Benton County and ASFCME Local 2064 have reached an agreement on a new contract. On Wednesday, managers and supervisors had already welcomed many employees back to work, and the rest are returning today, Thursday, Nov. 21.
Public service hours will remain 10 am to 4 pm on Thursday and Friday this week, Nov. 21 and 22, while employees return to work and catch up on communications and any backlog. Visit bentoncountyor.gov/announce for daily updates on service availability as the County transitions back to business as usual.
Normal public service hours will return Monday-Wednesday next week – which means 8 am to 5 pm for most services. County offices and Community Health Centers will be closed Thursday and Friday, Nov. 28-29, for the Thanksgiving holiday.
Negotiations and deal
Negotiators for both AFSCME and the County came to a tentative agreement Tuesday night, and the union’s representatives took the deal to their membership the next day. The workers voted to accept the terms yesterday at around noon.
The strike began Nov. 13, after about ten months of failed negotiations.
According to a release from the County, the contract will be presented to the Benton County Board of Commissioners for approval in their Regular Board Meeting scheduled for Tuesday, Dec. 3.
It’s anticipated the Board will approve.
The agreement calls for guaranteed raises ranging between 10.4% and 13.4%. It also includes a market study matching worker classifications and wages to costs for living in Portland. A similar study conducted for Benton County’s management positions resulted in raises ranging between twenty and forty percent for those folks.
Since the beginning of the strike, the County had maintained essential services with reduced public service hours, and many non-essential services were temporarily suspended to help manage workload.
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