With AFSCME Local 2064 entering their fourth day striking for a fair contract, Oregon AFL-CIO President Graham Trainor penned a powerful letter (attached) to the Benton County Board of Commissioners.
“These employees keep your county running—ensuring clean water, providing vital behavioral health services, and maintaining the infrastructure that supports your entire community. Instead of honoring their contributions, you’ve chosen to insult and undermine them” said President Trainor.
In reference to the 20%-40% raises Benton County Management gave themselves, President Trainor said “Your approval of outrageous wage increases of upwards of $50,000 for managerial staff while denying fair wages to the workers who actually provide essential services is an egregious display of misplaced priorities and contempt for working people.”
Responding to the County’s use of math that any Benton County elementary school student can see is nonsense, President Trainor said “To make matters worse, management committed $800,000 less from their last proposal. This is nothing short of a slap in the face to the very workers who serve Benton County with dedication and professionalism every day.”
President Trainor continued: “Spending taxpayer dollars on anti-worker legal schemes instead of resolving this impasse is not only wasteful but shameful. The longer this strike continues, the more your constituents will suffer—and the more the blame will fall squarely on your shoulders.
It’s time to end this disgraceful chapter. Meet the workers’ reasonable demands for fair wages and safe working conditions. Show some respect for the people who keep Benton County functioning.
Enough is enough. Stop stalling, stop insulting your workers, and do the right thing. Benton County residents—and workers—deserve nothing less. The entire Oregon Labor Movement and our allies are watching what happens here, and expect a swift resolution to this strike.”
AFSCME Local 2064 represents more than 300 county workers in Benton County who work in behavioral health and public health clinics, financial services, Records & Elections, staff in the District Attorney office, public works, and many other departments.
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