About 1,000 workers at Marion County are set to go on strike starting Tuesday, Sept. 22. That’s if county management hasn’t reached agreement with SEIU Local 503 by then on a new collective bargaining agreement. Health care costs and wages have been the top issues keeping the two sides from reaching a deal up to now. Local 503 says county managers got a 2% increase in July, and the County belatedly offered 2% to members, but it has said it won’t apply that raise retroactively to the June 30 expiration of the previous contract. Meanwhile, the union says the county pays 95% of health care costs for county workers who aren’t union represented, but won’t match that for union members.
The two sides are bargaining over a new two-year agreement to replace one that expired June 30.
Marion County is Oregon’s fifth largest with over 345,000 residents. County workers represented by Local 503 include public works, building inspectors, community corrections, dog shelter, IT and health department workers, and many others.
