Portland City Council staff voted overwhelmingly to be represented by a union, and most of them chose Communications Workers of America (CWA) Local 7901. In mail ballots counted by the Oregon Employment Relations Board (ERB) May 26, the vote was 17 for Local 7901, 12 for AFSCME Local 189, and 4 to remain non-union.
ERB is expected to certify Local 7901 as bargaining representative on June 8. The new bargaining unit includes 45 employees who work either for one of the 12 individual city council members, for the council’s committees, or for one of the city’s four council districts.
Local 7901 announced last December it had majority support in the proposed bargaining unit, but in January Local 189 asked ERB to hold an election because it was the preferred choice of some City Council staff. Local 189 is the largest union of city employees. Local 7901 has up to now been an exclusively private sector union representing telecom and nonprofit employees.
CWA Local 7901 president Meg Ward said she’s looking forward to working with city council staff who may not have voted for her union and hopes they’ll join the bargaining committee and be active participants.
Members will formally identify their bargaining priorities in an upcoming survey, but Ward said it’s likely to include standard union features like progressive discipline as well as more autonomy on the job.
so when the current councelors lose there jobs, do the staffers still have permanent city jobs ?