The City of Portland has settled a union grievance over who should write parking tickets in Washington Park. Last year, the City announced it would install parking meters in Washington Park and assign park rangers working for the Portland Parks Bureau to write tickets.
But AFSCME Local 189, which represents parking enforcement officers at the Portland Bureau of Transportation, filed a grievance saying that work should be assigned to its members, who make $24.94 an hour plus benefits — not to park rangers who make about half that amount. The rangers, though represented by Laborers Local 483, supported AFSCME’s argument.
To resolve the dispute, an Oct. 15 hearing was scheduled before an arbitrator. But in late September, the two sides worked out a settlement: The Parks Bureau will hire 1.5 parking enforcement officers. They’ll be Local 189 members, and will be paid the same scale as the other parking enforcement officers. Until then, rangers will continue writing tickets, as they have since the beginning of the year.
“It shows a willingness to look at settlement outside of arbitration, and I’m glad to see it,” said Oregon AFSCME representative Rob Wheaton, who worked on the grievance.
Wheaton credited City Commissioner Amanda Fritz, who’s in charge of Parks, for the settlement.
Portland City Council was scheduled to approve the new hires on Nov. 5, after this issue went to press.
