By Nicole Montesano • Staff Writer • 

County reaches impasse with main union

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Comments

tagup

Maybe the union should clarify the "bad conditions" the employees "must endure"....give me a break....do I understand that the disagreement is over a one quarter of one percent wage increase the first year?.....Really?

Denise

Tschabold gets huge pay increases and offers the folks who actually do the work, pennies.

She’s overpaid for what she provides.

tagup, you give me a break. You clearly don’t know what you’re talking about. Go educate yourself and see what these folks have to deal with, and are grossly underpaid doing it.

Old school

Funny article and one that made me laugh out loud! "Bad conditions and pay you get".. just what are THOSE? It must be the great medical insurance or all the holidays they are forced to take off? Or maybe for some, it's the famous "boot allowance"?
I believe Laura is under contract, so that has already been negotiated and must be given, unlike the union who must renegotiate. I say...let them strike! Or better yet, for those who think it's so BAD working for the County, you could quit and find work elsewhere. Although I wonder how many will do that...and how long would they last in the real world where you can get fired for no reason at all!!! Stay tough Laura and keep protecting us taxpayers!

tagup

Denise—”grossly underpaid”.....good one......I think it’s you that needs to do a compensation review against similar private sector positions......

Sheeple No More

Again, why a salary study for management, but not the employees? And who, exactly, is being underpaid here, as compared to other counties?

Re: Working conditions: Why is turnover running at 60%? Is that because of the great working conditions? The County cannot keep clerical staff or even nursing staff @ Public Health! Even Tillamook County pays 24% more to their nurses. Case loads for clinicians at the clinics (which include mental health, families, DD Services, juvenile, Veterans) run @ 90 per and above. The Road Department has been reduced to 9 people.

The County has paid out over $7 million dollars recently in management related lawsuits. We all know the mess that the County's Information Systems is in (See NR: Paolo lawsuit).

Online comments have been pretty mean spirited so far, telling the workers to strike or go elsewhere. They are, have been, & will. That's the problem, folks.

Watching From The Sidelines

'The Lady' doth protest too much, methinks.

Pragmatist

Tschabold isn't looking out for the taxpayers best interest as Old School suggests. Consider the thousands of dollars paid out in lawsuits for poor management decisions, or the potential for more since the county chooses to use inmates as flaggers, taking jobs away from law abiding citizens. And a boot allowance is pretty common for workers in foot hazard areas, as it protects from injury and compensation claims. I WANT the union to fight for these and other issues in order to maintain the highest level of public service. The commissioners should stop trying to degrade the workforce and give them a contract that's fair.

Don Dix

It's evident it is AFSCME behind this crusade, not the actual county employees. Exaggeration seems to be a common tactic when examining public union claims (comparisons of pay, working conditions, perks, etc.). And expanding the argument outside of the county is easily identified as a mob mentality approach.

If you know a county employee, ask them, rather than take the word of a union propaganda shill, who is likely overpaid and has a financial stake in the amount of the negotiated contract.

tagup has the correct approach -- one quarter of one percent on a $40K salary is $100 per year ($10 per month). A possible strike over that paltry amount? Wow!

Don Dix

---- Sorry, under $10 per month.

Watching From The Sidelines

Why was there a wage study done for an administrator but that same person refuses to do them for the real workers of the county? I believe this is unacceptable! In my personal opinion I believe the administrator is grossly overpaid for the abilities she maintains. A job that appears was given to her as a last ditch effort from a previous commissioner to keep her hands in the pocket.
John K who was a previous administrator was an intelligent and extremely fair man. He did not need an deputy to ease his workload. This current administrator has a deputy who maintains an equally overpaid position. Why do we need two highly paid positions and squabble over what is asked in a new contract by union employees?
We need to rethink who is voted in as commissioners in the upcoming elections because they are NOT doing their jobs by allowing this to happen. I will NOT REVOTE for the two commissioners who are coming up for a second term! I will do my best to make sure others know.

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