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About Northwest labor press. (Portland , Ore.) 1987-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 2, 2018)
NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS | COLLECTIVE BARGAINING WASHINGTON New union contract at Multnomah County Hanford workers will get workers’ comp for cancers under new law AFSCME Local 88’s new contract keeps up with inflation and attempts to address racial equity AFSCME Local 88 and Mult- nomah County reached tentative agreement Jan. 12 on a new three-year union contract cover- ing 3,300 County workers. The agreement provides raises to keep up with inflation, main- tains the status quo on health in- surance, and includes measures to foster greater work-life bal- ance and racial equity. “We think it’s a very good agreement,” said union chief ne- gotiator Eben Pullman. ▪ Raises: Workers will get immediate cost- of-living raises equal to $0.60/hour or 2.2 percent, whichever is greater. About two- thirds of members — those who make less than $27.34 an hour — will get the $0.60 raises. The raises are retroactive to the July 1, 2017, when the previous contract expired. Workers will also get inflation-based raises of 1 to 4 percent on July 1 of 2018 and 2019. ▪ Work-life balance:The new contract makes it easier to get alternative work schedules besides the customary 9 to 5 weekdays. And once granted, alternative schedules can’t be taken away unless for performance reasons, and workers have to first be given an opportunity to improve. The contract also for the first time has provisions for some workers to request Raymond Thomas Cynthia Newton Melissa Haggerty telecommuting. Alternative work schedules have proved popular for some workers because they make it easier to drop off or pick up kids from school or daycare, or avoid commuting at rush hour. ▪ Workplace equity. The new contract says the County and the union won’t tolerate any form of “micro-aggression,” which is defined as “commonplace and casual verbal, behavioral, or environmental indignities and denigration, often unintentional or unconscious, that repeat or reaffirm stereotypes and convey negative or derogatory messages based on the recipient's status in a racial minority or other non-dominant culture group.” The County will report all microagression complaints raised by union members to Local 88, and will make a mediator available to any employee who wants to address their relationship with the individual alleged to have engaged in the prohibited conduct, though participation would require the consent of both parties. The new contract contains several other provisions aimed at “equity.” It encourages partic- ipation of staff from diverse backgrounds on hiring panels, and stipulates that members can be paid release time to partici- pate. For a renewable one-year trial period, it broadens sick and bereavement leave to include care for any individual whose close association with the em- ployee is the equivalent of a James Coon Chris Frost Sydney Montanaro Why is it that a worker injured on the job is made to feel like they are now “the accused” who did something wrong? Good question! Don’t let them add insult to your injury! 820 SW Second Ave., Suite 200, Portland, OR 97204 Scott Sell Chris Thomas www.tcnf.legal family relationship. And for the first time, workers who are cer- tified to have a cultural compe- tence will get a 4 percent pay differential. “For me, equity is about not leaving anyone behind,” said Lo- cal 88 Vice President Raymond De Silva. De Silva chairs the County’s Employees of Color Resource Group, and served on the union bargaining team. The bargaining unit covers nearly all non-management em- ployees at the County library and all county agencies except corrections and sheriffs officers and the district attorney’s office. When bargaining began last May, the union came with full proposals. The County backed off a proposal to require workers to participate in a health risk as- sessment, but held firm to a $15 starting wage for some new hires. The roughly 40 employ- ees, such as library assistants, who currently earn $15 will go to $15.29, the next step in the wage scale, but new hires will continue to start at $15, the same starting wage as the previous contract. Members were scheduled to vote on the agreement Jan. 19 through 30. This issue went to press before results were an- nounced. Washington lawmakers passed legislation late last month that will allow workers at the Han- ford Nuclear Reservation to have better access to workers’ com- pensation benefits. HB 1723 passed the House 76-22, and got through the Sen- ate 35-14. It is now headed to the governor’s desk, where he is ex- pected to sign in. Last session, a similar bill was killed by Senate Republican leaders who con- trolled that body. Democrats are in control this sesson. Workers at Hanford are ex- posed to some of the most haz- ardous substances known to man, including many chemical and radiological hazards that are as yet unidentified, and the safety measures intended to protect February 2, 2018 | PAGE 3 them are inadequate. Despite this, when Hanford workers get sick they lacked the same work- ers’ compensation safety net that other sick/injured workers have because the burden of proof is on the worker to connect specific exposures to their disease — a virtually impossible task given the circumstances at Hanford. The new law recommends that Hanford workers’ illnesses be presumed to be work-related when they see workers’ compen- sation coverage. This presump- tion is similar to one that already exists for firefighters, who are similarly exposed to toxic chem- icals and vapors in their line of work. HB 1723 was sponsored by Rep. Larry Haler (R-Richland). Sen. Karen Keiser (D-Kent) sponsored the Senate companion bill. F ROM WSLC’ S T HE S TAND
