Oregon legislators are getting down to the nitty-gritty of the state’s next two-year budget. They have until the end of June to pass the budget for a fiscal year that begins July 1. The economy is better than it was two years ago, but federal stimulus funds have been used up, and it’s a lean, hard season for most state agencies.

Among agencies of special concern to organized labor, the scenario is belt-tightening, but no disabling cuts.

The Bureau of Labor and Industries (BOLI) stood to lose eight positions in the governor’s budget, but a Joint Ways and Means subcommittee restored four of them. Going forward as of press time, it appeared that the agency will shrink from its current full-time-equivalent of 107.3 staff to 101. The cuts would include one fewer wage and hour compliance specialist, and one fewer civil rights investigator. The agency was to have lost two employees in the apprenticeship division, but those were restored by the subcommittee, with an additional apprenticeship position added for heavy highway construction.

University of Oregon Labor Education and Research Center (LERC) doesn’t appear to be under any special threat, though it could have its budget trimmed if higher education budget overall gets chopped 7 percent.

The State of Oregon Employment Relations Board (ERB) — which runs elections, mediates disputes, and adjudicates labor law violations for state and local government employees in Oregon — is fully funded for year one with 13 full-time equivalent staff. But it’s on track to lose about a quarter of its budget in year two unless a committee can come up with new funding ideas.

Unlike the National Labor Relations Board, which administers labor law for private-sector unions, ERB’s budget comes mostly from user fees, including a per-capita fee paid by state agencies.

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