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A spirited noon-time rally attended by over a hundred members turned into a chanting, placard-waving march past the Vice-President of Finance and Administration's office to deliver the message: "Hey, Hey, Desrochers (Deroshay); 2 percent – NO WAY!"
June 27, 2007 - With the June 30 expiration date of our current contract looming, last week's bargaining at Portland State University yielded unexpected progress in some areas.
However, our pay would still not keep pace with inflation and our health benefits would erode under the State's current offer.
The rally was followed by a great selective presentation by Rita Sumner and Ruben Torres, both of PSU, for the Environmental Health and Safety group.
Some Progress
We then received management's latest proposal package. To our delight, some of the main obstacles to reaching a settlement were removed:
Management also made significant changes to their Contracting Out and I T Compensation proposals.
Mediation
Although there has been movement, settlement is still a long way off. We also had some very lengthy discussions on a few remaining issues, in particular, our upward mobility goals.
We have agreed to jointly request mediation and the next bargaining dates are tentatively set for July 18, 19, 25 and 26, pending the mediator's availability.
Management was also receptive to our request for a contract extension to preserve status quo while we continue toward a settlement.
Join in the end-of-month events and actions on your campus to show you support our need for fair pay, health care, and decent working conditions.
Economics
Core Economic bargaining will reconvene Thurs, June 28 at SEIU Salem HQ. There has been some progress there as well but NOT ENOUGH!
Health Care
On Health Care, their proposal is to have fully paid Health Care for full-time workers in the first year. In the second year, if premium increases exceed 11%, they want to move our COLA to pay for it.
There has been no change in their proposal for part-time workers since the last update and still no response to our living wage proposal.
Wages
Management's current proposal is 2% July 1, 2007 and 2% October 1, 2008 — with a $50.00 floor.
Our Response: It isn't enough to keep up with inflation – which means it's still a pay cut!!!
Living Wage
Our Living Wage proposal has still only drawn a negative response. Considering the number of people eligible for food stamps while working full-time for the State — a shameful situation that should be remedied — we hope this unresponsiveness will not continue for long!
Stay tuned...
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