One of the state’s largest public employee unions has reached a tentative agreement on a new labor contract with the state of Oregon that includes two planned pay increases, plus an additional one-time bonus.
On Friday, the Oregon branch of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees said it gave a nod to a package that would provide “unprecedented” cost-of-living raises for the state workers “amidst the rapid rise in inflation and the current statewide staffing crisis.”
Under a new contract negotiated by the union, state workers are set to receive a 6.5% cost-of-living raise in December, followed by another 6.55% increase in early 2025. The state will also hand out one-time bonuses of $1,500 to state employees in September as part of the agreement to “offset the higher cost of living,” the union said.
Under their last contract with the state of Oregon, state workers represented by AFSCME received a 2.5% cost-of-living raise in December 2021 and then a 3.1% cost-of-living raise in August 2022, in addition to their annual “step increase” raises.
During that two-year contract term, the consumer price index, a measure of inflation, rose 12%.
The union said it expects members to ratify the new contract within the next 30 days.
Inflation has eaten into workers’ wage gains, although it varies by industry, and some workers have still come out ahead so far, including the education and health care sector, The Oregonian/OregonLive reported.
A recent analysis by the state’s human resources office has found that the state has continued to pay its state workers competitive wages compared to neighboring states and private employers.
Before inflation sent the cost of living soaring, Oregon’s analysis of state worker compensation found that, as of July 1, 2020, the government paid employees highly competitive salaries and benefits compared with neighboring states.
The governor’s office and the Department of Administrative Services did not respond to emails and calls for comment.
–Kristine de Leon; kdeleon@oregonian.com