Victory at City of Wilsonville

Photo credit: The Wilsonville Spokesman


Wilsonville city workers overwhelmingly ratified a new three-year contract on July 31. Despite difficult economic times, city workers were able to avoid layoffs and still negotiate pay increases each year of the contract.

Highlights of the settlement include:

• A 2% shift in all the pay ranges each year of the contract.
• Cost of Living Increases:  0% July 21, 2009, 2% July 1, 2010, 3% July 1, 2011
• In the first year of the contract no one will lose money because of paying a portion of their health insurance premium.  Kaiser will be fully paid. The Blue Cross/Blue Shield Co-Pay Plan will be fully paid until the employee receives his/her merit increase. After receiving the merit increase, the employee will pay the difference between the Kaiser premium and the Blue Cross/Blue Shield premium. In the second year of the contract employees will pay 6% of the premium and in the third year employees will pay 8%.
• 12 different job classifications had their salary ranges moved up (this is over a third of the bargaining unit).
• Part-time workers will receive their step increases annually.
• Three new job classifications were created to reflect the higher level of work that people were doing.
• The layoff language was expanded to allow people to bump outside of their department.
• The use of a CDL exam as a fitness for duty exam is now grievable.
• The City must notify us sooner if they intend to contract out. In addition, they must provide us with more information related to the decision.

The gains in this contract reflect the hard work that Wilsonville workers put into it. Workers and community supporters emailed City Councilors, attended City Council meetings, greeted City Councilors on their way in to a Council meeting, attended a neighborhood BBQ with their families, and filled out postcards about the quality work that Wilsonville workers do. This put the pressure on management to back them off their proposal that workers pay 10% of their insurance premium, along with 24 other proposed take-aways, and helped win a 3% COLA in the third year of the contract. Workers were more active this contract campaign than they have been in years and it shows in the tentative agreement!

"Despite the tough economic times, SEIU managed to negotiate a fair and equitable contract with the City of Wilsonville, which will benefit employees' pocketbooks while avoiding layoffs of any employees," said Dan Snyder, Lead Operator at City of Wilsonville WasteWater Treatment Plant.

Wilsonville workers who have questions about the settlement should contact a bargaining team member: Dan Snyder, Steve Gering, Gordon Woodward, Becky White, or Dee Staten.