Members of Local 2376, the Corrections Security Plus bargaining unit of about 1,300 statewide, have overwhelmingly ratified their new two-year contract with the state.
Council 75 Corrections Coordinator Tim Woolery reports a 97 percent ratification rate of those who returned ballots, a percentage he terms “one of the highest” in recent memory.
Oregon AFSCME’s two large Department of Corrections units, Security and Security Plus, bargain parallel-but-separately to the Central Table negotiations that cover all other Council 75-represented state workers. The Security unit continues to bargain.
The legislative Emergency Board must officially approve the Local 2376 deal, but that is considered a formality. Once the agreement has its legislative stamp of approval, Woolery and state chief negotiator Craig Cowan will meet to determine the contract’s effective date, expected to be no later than Oct. 15.
“That means the day after Thanksgiving will be a paid holiday this year,” said Woolery, citing a bargaining victory that has been an issue for several years. “Those who have to work the holiday will receive 8 hours of ‘extra’ vacation.”
Local 2376 statewide President Ron Thompson, who works at Snake River Correctional Institution in Ontario, is pleased with the contract.
“We worked long and hard to get what we have in this agreement,” he said. “It’s a very good contract.”
Most of the contract’s other economic highlights mirror the Central Table agreement: a 5 percent wage increase over the course of the deal, the same 95/5 or 99/1 insurance option, step increases throughout the agreement and the 6 percent PERS pickup continued.
One addition specific to the Security Plus contract are changes to what’s called the Security Differential, which is an internal DOC measurement of security duties. The new contract bumps up the value of each Security Differential “point,” and the agreement calls for all Security Plus members to automatically get at least 1 point.
“This was big,” said Woolery. “Each point is now $14 a month, or $168 per year. Employees that are already receiving points will also get the one additional point.
“Moreover, with this agreement, the agency recognizes the security-related work that virtually every member of Security Plus performs in some way, and better rewards those who have additional security duties.”
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