fund Committee!

At our AFSCME Local 88 General Membership (GM) meeting on April 16th, a motion was brought forward and passed for our Local to create a Strike Fund by setting aside $250,000 of our reserve funds. A Strike Fund Committee has formed to determine: 

• eligibility criteria for receiving financial support from the Strike Fund
• how and when disbursements from the Strike Fund can occur
• how the Strike Fund can be supplemented 

In addition, the Strike Fund Committee will facilitate member education around strike-readiness as individuals and as a Union, with a focus on self-sustainability and fostering connections and solidarity with community allies. Sign-up to participate in our AFSCME L88 Strike-Fund Committee by filling out this Google form. 

Remember, having a strike fund or being strike ready does not mean we have to strike. Only you, the membership, can decide if we strike by a super majority membership vote; neither the bargaining team, cabinet or union president can just declare a strike. Being strike ready is a tool our union can use to build power and show management our strength and solidarity.

Did You Know?

• Bargaining Team members were recently featured on an AWF (America’s Workforce) podcast to discuss how contract negotiations are going. You can listen to the podcast episode on AWF’s website here, or follow that link to see a variety of other platforms you can access the episode on.
• Our first mediation date with the County has been scheduled for Monday, December 8th. Our members will not be able to observe mediation, but we will keep you all updated with post-mediation summaries.
• You can review the status of Tentative Agreements reached and see which articles need a response from our Union and the County on this chart.

Update your Profile Images and backgrounds: One simple way to show your support for the best possible contract is to change your virtual meeting backgrounds and profile images. You can find instructions and lots of beautiful images to use here!

Follow Us on Social Media: Stay up to date on all the latest news by following AFSCME Local 88 on our Instagram and Local 88 Facebook!

In Solidarity, 

Your Bargaining Team

Questions? Email us at bargaining@afscmelocal88.org