OCT. 3, 2008
corrected copy:NWLP
9/30/08
12:04 PM
Page 2
Oregon Residents:
The deadline to Register to Vote
is Tuesday, Oct. 14
b h
m k
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Morris & Kaplan, llp
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Representing Workers Since 1960
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...First contract at PDC creates
brand new AFSCME Local 3769
(From Page 1)
ployees as those around the table from
PDC during these negotiations.”
At a PDC meeting Sept. 24, Board
Chair Charles Wilhoite said he was
proud to vote “yes” on the agreement.
“I’ve been on various boards and
commissions over the years that have
included collective bargaining agree-
ments, and I’m pleased that this partic-
ular contract has seemingly brought us
all closer together,” he said.
The contract, which is retroactive to
July 1, 2007, runs through June 30,
2010. It provides workers cost-of-liv-
ing increases of 3 percent dating back
to July 1, 2007, plus an additional 3.7
percent retroactive to July 1, 2008. On
July 1, 2009, employees will receive
wage increases of between to 2 and 5
percent, based on the consumer price
index.
Prior to the union contract, PDC
employees had not received cost-of-
living raises in over five years, said
AFSCME Council 75 representative
James Hester. Hester was co-chair of
the bargaining committee and will
serve as staff rep to the new local.
Some other key elements of the
agreement include:
• Formation of a Labor Manage-
ment Committee to discuss issues of
mutual concern and interest regarding
the agency;
• A formal process for grievances,
complaints and arbitration that in-
cludes a third party;
• Agreement that staff will begin
paying 5 percent of their medical, den-
tal and vision health benefits;
• Union security language, which
means workers must belong to the
union to work there;
• No strike, no lockout language.
Board member John Mohlis, who is
executive secretary-treasurer of the
Union member and PDC employee Art Hendricks (left) shakes hands with
PDC Commissioner John Mohlis following PDC’s ratification of a first-ever
union contract at the agency. Looking on is Local 3769 President Alan Stubbs.
Columbia Pacific Building and Con-
struction Trades Council, said the con-
tract “speaks volumes to what can be
accomplished when labor and man-
agement come together in a respectful,
collaborative process. This contract is
good for employees, it’s good for
PDC, and it’s good for taxpayers.”
PDC Executive Director Bruce
Warner agreed. “Both management
and labor have laid out a vision in this
contract that works toward building a
cooperative and collaborative work en-
vironment at all levels of the organiza-
tion,” he said. “I believe this sets a
very positive tone for PDC moving
forward.”
It hasn’t always been so rosy.
For years PDC operated with little
public scrutiny. Its free spending drew
the attention of the Portland City Club,
which in 2005 released a scathing re-
port questioning PDC’s lack of public
accountability.
During the organizing campaign
union officials discovered a workforce
fearful of management and in constant
turmoil. Turnover was nearing 25 per-
cent annually and workers had had
enough.
Portland Mayor Tom Potter , who
was elected in November 2004, vowed
to make the agency “more transpar-
ent.” He brought in Warner, a former
Oregon Department of Transportation
director, and appointed a new commis-
sion.
Shortly after the union organizing
drive began, the Oregonian newspaper
weighed in with an editorial railing
against it. This led the Portland City
Council to unanimously adopt a reso-
lution supporting PDC staffers.
It took more than 16 months and 22
bargaining sessions to come to terms
on a first contract.
“It’s not often that you go through
contentious negotiations and come out
with a better working relationship than
you did going in,” Hester said. “But
that’s what happened here.”
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PAGE 2
‘Earl Fisher is a person of integrity and
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Rita Bernhard
Columbia County Commissioner
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NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS
OCTOBER 3, 2008