The City is preparing to bring in contractors and seek help from other government agencies to keep services running if city workers strike on October 14th, even as union members urge councilors to intervene before it reaches that point.
Inside the City Council meeting tonight, AFSCME Local 2975 bargaining team members described their frustrations. Outside the City Council meeting, other union members practiced walking a picket line.
(Photo: AFSCME Local 2975 speakers at the October 5th Corvallis City Council meeting)
During the meeting, City Manager Mark Shepard called the looming strike “a fluid situation” and asked councilors for authority to arrange services through other governmental entities.
“We are working very hard as staff to minimize disruptions to the community, should that strike materialize,” Shepard said towards the end of the council meeting.
The council unanimously approved that request.
Shepard now has the authority to enter “intergovernmental agreements”, which would be needed to continue services during a strike. Intergovernmental agreements are often cooperative legal contracts between two or more government entities designed to share resources and deliver public services.
Shepard said he already has the authority to bring in contractors, but agreements with other government agencies require council authorization.
“One of the things we will be doing is looking for other ways to deliver services, should staff not be here, and we will look to bring contractors in,” he said.
Union President Evan Newton put the responsibility for avoiding that outcome directly before councilors. “This strike is now in your hands,” Newton said. “We need you to talk to management, but you are running out of time.” He urged councilors to change management’s bargaining direction.
The union represents around 246 city employees. Its strike-readiness page reports that 89% of eligible members participated in the strike authorization vote, with 90.2% voting yes.
Newton said the bargaining team had spent nine months trying to reach a mutually agreeable contract, but members felt their work was not being recognized.
“We are organized. We demand better, and we will not back down,” he said.
Bailey Adams, a Public Works employee and bargaining team member, connected the labor dispute to another problem councilors know well… deferred maintenance.
Adams argued that neglecting the workforce creates a cycle of mounting costs.
“If you spend all your time patching roads and don’t have funding to fully resurface, the cracks grow, and costs spiral out of control,” Adams said.
Hiring, training replacement employees, reduced efficiency, and contracting out work all carry costs, Adams said. Adams cited a union analysis putting turnover at 77% over four years and said only about a third of workers live in the city they serve, partly because wages have not kept up with rent.
(Those figures were presented as the union’s findings, and we did not independently verify them for this article)
The City has offered up a different financial perspective. In its September 9th contract announcement, it described a three-year proposal totaling more than $7.8 million, with cost-of-living increases totaling 12%, plus annual 5% step increases for eligible employees.
Tonight’s meeting showed how both sides are preparing for what comes next. Newton told councilors there was still time to change the outcome.
“If not, we’ll see you on the picket line.”
This article was written by Jesse Grant, a contributor to The Corvallis Inquirer. Feel free to send us your stories or articles to publish at: editor@corvallisnow.com
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So, the City Council and City Manager are in agreement to hire SCABS? Nice. Vote them out.