On Tuesday, November 18, workers at the Riverview Center for Growth reached a tentative agreement (TA) on their new contract!

The bargaining team worked very hard to secure the best contract possible could with the power members had.

Voting will be held December 8 – December 12. Members will receive an email with a link to vote.

Below are some highlights from the TA:

• Cost-of-Living Adjustments (COLAs) and raises:
  • 3% COLA in 2026 on the anniversary of the employee’s hire date.
  • 3% COLA in 2027 on the anniversary of the employee’s hire date.
  • One step (raise) in 2027 on the anniversary of the employee’s hire date.
• Article 6 – Union Rights
  • The new contract lists Education for Management and Employees as a topic to discuss in the Labor Management Committee.
• Article 9 – Seniority
  • Seniority lists will be updated quarterly.
• Article 11 – Mandatory Meetings/Training and Professional Development
  • Language in the contract was cleaned up to be more specific about where and how much training funding will be distributed for staff development.
• Article 15 – Probationary Period
  • Language has been changed and/or added to reflect that a probationary employee cannot be disciplined or discharged unless the Union has been informed of the implementation of a Performance Improvement Plan.
  • Probationary employees will receive evaluations at 3, 6, and 12 months. In this time a support plan will be implemented if deemed appropriate, but is not mandatory.
• Article 23 – Sick Leave
  • The article has been changed so that there is no limit to the maximum number of sick days an employee can accrue. It was previously limited to 66 days.
  • The article was also changed so there is no limit to the number of Hardship Leave requests an employee can make. The Hardship Leave is a donated pool of sick days that employees who have completed their initial 12 months of employment, can request if they have exhausted all other accumulated leave due to illness.
• Article 24 – Other Leave
  • The language was changed to be up-to-date with current Oregon Law.
• Article 25 – Benefits / Retirement
  • After completing the first 12 months of employment, Riverview will match an employee’s contribution of up to 3% of their pay towards their retirement fund. After three years of plan participation, the agency will contribute towards the employee’s retirement fund without a matching contribution from the employee.t given residents with the purpose of meeting state ratios
• Article 27 – Discipline
  • Definitions of Support Plan and Performance Improvement Plan were added.
  • Support Plans are not disciplinary and are used to support employees.
  • Performance Improvement Plans are formal procedures to address performance concerns.
  • The steps Progressive Discipline were changed to make them more streamlined and have steps delineated.
• Article 34 – Term of Agreement
  • Language was added to state the ending date of the contract, once ratified, is December 31st, 2027.
  • Language was also added to state that parties agree to begin bargaining 6 months before the expiration of this contract.