... New contract adds right to ‘Flextime’
(From Page 1)
point of view of trying to have man-
agement get a ‘win,’” Cogen told the
Labor Press. “My goal was to find a
win-win.”
Details were mailed to members
Sept. 9. About 85 percent of those cov-
ered by the contract are full-fledged
union members; only members may
vote on the contract.
The new agreement includes indi-
vidual step increases as well as across-
the-board cost-of-living increases: 1.2
percent immediately, retroactive to
July 1; 0 percent in the second year;
and 1 to 4 percent in the third year,
linked to the Consumer Price Index. A
side agreement commits the county to
use savings from the second year cost-
of-living freeze to prevent layoffs of
Local 88 members.
And in a non-binding side agree-
ment, the county will aim for a county-
wide ratio of one manager for every
seven or eight workers. Currently the
ratio is 1 to 6.5, Hanna said. Cogen
said the change would save at least
$3.5 million over the next two years.
The idea of slimming down manage-
ment ranks was first raised as a union
issue at the state level earlier this year,
and a new state law calls for a 1 to 11
ratio at large state agencies.
“[Local 88] understood that these
are tough times, and that everyone
needs to sacrifice,” Cogen said. “But
they wanted to make sure that it was
fair and equitably distributed — that
labor would feel it, management would
feel it, and we’d try to do it in a way
that will preserve services to the com-
SEPTEMBER 16, 2011
...Prison bread
(From Page 2)
Can you hear me now? Above, a participant at a June 30 rally calls
Multnomah County Chair Jeff Cogen. On Aug. 31, Cogen intervened in
bargaining and was able to reach in a few hours the agreement that had
eluded the parties for six months.
munity.”
The contract also preserves existing
health and retirement benefits, as well
as the right of laid-off workers with
seniority to “bump” into positions else-
where in the County that they are qual-
ified for. And it continues the county’s
“Project Save” policy, in which work-
ers slated for layoff may take a demo-
tion into a vacant position.
New non-binding language in the
contract commits Local 88 to support
the county’s sustainability principles,
which include energy efficiency, recy-
cling, and resource reduction meas-
ures; the contract also continues the
county’s commitment to provide an
annual bus pass as an employee bene-
fit.
And the contract includes a non-
monetary benefit that Local 88 mem-
bers had identified as a priority: A
committee composed of representa-
tives of labor and management will
work out details of a policy to allow
employees flexibility in their work
schedule. Under the policy, which will
be implemented July 1, 2012, employ-
ees will have some choice in how they
set their schedule unless management
can show a strong business reason not
to allow it.
“To me it’s just a good idea,” Cogen
said. “We think it’s better for family
life. There are times when it’s better for
customer service. And it will make our
employees happier.”
Once members approve the con-
tract, it will go to the county board for
ratification.
NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS
Moreover, to work in the bakery, in-
mates must apply and be interviewed,
must have served at least the last six
months of their sentence without in-
fractions, and must have a high school
diploma or GED or be working toward
one. As for safety concerns, Wiles says
civilian staff supervise the inmates and
follow all USDA and health regula-
tions. To prevent inmates from using
the bakery operation to import contra-
band, Wiles said, supplies are also han-
dled by staff.
Sometimes, Lansing’s letters get a
response. “The state of Washington
does not fully fund education,” Walla
Walla school board president Cindy
Meyer replied in a letter. “Yet our ex-
pectations for quality remain high in
every area. We would not be good stew-
ards of the limited tax dollars we re-
ceive if we were to spend more for a
quality product than we had to.”
Lansing has also found support
among union members who serve the
food, such as Oregon School Employ-
ees Association (OSEA). Last October,
the OSEA local at St. Helens School
District in St. Helens, Oregon, wrote to
the school board formally requesting
that the district’s nutrition program buy
baked goods from Oregon providers,
not Washington inmates.
Lansing also got the Southwest
Washington Central Labor Council to
include the issue in a questionnaire
given to candidates seeking labor’s en-
dorsement.
Is the Bakers’ campaign paying off?
Several Oregon and Washington school
districts that served prison-made baked
goods last year have backed off as of
this school year. It could be because of
concern about bad press. Or it could be
that — as several third-party distribu-
tors told the Labor Press — Franz is
dropping its prices to win back the busi-
ness. Lansing and the distributors also
said districts have complained of poorly
cut bread and other quality problems.
Plus, Airway Heights bread and rolls
come frozen; districts may prefer to
serve fresh bread.
Lansing intends to continue the
campaign.
At the upcoming Oregon AFL-CIO
convention, Bakers Local 114 is intro-
ducing a resolution calling on union
members to tell the Bakers Union if
they see prison bread in schools, and
for the Oregon AFL-CIO to demand its
removal.
“It’s one thing to have your child sit
on a chair made by inmates,” Lansing
told the Labor Press. “It’s another to
have them consume food.”
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