REGION
Friday, October 28, 2016
East Oregonian
Page 3A
County, union labor negotiations deadlocked
By ANTONIO SIERRA
East Oregonian
Umatilla County declared
an impasse Thursday with
the American Federation of
State, County and Municipal
Employees Local 3742, a
union that represents 110
county workers.
According to a county
press release, the two sides
have been negotiating a
bargaining
agreement,
but they could not reach a
deal after meeting with a
mediator Oct. 11. The press
release states both parties
have reached tentative
agreements on “a number of
subjects,” but a few issues
remain “unresolved.”
Both sides declined to
go into detail as to what
specific impediments were
holding up the agreement,
but Umatilla County Board
of Commissioners Chairman
George Murdock said it was
a “sad state of affairs” that it
had come to this point.
“We want to be respon-
sive, but we also have to
be fiscally responsible,”
said Murdock, who wasn’t
directly involved in negoti-
ations.
In a response to a request
for
comment,
Oregon
AFSCME sent a written
SHERIFF: Lehnert’s campaign
asked county to provide public
records on Rowan’s email use
Continued from 1A
sheriff’s priorities must be.
“Your first priorities
always have to be the wants
and needs of the public,”
Trumbo said, and second
comes the wants and needs
of the employees of the
sheriff’s office. Third, he
said, is the sheriff’s own
wants and needs, if there’s
even time enough for them.
That meant no more
two-week vacations and
long days on the golf course,
Trumbo said. If Rowan
wanted to head up the sher-
iff’s office, he would have
to be there to do it.
“I think he has his prior-
ities backwards,” Trumbo
said.
Trumbo explained he
wanted to keep his opinions
about the sheriff’s race
out of the public and not
endorse either candidate.
He knows both men and
even trained Lehnert when
he was a reserve deputy
more than 20 years ago.
His wife, Carol Trumbo,
donated $1,000 to Lehnert’s
campaign, but that did not
prompt the former sheriff to
endorse him.
Rowan went on a local
radio show last week and
said there were “weak-
nesses” in the sheriff’s
office he wanted to address
once Trumbo was gone,
including adding more
deputies,
establishing
a team atmosphere and
improving the volunteer
programs.
Trumbo countered that
Rowan as undersheriff
was responsible for the
day-to-day operations of the
sheriff’s office and super-
vised its divisions. If Rowan
had concerns, Trumbo said
he should have raised them
at the time so the two could
work out a solution.
“If there is a mess left
behind,” Trumbo said,
“that’s his responsibility.”
Still, Trumbo said,
Rowan is smart, capable
and has good people skills,
but he needs to “get his
mind set on the priorities.”
And while Lehnert stum-
bled in his career, Trumbo
said, he also “is a guy who
puts his mind to something
and he’ll somehow get it
done.”
Lehnert said Trumbo’s
support means a lot, and
Rowan’s statements also
raised
concerns.
The
undersheriff is the “make-
it-happen guy,” Lehnert
said, and those weaknesses
Rowan addressed reflect on
him.
Trumbo’s
public
backing also comes days
after Lehnert’s campaign
revealed it asked the
county to provide public
records showing how often
Rowan logged into county
email and the sheriff’s
office computer network
to view law enforcement
activities.
The county uses Google
Gmail, and Rowan logged
into the email 10 times from
a county computer since
May, which is as far back
as Google records show,
according to the informa-
tion the county provided
Lehnert’s
campaign.
Rowan also could have
logged into the email
from other computers and
smartphones. He did not
return repeated request for
comment on this story.
Rowan logged into the
sheriff’s computer network
50 times from June 4, 2014
until Oct. 5, 2016, including
10 times to view jail inmate
information. The system,
though, does allow users to
stay logged in days at time,
even if the computer is off.
Rowan this campaign
claimed he is available to
the public and in-touch with
his office. Lehnert said he
sought the records to test
those claims, which have
come under fire from others.
It’s a busy job, he said, and
a sheriff must know what
his office is dealing with to
keep the county safe.
———
Contact Phil Wright at
pwright@eastoregonian.
com or 541-966-0833.
BRIEFLY
DHS offers foster/
adoption training
People interested in
making a difference in the
life of children who are in
state custody are needed.
