3 days Ago By ALEX POWERS [email protected]
Deb Lindberg stood in a relatively short line — four people long — and waited for her turn Friday at the tax counter in the Benton County Financial Services Department. Although dozens of workers were picketing county facilities in Corvallis , the third straight day of striking over contract negotiations that started in January, some were still at their desks as county residents streamed into the local government’s headquarters Nov. 15 on Technology Loop.
“Even though they’re on strike. We don’t have a choice,” Lindberg said. “It’s just like COVID, when they shut everything down — we still have to pay our taxes.
” Bryan Lee, center, speaks with Assistant Benton County Administrator Rick Crager on Friday, Nov. 15, in a temporary emergency operations center on the second floor of the Kalapuya Building in Corvallis. Elsewhere in the local jurisdiction of about 100,000 residents, an Oregon Employment Relations Board-provided mediator was still hashing out unsettled terms between county department managers and the union representing more than half of Benton’s workforce, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, or AFSCME.
The parties last met on Friday. According to a news release from the county, "A little after 5 p.m.
the mediator asked if either party had further offers or bargaining for the day. Neither party did, so the mediator dismissed everyone." Benton County and the American Federation are expected to continue bargaining Tuesday, Nov.
19. On Sunday night, Nov. 17, the county appeared set to continue operating under reduced hours, leaving posted a schedule pinned last week to the local government’s website.
Some supervisors and staffers are working from an emergency operations center on the second floor of the Kalapuya Building. Deb Lindberg holds her 1-year-old grandchild while waiting in line at the Kalapuya Building tax counter Friday, Nov. 15, in Corvallis.
“Basically, the level we’re operating at is considered our continuity of operations, and we’re bare-bones essential,” county Emergency Manager Bryan Lee said in an interview Friday. Many county offices have opened an hour later and closed an hour sooner since Wednesday, now operating 10 a.m.
to 4 p.m. Others, including the Public Works shop on Southwest Avery Avenue, are completely closed.
Benton County’s headquarters, the Kalapuya Building, was quieter than usual but not silent. Spokesperson Anne Thwaits said some departments were nearly fully staffed, while others appeared nearly empty. “We have AFSCME-represented people who have been working since Wednesday,” Thwaits said Friday.
“We have some who were out Wednesday and came back yesterday. Some came back today. And we don’t differentiate.
” Thwaits said open positions on the county’s hiring website were posted before the strike, and that county hiring managers have paused bringing in new workers while the union is striking. Benton County Emergency Manager Bryan Lee plugs in computer equipment Friday, Nov. 15, inside a temporary emergency operations center at the Kalapuya Building in Corvallis.
“We kind of put that on hold,” Thwaits said. Thwaits categorically denied that the county is hiring relief or replacement workers through Craigslist or temporary employment and staffing agencies. As such, the county has had to adjust.
For example, she said the county’s records division is sending applications for marriage certificates to other counties, and requests for some records, like birth certificates, to state offices. Many on strike work in support roles — helping fulfill requests or schedule appointments in the county’s offices, such as those who provide building and engineering permits, primary health care support and records. County officials estimated around 90 union-represented employees were working or had worked after the union began striking two days earlier, on Wednesday.
That’s around 27% of the 340 people covered by contract terms proposed by union and the American Federation bargaining team. The parties’ last contract expired at the start of the fiscal year in July . The Kalapuya Building as it appeared Friday, Nov.
15, in Corvallis. Benton County previously has propped up its emergency command in events regarded as natural disasters, like the storms in January that blanketed much of the region in thick ice and prompted Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek to declare a statewide emergency.
“So, if we’re seeing any issues or resource needs there, we help support those departments that need it through operations,” Lee said. Workers were divided into teams Friday, seated at such crate-able equipment as computers, easels and projectors, figuring out what to communicate to the public and when, coordinating where to send furniture, supplies and vehicles, and tracking how and where the county spends its limited employee hours. “There's no additional capacity to provide extra support,” Lee said.
More Benton County news More Corvallis news Alex Powers (he/him) covers agri-business, Benton County, environment and city of Lebanon for Mid-Valley Media. Call 541-812-6116 or tweet @OregonAlex. Stay up-to-date on the latest in local and national government and political topics with our newsletter.
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