The following is an update from the Jackson County Employee Association bargaining team, dated February 14, 2020.
Thank you for fighting with us for a new contract. The goal of this update is to give you a complete look at where we are today and how we got here.
We are in the middle of a tough fight with the County, and we don’t believe they have any intention of settling a fair contract without us taking bold action. We bargained for two days last week and they didn’t move at all except on part time health care; this is not fair bargaining. Our asks are clear at this point.
| Our Final Offer | County Response |
| A quality healthcare plan. That means lower out-of-pocket costs and a guarantee that the plan won’t change for the life of the contract. | The County’s current offer lowers healthcare costs, but they are refusing to guarantee the costs through the life of the contract, including what we pay each paycheck and the plan design. |
| A minimum 3.5% retroactive raise, effective July 1, 2019. | 3.5% raise but with no retroactivity. |
| We are fighting for a fair salary study that is completed quickly and includes larger counties that are closer in population to Jackson County. | Management is fine comparing themselves to large counties like Marion, Clacksmas and Washington Counties, but they want to compare our wages to smaller counties like Klamath, Douglas and Josephine. |
| We are fighting to keep the internal position bidding process in place. | Management wants to eliminate the internal bidding process. |
That’s where we’re at. So, how did we get here?
For the past four months we have been pressuring the County to move our healthcare into PEBB. After this summer, when our current plan got more expensive, we realized that we needed a bigger pool of people to ensure that county employees could get quality, affordable healthcare. PEBB is a great plan, with a $0 premium, good coverage, and it costs less than our current plan.
We did everything we could to try to fight for PEBB: radio and digital ads, hundreds of emails to county commissioners, rallies, calls from politicians, and more. The County came back to us and said that unless we could change the law, they would not agree to PEBB. Unfortunately, Oregon law gives them the ability to veto our entering into PEBB, and they refuse to contract with them. We don’t believe a strike would change their position, and the bargaining team decided to try to figure out what we could win. We needed another option.
That is why on Friday, we put forward a proposal to move into the management healthcare plan. In our current position, we feel that this option gives us the best shot at meeting our goals: 1) Lowering out-of-pocket costs, and 2) Getting a guarantee that the plan won’t change for the life of the contract.
The management plan is a big improvement over our current plan. Here are some details.
| Current Plan
Indv / Family |
Management’s Plan
Invd / Family |
| Premium Share: $185.03 per month | $49.85 per month |
| Annual Deductible: $1,000 / $3,000 | $750 / $3,000 |
| Out-of-pocket Pax: $5,000 / $15,000 | $2,250 / $6,750 |
| Primary care visit: $40 | $20 |
| Percent of costs covered by plan: 86.3% | 91.9% |
Click here to download a more detailed analysis of each healthcare plan.
As we considered their healthcare plan, we are asking for assurances that the costs are maintained throughout the life of the contract and that we have a voice in program design changes. These sideboards will give us stability for healthcare the next three years, which is a priority for us.
That is where we are now. We moved on our priority and the county must show they are bargaining in good faith by meeting us where we are at. We must be prepared to fight for a retroactive COLA and quality healthcare that decreases costs for members.
In Unity,
Jackson County Employee Association Bargaining Team
Kember Dollarhide
Angela Cruthirds
Del Hackworth
Robert Bartalini
Dave Richards