Final ODOT Coalition Report

We started bargaining for the ODOT Coalition on February 23rd 2009. We have bargained every other Monday night since. Last night we tentatively agreed on the outstanding issues left at the coalition table. This will allow us to focus our energy on the statewide campaign around central table bargaining. This tentative agreement for the ODOT Coalition is an important step forward, but there is still much work to do to fight off furloughs and other take aways.

Before we move on to the next fight, it is important to acknowledge the work of our fabulous bargaining delegates whose persistence, thoughtfulness and time made these improvements possible:

Bill Kinyoun (ODFW – Bargaining Chair), Kermit Meling (ODOT – Bargaining Chair),
Betty Huskey (ODOT), Mike Scott (ODOT), Kevin Cole (ODF), Dave Wells (ODF), Katy Powers (DMV), Sonya Reichwein (DMV), Dave Judkins (ODFW), Eric Ollerenshaw (ODFW), Doreen Vargas (DMV), Joe Lamont (ODOT), Katey Peterson (DMV), Angie Mittelstaedt (OPRD), John Ponce (OPRD), Mike Johnson (ODOT), Lee Erickson (ODOT), Joe Sheahan (ODFW), Bart Cotta (ODOT), Cameron McGinnis (ODOT), Doug Case (ODFW), Ann Madsen (OPRD), Rebecca Simmons (OPRD), Lorrie Schaefer (ODOT), Bryan Koehn (ODF)

Also, special thanks to other members who showed up week after week and made huge contributions at the table: Kirk Spindler (ODOT), Pete Wilde (ODOT), Roy Ware (DMV), Lou Bumgarner (DMV), Shirley Wait (ODOT), Jim Harney (OPRD), Jerry Noble (ODOT), Jay Burkert (ODOT), Jim Cooper (ODOT), Amy Regimbal (ODOT), Rose Halseth (DMV) and many, many others.

Below is a summary of the progress made at ODOT Coalition Bargaining:

• ODOT - Add Machinist and Autotechs to meal allowance
• ODOT - Increased meal allowance by 5 dollars ($17 total) for shifts that last 16 hours or more
• Coalition - Changed penalty pay language to 7 calendar days instead of 5 workdays
• ODOT/DMV – Fixes holiday language for holidays that fall on days off/weekends
• Forestry/ODOT – Allows seasonal employees to carry over vacation from season to season
• ODOT/DMV – Expanded penalty pay in a letter of agreement to include work schedule changes
• ODFW – Adds reasonable notice for overnight travel language
• ODFW – Includes change to make lunches near middle of work shift
• ODFW – Creates mechanism for employees to ensure at least 10 hours between shifts
• Coalition – Expands training requests to include career development language
• Coalition – Adds language to education requests to ensure either approval or reason for denial
• Coalition – Posts list of rotational opportunities fourteen (14) days prior to closing date when they use open announcements.
• Parks – Expands pro-rated boot reimbursement language to seasonal and part time employees
• ODOT – Adds Machinist and Autotechs to list of eligible employees for safety glass reimbursement, and allows Machinist and Autotechs to use tool reimbursement for purchasing raingear. This language was moved in from a letter of agreement as well
• Forestry – Increases mechanic reimbursement from two-hundred and seventy-five dollars ($275) annually to seven-hundred dollars ($700) per biennium
• DMV – Letter of agreement to make sure Saturday DMV offices are closed on the actual holiday AND the observed holiday in next biennium. Allows employee to use leave or adjust schedule for additional closure day. This will effect July 4th, 2009 and Christmas 2010 and New Years 2011.
• ODFW – New language in letter of agreement for Ocean Salmon and Columbia River Program (OSCRP) that says employees on flexible schedules will have their schedules posted for the next week by 5 p.m. Thursday. It also creates a tracking mechanism over a year period to see how often the posted schedule is changed for the following week and a report back at September 2010 labor management for recommendations


If you have any specific questions please let me know.

-Troy Barnard
ODOT Coalition Organizer