Bargaining Schedule and Next Steps

July 14th Bargaining Update

On Tuesday, July 14, union representatives and City officials met at the Columbia Wastewater Treatment Plant for the latest round of contract bargaining. Discussions focused on three priority areas: the financial implications of our current union contract, a union proposal to make the overtime fairer, and measures to limit the City’s use of outside contractors for our members’ work. Additionally the City proposed consolidating existing BES Letters of Agreement into a single, combined addendum that would alter workgroups and expand managerial control over work schedules. While we are all for simplifying the contract, our Bargaining team has no interest handing more control to management over our day to day lives.

To review these and all other proposals passed to date please visit our PCL Bargaining Webpage. Sincere thanks to the BES employees that joined bargaining as observers.

Our next scheduled bargaining session is Tuesday July 28th.

Mediation

On Saturday, our Bargaining Team took the step of formally applying for mediation services from the Oregon Employment Relations Board (ERB). A mediator is a neutral state employee with ERB who will join our negotiations with the City to push both sides move toward a mutually acceptable agreement.

For us, Mediation serves two essential functions. It increases pressure on the City to engage in good-faith bargaining and is a required legal step to preserve our right to strike if unreasonable City positions force us to take that action.

For a detailed overview of the mediation process and its place within our negotiations, we encourage you to visit the Oregon State overview of public-sector bargaining.

Wage Data Last Chance

Many Union members have already shared financial info around their job classes to support wage increases. If you have job postings, contractor costs, or any other information that supports a pay increase for your job class please share that data now. Every data point strengthens our case. Submit this infomation by email to james@liuna483.org

The Deadline to send this information is JULY 24th. Contact your rep today!