City of Portland
Nearly 900 strong, our Portland members keep the city moving, performing vital services in nearly every bureau that benefit the Portland community.
Class/compensation study context and details
You should have received an invitation from the Bureau of Human Resources (BHR) Classification and Compensation Team to participate in a study of your classification. The information went to work emails on June 17, 2024. I am reaching out to let you know that this is an important project that was bargained for in our last two contract negotiation cycles that is finally commencing.
Why now?
The last time most PROTEC17 classifications were thoroughly reviewed was in 1999. In the 25 years since, technology and industry standards have moved on, City operations have changed, and niche specialties have developed or disappeared. This study is intended to capture and address those changes so that your job classification description aligns more accurately with your work.
Why is this important?
The study will help ensure classifications are accurately assigned, including identifying where individuals may be misclassified. Additionally, updating classification descriptions will allow for a more accurate compensation analysis and opportunity to review for pay equity. Please note the results of the study are to inform labor negotiations. No pay changes will be made at this time – those must all be negotiated.
Thank you for your participation!
Your PROTEC17 chapter leadership encourages all members to complete the survey in the Job Assessment Tool (JAT). This will be the primary way for the City’s consultant, Evergreen Solutions, and Classification and Compensation Team to know how your job aligns (or doesn’t) with your current classification description. While participation is optional, management will also be reviewing and providing input and we don’t want to leave this solely in their hands. Members who want to coordinate their response with others in their classification are encouraged to do so. Please feel free to reach out to your Stewards or Chapter Officers to get help in connecting with your coworkers.
I acknowledge the timing of this study is inconvenient. I, myself, didn’t learn about the project timeline until hours right before a scheduled vacation, hence the delay in this message. However, further delay would adversely impact the timing of our contract negotiations. The City has committed to making this process as simple and transparent as possible for you to participate, and your chapter leadership team is here to support you.
The City created a 2024 Classification and Compensation Study intranet page to provide additional information and a list of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs). For any additional questions/concerns, you may also reach out directly to the Classification and Compensation Team at . As always, you can also reach out to me, your Union Representative (), or any of your chapter officers with questions.
Future of Work (FoW)
On March 26, your Future of Work (FoW) bargaining team kicked off Interest Based Bargaining (IBB) with the City, per the settlement to the Unfair Labor Practice (ULP) filed over the City’s initial refusal to bargain. We have sessions scheduled through mid-June. While the bargaining team is set, there are opportunities to inform the process through attending subcommittee discussions or sharing your story with a member of the bargaining team. You can review the priorities and interests identified from our member survey in 2022 in the graphics below.
We are collecting member stories about what work has been like for you over the last few years, and how remote work has made those things better and/or ways the City still needs to do more to support workers (remote, hybrid, or in-person). Where have inconsistencies in City policies caused you problems? Who’s had a manager who is completely unwilling to be flexible on anything? What have you had to give up or radically change in your life, when the flexibility was rolled back? How do these policies affect your health, your friends and family, your actual work, and the rest of your life?
What rising healthcare costs means for members
As reported last month, the Labor Management Benefits Committee (LMBC) has been working on the benefits plan for Fiscal Year 24-25 and how to absorb the double-digit increases for the self-insured (Moda) and Kaiser plans, 11.9 and 14.1 percent increases, respectively. The City wanted to control costs (they pay 95% of the total healthcare premium) by making adjustments to bring the plans down to an eight percent increase, but this shifts more of the costs on to members through things like increased deductibles, larger copays, and much higher out of pocket maximums.
After many tough discussions, labor ultimately voted as a block to reject all proposed changes to both Moda and Kaiser plans. However, the work of the LMBC is to produce a recommendation to Council for final adoption. It will now be up to the City Budget Office, Mayor, and Council to determine how to absorb the additional costs (at the time bureaus built their budgets, they only budgeted for 5 percent increases). There is a long history of Council accepting the results of the LMBC vote, but it is not a guarantee, which means this is still a developing situation. What we do know is that premium shares will be increasing and that members should plan to attend an open enrollment information session in May to learn about other possible changes.
Rachel Whiteside, your Union Representative, serves on the Committee and Paul Cone, your Chapter President, regularly attends the meetings. Both are available to help answer your benefits related questions and will be providing updates at the April chapter meetings.
Inclement weather grievance update (April 2024)
Last month, I reported about a class action grievance that was being filed in response to inconsistent direction and differences from past practice regarding the January ice event. The grievance was denied at Step 1. An information request was submitted to prepare for advancing the grievance to Step 2. Additional updates will be provided at our upcoming chapter meetings or newsletters as this grievance progresses.
Fixing our Streets renewal measure
PROTEC17 has endorsed the renewal of the Fixing Our Streets program campaign, which provides critical funding to PBOT through a ten cent gas tax and heavy vehicle usage fee. The four-year renewal will appear on the May 21, 2024, primary ballot, and a successful “yes” vote is crucial to protecting the jobs of many of our PBOT members. More information can be found at fixingourstreets.com. Stay tuned for opportunities to volunteer for the campaign.