Barney Lerten
(Update: Union updates vote, new details of contract)
BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) — More than 100 Central Oregon Community College classified workers “resoundingly” approved a new three-year contact Wednesday that includes raises of up to 28%, averting a first-ever strike that would have begun early Thursday, union leaders said.
The deal was reached in last-minute, mediated talks on a new contract, just hours before a possible first-ever walkout at COCC was to begin at 5 a.m. Thursday.
“COCC administrators have listened to reason and made the laudable choice to listen to the voices of their classified staff instead of fighting against living wages for college employees,” the union announced Wednesday afternoon.
Union representative Rachel Gompert told TVZ News on Thursday that “98% voted yes, with 91% of the entire membership activated and having participated within just several hours of calling it.”
COCC officials said the deal includes overall 15% in raises over the three-year agreement, costing the college $1.9 million.
If not averted, this would have been the second strike ever at an Oregon community college. At Portland Community College, a tentative agreement was reached Monday to end a nearly three-week strike by its faculty union, KGW reported.
Here is COCC’s news release on the agreement:
COCC and Classified Association Reach Tentative Agreement
Central Oregon Community College (COCC) and the Classified Association of COCC (CACOCC/OEA) have reached a tentative agreement on a new collective bargaining contract for 2025-2028, following ongoing negotiations. The tentative agreement is subject to ratification by union membership and approval by the COCC Board of Directors.
“We are pleased to have reached a tentative agreement through continued dialogue and good-faith negotiations,” said Greg Pereira, COCC president. “This agreement reflects a shared commitment to supporting our employees while maintaining the College’s responsibility to students and the long-term health of the institution.”
The agreement outlines a 3-year contract and includes a wage and step increase totaling approximately $1.9 million over a 3-year contract period, including additional benefits to Classified employees. The tentative agreement includes:
Compensation: A 6% wage increase in the first year, 4.5% increase in the second and 4.5% increase in the third year of the contract
Benefits: The agreement also includes a change to tiered insurance rates for the classified bargaining members. This allows savings to these employees and the College.
Negotiations between the College and the union have been ongoing for more than a year under Oregon’s public collective bargaining framework, with recent mediation sessions helping both parties move toward resolution.
“We appreciate the time, effort and collaboration from all involved in reaching this tentative agreement,” said Erica Skatvold, chair of the COCC Board of Directors. “Our focus throughout this process has been to support our employees while ensuring we remain financially sustainable and able to serve our students and community. We are grateful to have the opportunity to bring this to closure.”
CACOCC members are reviewing the tentative agreement the afternoon of April 1 and will be voting this evening. If ratified by CACOCC, and approved by the COCC Board of Directors, the agreement will take effect as of July 1, 2025 and continue through June 30, 2028.
COCC will continue to share updates as the ratification process moves forward at: https://cocc.edu/negotiations.
Here is the updated news release from the union, issued late Wednesday night:
BREAKING: TENTATIVE AGREEMENT APPROVED BY CLASSIFIED ASSOCIATION OF CENTRAL OREGON COMMUNITY COLLEGE MEMBERS
New Agreement Raises Wages for COCC’s Lowest Paid Staff up to 28%
Bend, OR – The second-ever community college strike in Oregon was averted with only hours to spare this evening, when classified staff at Central Oregon Community College resoundingly ratified a transformative agreement that will transform lives by raising wages for the lowest paid employees at COCC by as much as 28% over the life of a three year contract.
Strike seemed inevitable early this morning, the final day before tomorrow morning’s 5am strike deadline. After fourteen months of prolonged negotiations, COCC board and president appeared unmoved.
After community members began actively calling on Board members to intervene in recent days to avert a strike, and extensive public communication about the union’s willingness and intent to remain out 2-3 months if necessary to secure an agreement, COCC accepted the union’s most recent proposal from this morning, reaching TA that with ratification will now avert strike.
Emergency voting was opened immediately following membership meetings taking questions and sharing full contents of the TA, and with 91% of the entire membership participating in the snap vote over just several hours, the agreement was ratified nearly unanimously.
CACOCC members are applauding the new agreement, the solidarity of their community, and the support of their colleagues and union siblings in achieving the victory.
These pay increases include a Cost of Living Adjustment of 6% year one, 4.5% year two, and 4.5% in year three, and three bottom step deletions over three years. With step advancement and compounding, this means an average raise of 22.8% for workers over the life of this contract and raises up to 28% for the lowest paid ones.
The agreement also includes 95% employer-paid insurance (up from 90%) while nonetheless saving the employer money. Union negotiators found these extraordinary win-win savings through careful attention to OEBB payment options given to employers. The savings keep all plan options unchanged and yet will reduce premiums for members by hundreds of dollars a month. For the lowest paid employees, these insurance savings act as a 5% additional increase to their effective wages each year.
CACOCC members were set to walk out on strike tomorrow, April 2, at 5 am. Instead, they will return to work in jubilation, for the change they, with the support of their colleagues and students, were able to win.
“Thank you to every student, faculty member, and community member who has rallied with us, spoke up on our behalf at Board meetings, and refused to back down even when we were just hours from our strike deadline,” said Scott Dove, an academic technology specialist at COCC and President of the Classified Association of Central Oregon Community College.
“When this college told us we didn’t deserve better, you told us we did, and to not stop standing up for it. The past six months we have all done things we never did together, including the first-ever joint rally between faculty and classified staff at COCC, as COCC faculty enter their own negotiations.
“As we celebrate the transformative changes to day-to-day life this contract will give, we prepare next to rally as our union siblings in the Central Oregon Community College Faculty Forum continue their own negotiations. We will not forget the outpouring of solidarity we received, and will be there to repay it in full to our friends in COCCFF going forward.”
“It still hasn’t set in for me yet that after fourteen months of fighting so hard, we finally did it,” said Liz Patterson, data specialist at COCC and Lead Negotiator for CACOCC. “For months we’ve been building our union community while bargaining our expired contract. Our members have pulled together, shared stories, found solidarity and pride.
“Thank you to every classified member at COCC who trusted the team to bring home something we can all be proud of. To the half a dozen community college unions now entering their own contract negotiations across Oregon, as well as to classified staff in Klamath Falls City Schools who are in the fight of their lives against poverty pay, we say this: PCC did it, we did it, so will you. Our communities will stand with us when our fights are just, and every classified staff person who works in higher education in Oregon deserves a dignified living wage.”
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CACOCC represents dedicated college employees who touch the lives of thousands of COCC students every year. CACOCC members perform essential work at COCC as student aid specialists, student veteran’s services specialists, student enrollment specialists, administrative assistants, laboratory specialists, IT professionals, custodial staff, grounds crews and more. They are united in their refusal to accept any agreement that keeps CACOCC members regularly experiencing hunger, food insecurity, homelessness, and poverty. Learn more and stay up to date in real time at: www.Instagram.com/CACOCCunited.
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Crowds of skiers and snowboarders hit the slopes at Mt. Bachelor on Thursday (Mt. Bachelor webcam photo)
(City of Bend graphic)
Photos courtesy of La Pine Rural Fire District
