Portland city workers ratify pact

By a 3-1 margin, members of the District Council of Trade Unions (DCTU) ratified a three-year contract agreement with the City of Portland. The DCTU represents about 1,800 employees in seven union locals.

The agreement came following a 17-hour mediation session Oct. 21-22 that saw union workers stage a 15-minute strike. Voting took place throughout the week of Nov. 5, with results announced Nov. 9. The final vote was 989 in favor and 298 against.

"This ratification vote marks the end of a chapter, but not the end of the story," said Don Loving, public affairs director for Oregon Council 75 of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees and a DCTU spokesperson. "There are still issues to be resolved with the city, particularly around health care and how to pay for it."

Union officials at a Nov. 9 press conference announcing the ratification said the world changed Sept. 11 following the terrorist attacks on the United States and the ensuing recession it caused.

"Our members saw fit to accept this contract for now," Loving said. "But there are still ongoing issues to resolve with the city; we will work on those both in the interim and when the next round of contract talks begins in about 18 months."

The new pact is retroactive to July 1, 2001 and runs through June 30, 2004. It includes a guaranteed 6.9 percent wage hike over the three years - more depending on Portland's cost-of-living increases.

On the contentious health care issue, the DCTU will work with other city unions - police and firefighters - to redesign the basic health insurance plan that is offered to employees. The plan design will include reductions of between 19 and 25 percent and likely will include deductibles. City employees will also pay a percentage of their health insurance premiums starting in the third year; the exact amount will not be determined until the plan redesign is completed, but it shouldn't be more than $50 a month for a family of four.

"City employees put up a tremendous fight and they should be proud," said Yvonne Martinez, a business representative of AFSCME Local 189 and the chief negotiator for DCTU. "A big part of our campaign was to get the city to put people ahead of projects. That will continue to be our campaign."

The seven unions that make up the DCTU are AFSCME Local 189, Laborers Local 483, Electrical Workers Local 48, Machinists Lodge 1005, Operating Engineers Local 701, Plumbers and Fitters Local 290 and Painters Local 10.