Embroiled in lengthy contract negotiations with the city of Portland, the District Council of Trade Unions filed a labor complaint this month alleging that city officials haven’t bargained in good faith and withheld vacation approvals as a negotiating tactic.
The union, which represents about 1,600 city employees in big bureaus such as transportation, water and environmental services, has been without a contract since July 1. That’s not unusual — the last time the union’s contract expired, in 2
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Embroiled in lengthy contract negotiations with the city of Portland, the District Council of Trade Unions filed a labor complaint this month alleging that city officials haven’t bargained in good faith and withheld vacation approvals as a negotiating tactic.
The union, which represents about 1,600 city employees in big bureaus such as transportation, water and environmental services, has been without a contract since July 1. That’s not unusual — the last time the union’s contract expired, in 2010, a contract didn’t head to the Portland City Council for approval until November.
What makes the latest bout interesting is the union’s unfair labor claim that city managers withheld vacation awards in late September.
According to an Oct. 2 claim filed with the state’s Employment Relations Board, DCTU chief spokesman Rob Wheaton got a call Sept. 26 from the city’s chief spokeswoman for the negotiations, Julia Getchell.
During that call, the complaint states, Getchell told Wheaton that vacation requests for union members would be placed “on hold” for the months of November, December and January over fears of a potential strike. As a result, employees wouldn’t be able to take vacation unless the time had already been approved, according to the complaint.
“The lack of a approval is a denial,” Wheaton told The Oregonian on Thursday. “I considered it basically a pressure tactic.”
Anna Kanwit, the city’s human resources director, denied the charge.
“That is not an accurate assertion by DCTU,” Kanwit told The Oregonian in an email. She declined to identify what, if anything, changed about the city’s vacation approval process, however, citing the complaint as pending litigation.
Wheaton said the city began approving vacation after the union filed its complaint.
The claim also alleged that Getchell served as the city’s chief spokeswoman for contract negotiations but “was sent to the bargaining table with no authority to bargain.”
On the plus side, Wheaton said, “significant progress” was made at a bargaining session Tuesday.
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— Brad Schmidt