Dear Multnomah County Commissioners,

We, the undersigned, support our AFSCME Local 88 bargaining team and respectfully petition you to direct your bargaining team to ensure they work diligently towards a reasonable agreement with our union. Our proposals are not gratuitous.

Union members and the community we serve cannot wait another three years for equity, healthcare, and a living wage. Equity at the County is long overdue, and to be effective it requires a system with checks and balances where frontline county workers are heard. Health care means a benefits plan people can afford to use. A living wage allows staff us live in the county we serve.

Our union has not proposed outrageous demands with hopes of being negotiated back to better-than-average results. We respect and understand the need for responsible stewardship of taxpayer dollars. We pay taxes. We pay rent.

Regardless, we expect to be bargained with in good faith; not talked around, placated, and dismissed. We support our bargaining team’s proposals, not just for our own benefit, but for the benefit of all workers in our community. Multnomah County should set a high and admirable standard for employers and employees alike in the state of Oregon and nationwide.

We ask that you direct the management bargaining team to work with urgency to reach a contract that reflects the values and the mission of Multnomah County.