By RAELYNN RICARTE
News staff writer
December 3, 2007

A Hood River County worker strike set for Thursday was averted by a tentative agreement that granted union members many of their demands.

Dave Meriwether, county administrator, said the deal provides employees with excellent health care coverage. But still allows management to shave $45,000-50,000 off the expected $72,000 of added premium costs for nine part-time workers, a major sticking point in past negotiations of the three-year contract.

“This was a difficult bargaining session but the county had to keep in mind its fiduciary responsibility to its citizens,” said Meriwether.

Full and part-time members of Local 1082, Council 75, of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees will have 100 percent of their HMO health care coverage paid through June 30, 2008.

For the remaining two years of the contract, they will pick up the costs for any HMO premium increase beyond 10 percent that is levied by the insurance carrier. Other coverage plans are available at an added cost to the worker.

A prior contract was rejected because it proposed the nine part-time employees pay $196 per month for health care coverage. Although that condition no longer applies in the new agreement, these workers lost their bid to have dependent costs fully covered.

The 43 full-time members of Local 1082 will have 100 percent family coverage with an HMO plan through June 30, 2008. They are then asked to pay anything above a 10 percent premium cost increase for the next two fiscal years.

Meriwether said workers will pay their current premium levels — with the cap set for fiscal year 2006-07 — until June 30. That allows the county to recoup $30,000-35,000 in costs. Workers can now have their family covered on an HMO plan for about $104 per month.

Under the new agreement, workers’ 3 percent Cost of Living Adjustment for fiscal year 2007-08 will be retroactive to July 1. But they will delay the 3 percent COLA for the next fiscal year until Sept. 1. Meriwether said that will shave another $10,000-12,000 off the county’s budgetary expenses. The workers will also receive a 3 percent COLA for fiscal year 2009-10.

Hoby Hanson, president of Local 1082, said 100 percent of the members have agreed to the tentative contract. However, he said everyone wants an opportunity to review the terms of the contract for themselves before signing on the dotted line.

“Our members need to see the written document and go over it completely to make sure it’s what we agreed on. Nothing’s getting approved until we’ve seen it,” he said.

The workers were set to strike after a labor dispute arose over the first proposed contract that required the nine part-time single workers to pay half of their own coverage costs. That agreement was rejected by 90 percent of Local 1082 members and a strike date was set for Nov. 29. Both sides met at the bargaining table on Wednesday and hammered out the new contract that is expected to be adopted.

The county has 160 employees in three different unions. Three-year contracts have already been agreed upon between management and law enforcement and the public works/forestry departments.