8/05 Bargaining Update

Bargaining Session 8/2: During this week’s bargaining session our team put forward proposals and counters on Holidays, Vacations, Maintenance/Standards, Trainings, and Evaluations. Our proposals sought to expand leave benefits, ensure any part of evaluations or counseling could not be used against members for disciplinary reasons, and increase compensation for the many licenses and certifications our members hold. The City responded with very minimal movement toward our positions on proposals of Sick Leave and Seniority. The bargaining process is filled with employer reluctance to change from status quo. Still we are confident that our persistence in negotiations paired with the full support of PCL workers will win the concessions from the City that we need. 

Class Comps: As negotiations move forward more time is being dedicated to finalizing PCL’s financial demands. While our demands on pay increases will be based on what members need and the city’s proven ability to pay, we will support those demands using wage comparisons. Specifically we are focusing on financially comparable regions such as Seattle, Tacoma, and Sacramento. The bargaining team has done their own research and many members have already shared class comps for their positions.  If you would like to contribute class comps for your job classifications please call or email a member of the bargaining team so those comps can be used in negotiations.