VOLUME XXIII, No. 4
MAY 1981
P U B L IC
After Initially Refusing
State Agrees to Mediate
State spokesperson Ranny Refnen tells mediator Ken Brown that the State will not participate in mediation. He then walked out of the mediation session.
For the first time in nearly two-and-
a-half months of bargaining between
the State and OPEU, there is some
movement on a number of issues.
Alice Dale—OPEU’s chief spokes
person at the central table—attributes
this movement to tw o factors:
members' strong showing at state
wide bargaining rallies and move
ment of negotiations into mediation,
negotiations into mediation.
This latter move has been sur
rounded with considerable contro
versy, including the State filing an
Unfair Labor Practice (ULP) com
plaint against OPEU.
On April 22, Dale opted to move
central table negotiations into
mediation. “We had been bargaining
since February 10 and had only
reached agreement on six minor
items out of a total of 65 proposals,”
Dale said. "There is no question that
the State's bargaining strategy has
been one that involved stalling and we
felt it was imperative that a mediator
be brought in to help facilitate the
process."
The State, however, walked out of
the first scheduled mediation session
and p u b lic a lly announced their
displeasure with OPEU's position.
Ken Brown, Director of the State
Conciliation Service, called the first
mediation session for April 23.
OPEU's central team was present, but
only spokesperson Ranny Reinen
was present from the State bargain
ing team. Reinen announced that the
State's firm position is that negotia
tions are not at impasse and therefore
cannot legally proceed into media
tion.
However, Brown informed Reinen
that mediation was scheduled and
would begin. When asked if the State
was ready to proceed, Reinen told
Brown that the State would not
participate in mediation, but would
participate in negotiations.
A fter stating that the State's
position would be the same at the
next session, Reinen rose from the
table and left.
Later that day, the State reversed its
position and informed Brown that
they would be present for the next
mediation session.
“There are two clear conclusions
that can be drawn from the actions
taken by the State on April 23,” Dale
said. “ First, their initial refusal to
mediate underscores that they are
unwilling to cooperate with us in
order to solve problems and reach an
agreement.
“ Second, their complete reversal
on participating in mediation shows
that, despite public announcements
to the contrary, the State is legally
obligated to proceed with bargaining
th ro u g h use of the m ediation
process."
The State’s public position on
mediation centered around their ULP
complaint (see story on page 5). They
caught the attention of most of the
state's media by issuing a press
release on their ULP through the
Governor’s office. In it, they accused
OPEU of declaring impasse pre
maturely, of negotiating in bad faith
Agreements Reached
Through Mediation
The following articles were signed-off at the first mediation session that both
parties participated in:
—►No Discrimination
—►Job Sharing
—► Parental Leave
—► Voluntary Demotion
—►Veterans’ Preference
More information on these agreements will be published in the next
Negotiation News.
Mediator Ken Brown presides over first full Mediation session.
and of entering issues into mediation
that are not allowed.
"I feel very comfortable that we
have proceded (with negotiations and
mediation) in conformity with the
requirements of the Oregon Col
lective Bargaining Act,” Dale said.
“We were very explicit when we
informed the State that we were
invoking our right to move negotia
tions into mediation. At no point did
we maintain that negotiations were at
impasse."
Under the Oregon C ollective
Bargaining Act, either side may put
the negotiations into mediation if,
after a reasonable amount of time, an
agreement has not been reached.
In mediation, negotiations con
tinue, but a neutral third party—the
mediator—helps both sides find areas
where compromise can be obtained
and progress made in negotiating a
complete contract.
"We are at impasse with the State
on a number of items," Dale said. “ But
since little to no progress was being
made on these items and the State
was continuing to stall, we felt it
essential that a mediator be brought
in to fa c ilita te the bargaining
process.”
On April 24, the State's entire
bargaining team participated in
mediation. By the end of the day five
articles had been signed-off, in
cluding No Discrimination, Parental
Leave, Veterans’ Preference, Job
Sharing and Voluntary Demotion.
Dale characterized the session as
“the most productive bargaining day
we have had since negotiations
began.”
At the next mediation session, on
April 27, no articles were signed-off.
“What is beginning to surface is a
more clear picture of where each
party is willing to compromise,” Dale
said. “ I am hopeful that we will begin
to make some movement on issues
we have been deadlocked on up to
this point.”