600-plus Lane County workers near strike, union says
As labor contract negotiations drag on, Lane County government’s largest employee union will strike next week unless the administration offers wage and health care concessions, a representative of the union said Monday.
A strike by the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Local 2831 and the AFSCME nurses unit would put up to 673 employees — nearly half the people employed by the county — on the picket line.
AFSCME representative Jim Steiner said the 575-employee general unit and 98-employee nurses union will strike Oct. 18 if the county doesn’t improve its offer. The notice follows negotiations since March on new three-year contracts for each of the units, with the county and union still far apart on employee compensation.
The county has offered pay raises totaling about 3 percent on average in the contract’s first year. The county also wants employees to start paying $20 to $70 per month toward their health insurance coverage premiums; they currently pay nothing.
Read more: http://registerguard.com/rg/news/local/36028862-75/story.csp