Offered through the
Department of Human
Services Child Welfare
Program, free training
sessions that focus on
foster care and adoptive
resources is provided.
Participants must attend all
four classes.
People of all races,
cultural identity and
ethnicity are needed to
help children grow with
a strong sense of racial
and cultural identity. In
addition, applicants are
considered regardless of
gender, religion, sexual
orientation or marital
status.
“We value our diverse
providers meeting the
needs of our children.
We need single, couples,
LGBTQ and retired
community members
wanting to make a
difference in the lives
of children,” said Jody
Frost, foster and adoptions
supervisor in Umatilla and
Morrow counties
The Spanish
Foundations class is the
third Saturday of each
month at the Hermiston
DHS office, 950 S.E.
Columbia Drive. People
can join at any time,
as the topics rotate in a
four-week cycle. For more
information, call Irma
DeAnda at 541-564-4493.
The next regular
Foundations class will
be held in January in
Hermiston. Additional
details will be provided as
the date gets closer.
For more information,
visit www.oregon.gov/dhs.
statement projecting opti-
mism over future negotia-
tions.
“Despite the County’s
declaration of impasse, our
bargaining team believes
that both sides are close
enough that a reasonable
compromise is still attain-
able,” AFSCME said. “At
our November 7th media-
tion, we will work diligently
to reach a settlement that
allows our members to keep
up with the rising cost of
living.”
Murdock said the county
has worked hard to keep
its employees happy, and
although he would like to
have a positive disposition
about the outcome of nego-
tiations, he said it doesn’t
bode well that they’ve
reached an impasse.
The press release states
each side’s positions will
be made public next week,
when both parties submit
their final offers and cost
summaries relating to the
unresolved issues to the
mediator.
Although
the
exact
issues remain unclear, the
AFSCME Local 3742 Face-
book page provides some
details on the negotiation.
A May 24 post on the
page reported that the union
and the county had come to
tentative agreements on five
subjects, but the posts started
to express more frustration
in the coming months over
the slow pace of negotiations
with the outside counsel
representing the county.
A July 20 post spelled
out some of the bargaining
points the union was
seeking, including a pay
scale that reflected market
pay for similar-sized coun-
ties, allowing employees the
option of receiving overtime
compensation and raising
the cap on vacation hours.
The county has already
reached agreements with
the union that represent
employees working in law
enforcement, the district
attorney’s office and the
public works department.
AFSCME Local 3742
represents
non-exempted
employees in the rest of the
county’s departments, which
includes the department of
land use planning, the public
health department and the
water masters program.
Both sides are supposed
to return to the negotiating
table with a mediator Nov. 7.
———
Contact Antonio Sierra at
asierra@eastoregonian.com
or 541-966-0836.
DESIGN: Students visited Tamastslikt, Crow’s Shadow
Continued from 1A
level class called “Center for
Design,” students redesign
storefronts and signage for
existing businesses, normally
in the Portland area. This
time around, the student
design teams went further
afield. Roberta Lavadour,
executive director of the
Pendleton Center for the
Arts, had inquired whether
the program would consider
working in Pendleton and
was told yes.
“The idea grew out of
some casual conversations,”
Lavadour said. “I knew that
the school was really highly
regarded. We thought, ‘It’d
be cool if…’”
The college agreed to
work with a couple of Pend-
leton businesses, so Lavadour
and company brainstormed
about which ones.
“We asked ourselves,
“what are two iconic Pend-
leton businesses that could
become focal points?’”
Lavadour said.
She ultimately emailed
photos of Zimmerman’s and
Stapleman’s storefronts to
Professor Bijan Berahimi.
Teams of artists (combina-
tions of graphic design and
illustration students) got to
work generating ideas. The
road trip promised to supply
additional information about
each establishment not avail-
able from a two-dimensional
photo. The big design reveal
will come in a couple of
weeks.
“This class serves as an
alternative to an internship,”
Berahimi said. “They work
with real clients on real
designs. It gives students a
taste of working in the real
world.”
