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Staff rep Randy Ridderbusch hugs Executive Director Ken Allen at the close of Central Table negotiations. It will be the last Central Table contract for Allen, who is retiring next July. |
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The union’s state employees represented at Central Table bargaining have struck a tentative agreement.
AFSCME and the State of Oregon came to the TA at about 11 p.m. on July 7, following almost 14 hours of bargaining. Here are the economic highlights of the proposed two-year agreement:
• Cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs) totaling 5 percent over the contract; 2.25 percent on Dec. 1, 2015 and 2.75 percent again on Dec. 1, 2016.
• Health insurance plans with options of a 95-5 percent split for employees who choose the more expensive of the two plans, or 99-1 percent for those choosing the plan of less cost.
• The day after Thanksgiving is now a paid holiday for AFSCME-represented state employees.
“This is a victory for us on health care, an equitable wage increase and finally, we’ve won the day after Thanksgiving as a holiday,” said Oregon AFSCME Executive Director Ken Allen, the union’s chief negotiator. “The Central Table team whole-heartedly recommends this agreement, and we will get details out to the membership as soon as possible.”
Each of the 20-plus agencies represented at Central Table now have two weeks to finalize any “local table” individual agency issues. Unresolved issues at that point revert to current contract language. A ratification process will begin shortly thereafter.
AFSCME-represented Corrections employees in both the Security and Security Plus units continue to negotiate.
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