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Summary of Bargaining: November 1, 2024

Summary of Bargaining: November 1, 2024

Session began at 8:30 a.m.

Today the County management team presented two options to the AFSCME negotiation team, including updated salary tables for all pay grades so all AFSCME represented employees can see what their actual salaries would be in each year of the contract under these two proposals.

Option A is the Last Best Offer submitted to the Oregon Employment Relations Board (ERB) on October 7, 2024, after the union declared impasse. It includes:

  • Annual cost-of-living increases for all represented employees equal to either a set percentage or the Employment Cost Index (ECI), whichever is greater.
  • For C-band employees: an additional 6% increase upon contract ratification to raise wages to market rates.
  • An additional step (step 9) added to the salary schedule to create room for future wage growth for employees already on the top step of their pay grade.

Option B is a new proposal. It includes:

  • Annual cost-of-living increases for all represented employees equal to either a set percentage or the Employment Cost Index (ECI), whichever is greater.
  • For C-band employees: an additional 5% increase upon contract ratification to raise wages closer to market rates.
  • Three additional steps (steps 9, 10, and 11) in salary schedules to adjust the overall pay grade ranges (i.e. percentage difference between the lowest and highest step) to align with non-represented employee pay grade ranges.

We are sharing the documents presented in today’s negotiation with all county employees and the public. In addition to the proposed salary tables, we include a document titled Article 13.2 – Wage Proposal. This shows sample salary schedules with job classifications included to show how a representative sample of employees would be impacted by both proposals.

Finally, we include a cost comparison of the two proposals. With just $200,000 difference between the two proposals, the County is prepared to pay, for total wages and benefits, almost $45 million in year 1 of the contract, $50.4 million in year 2, and $53.5 million in year 3—about $147 million over 3 years. (Current cost of wages and benefits: about $42.4 million/year)

Two additional mediation sessions have been scheduled for November 7 and November 12. The County management team looks forward to continuing working toward resolution.

Session concluded around 6:00 p.m.

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