During the Wednesday
tour, Beard led the group
around the corner onto Court
Street. They caught sight of
Stapleman’s and stopped to
take it in before entering. The
rich aroma of leather wafted
out as they wandered into
the boot shop and ogled the
workshop where bootmaker
Richard Stapleman spends
his days measuring, cutting,
gluing and stitching. The
boot maker, sporting a felt
cowboy hat, Wranglers,
silver buckle and, of course,
boots made by his own
hands, took some time out to
explain his personal style and
business acumen. He waved
his hand at his work area and
a huge assemblage of sewing
machines, leather, splitters,
rivet machines, punches,
bobbins and other tools of his
trade.
“When people come in
here, I want them to feel like
they’re in the heart of the
workshop,” Stapleman said.
“I don’t want them to come
into a showroom and think it
all happens behind a curtain.”
The
students
asked
questions. How long to
make a pair of boots? How
expensive? They learned he
works on three pairs at once,
Staff photo by E.J. Harris
Pat Beard leads a tour group of design students from Portland down Main Street on
Wednesday in Pendleton.
finishes about one-and-a-half
pairs a week and has a several
month backlog. Base price
for a pair of boots is $800.
Marinating in the store’s
ambiance and spending time
with the owner was essential,
said the students.
“It was getting a feel for
the culture and seeing all of
the tools and actual materials
that go into boot making,”
said Samantha Fowler, an
illustration student from
Portland. “It helps with the
creative process.”
Graphic design student
Danny Verde said he had
never before seen the inner
workings of a leather shop.
“The smell was amazing,”
he said.
The group walked next
to Zimmerman’s where
they talked to owner Jim
Naughton about the business.
They learned about the busi-
ness’ history, met the store
cat and ogled the extensive
collection of merchandise.
“You can be looking for
an obscure item – a left-hand-
threaded copper widget – and
they’ll have it,” Beard said.
“It’s the store where
you can find everything,”
said Kaitlyn Nelson, who
is helping design a mural to
adorn Zimmerman’s store-
front.
“It was overwhelming,”
said Ori Sofer, an Israeli
graphic design student.
Sofer said he knows a
similar hardware store in his
native Jerusalem.
“I know it’s all about
people,” he said. “It’s a gath-
ering place. Everyone goes
there.”
The
students
also
wandered
through
the
Hamley Steakhouse, visited
the Tamastslikt Cultural
Institute, Crow’s Shadow
and Pendleton Woolen Mills,
had appetizers at Virgil’s at
Cimmiyotti’s, ate dinner at
the Great Pacific Wine &
Coffee Co. and breakfasted
at the Rainbow Café.
The artists reflected on
their experience in the glow
of the Rainbow’s neon signs
at breakfast. Kami Karras,
of Seattle, said the project
plunges them into the profes-
sion.
“We’re learning to actu-
ally do professional practice,
work with a client and see
what it’s like in the real world
while still having the guid-
ance of a teacher,” Karras
said. “On the other end, we’re
learning about these clients,
seeing what they value and
helping represent that value
so other people see it too.”
Two two-person teams
will finish design proposals
in the next couple of weeks
and present three ideas each
to Stapleman. Four other
students will unveil three
mural proposals apiece to
Naughton.
Berahimi said the young
artists hope to leave a bit of
themselves in Pendleton.
“If their designs are
picked, they’ll always have
a connection with this city,”
he said. “That’s kind of
exciting.”
Lavadour said community
artists and others will likely
bring the designs to fruition.
“There’s an enormous
amount of enthusiasm for
this project,” she said. “It
wouldn’t be hard to round up
the skilled labor to make it
happen.”
———
Contact Kathy Aney at
kaney@eastoregonian.com
or call 541-966-0810.
Friday Night D inner
October 28th • 5:30 pm
Burger s - Hand
Pressed
• Homemade Fries
• Ice cream Sundaes
Proceeds to benefit Pendleton Elks’ Charities
Pendleton Elks Lodge #288
14 SE 3rd, Pendleton
509-948-2163 • 541-276-3882
Vinton Cerf is an American Internet pioneer, who is recog-
nized as one of "the fathers of the Internet", sharing this title
with TCP/IP co-inventor Bob Kahn. Byron Wysocki is CEO of
Wtechlink Inc., known for the fastest internet service in
Oregon. To get the best internet service available visit
www.pendletonfi ber.com or call 541.276.2887