Case in
point: The months-long talks between Hood River County and 52
members of Oregon AFSCME Local 1082. The negotiation teams from
the union and county reached a tentative agreement in July. The
union membership eschewed the work of its negotiating team and
decided not to sign the contract.
Shortly thereafter, some of the union
membership opted to start picketing. Strike threats were made.
There was more picketing and posturing. (By the way, we don’t
find fault with the county because it advertised for union
members’ jobs. The county needs to have a backup plan should any
members of Local 1082 go out on strike. The county won’t be
filling some of the highly specialized jobs as quickly as it
would like in order to prevent delays in service. But other jobs
could be filled within a short period of time.)
A strike deadline was set. The makeup of
the union negotiating team changed - the heavy hitters became
more involved. (In the past, the heavy hitters sometimes
amounted to nothing more than club-carrying thugs. Today, heavy
hitters are often attorneys. Either way, the process starts
having more of a feel of intimidation vs. negotiation.)
We can’t go back in time and restart the
process here in Hood River. The county and union will meet again
this morning (Wednesday) to try and rework the contract. We
think they will be successful.
Rest assured, both sides are well aware
by now of the consequences of a strike — most often it’s a
no-win situation. Employees know if they go out on strike it
could begin a process that leaves scars and changes the county’s
work environment. If the issue isn’t settled today, there will
be consequences felt throughout the county. There will be delays
in services — courts, planning, records, health department,
library — that will cause the public time and money. In the case
of the courts, there’s a public safety issue.
Is this worth $72,000? That’s the amount
it will cost for three years of paying health premiums for nine
part-time employees. Our solution would be for the union
negotiating team to propose that all its members pay a
proportional share — based on hours worked — of medical and
dental benefits. In other words, full-time and part-time
employees will start paying for their benefits — like most
employees in the private sector.
