Nonunion workers are on their own. Union workers bargain collectively with their employers. In the Collective Bargaining section, we report on all aspects of that: negotiations, mediations, and arbitrations; impasses, lockouts, and strikes; and tentative agreements, votes, and ratification of new union contracts.
The unanimously ratified contract includes an immediate $80-a-month increase, three annual raises of 3%, dependent health coverage, and caps hours of work.
Local 757 says TriMet plans to eliminate mechanic apprenticeship programs and privatize bus service for the benefit of big companies like Amazon and FedEx.
The union says low wages have hindered Legal Aid’s ability to attract and retain the staff they need to provide legal services to low-income Oregonians.
A unit of over 12,000 engineers narrowly voted to accept a four-year contract extension, while a unit of 5,000 technical workers voted to reject it.
Bargaining dragged on and on. Then workers got ready to strike.
Months of pushback from Amalgamated Transit Union Local 757 has so far failed to persuade TriMet management to put the brakes on a plan to end its apprenticeship programs for bus and light rail mechanics.
All told, nearly 600 workers will get raises of 3% to 5% a year and more over the next few years.
Not only do faculty get raises of roughly $10,000 a year, but the new contract reduces the college’s incentive to shift course load to lower-paid part-timers.
The instructors want catch-up raises, and they want part-time faculty to be paid at the same rate as full time faculty.
TriMet has been proposing in union contract bargaining to scrap its bus and light rail maintenance mechanic training programs.
