Vancouver, Washington – An overwhelming supermajority of the 175 City of Vancouver workers represented by Office and Professional Employees International Union (OPEIU) Local 11 are calling on city leaders to abandon inequitable and disrespectful wage proposals intended to save the city money – at the expense of the people who live and work here.
Specifically, OPEIU Local 11 is demanding the city correct a salary survey that would freeze wages for almost half of its unit and lower earning potential for long-serving workers. The survey used new methods that union members believe intentionally skewed the results. For example, it used job descriptions that overlooked years of experience and critical skills of its employees. In one case, the survey compares a senior utilities inspector to an entry-level utilities employee trained only to read meters. If the survey is implemented, a senior inspector would earn at least $44,000 less over a 10-year career than they do now.
“Undervaluing these important workers with cherry-picked data only serves to lower morale, bleed out institutional knowledge and whittle away the quality of frontline services the city is able to provide. We are standing together in solidarity to demand a contract that retains knowledgeable employees and recognizes our members’ worth into the future.” said OPEIU Local 11 Rep Cheyenne Russell
The survey shows that 80 OPEIU Local 11 members are “overpaid,” despite a previous market study just three years ago that raised wages for many of the same positions because they had been under market. The city intends to freeze wages for any “overpaid” workers until the salaries match comparable jobs, per future salary surveys like this one.
“This proposal comes after the City already cut staff at the community centers, eliminated programs, and raised facility rates, which means the people who use these facilities are paying more, waiting longer, and losing access to classes and activities they have come to rely on. Many of these changes are directly affecting underserved demographics like seniors and people with disabilities the hardest” said Brandon Margicin, a parks and rec customer service representative who has worked for the city for 13 years. “It’s disheartening to watch our community lose services while we’re working twice as hard and being told our wages will stagnate indefinitely because we allegedly make too much.”
The survey also compared jobs with employers in the Portland metro area only, where past market studies used comparators in Washington state. When OPEIU Local 11 asked why the historical comparators were not used, the city falsely claimed that data wasn’t available. Further investigation revealed that the Washington dataset was available and had been used for a salary survey for the city’s top-paid staff.
“Our members are the backbone of this city, dedicating themselves daily to serving the people of Vancouver. However, it raises a crucial question: why do the City’s leaders such as the City Manager and the Director of Human Resources continue to receive substantial pay increases, despite earning more than their counterparts in Cities like Tacoma or Bellevue?” Russell said. “Why isn’t that money being reinvested into the workers who directly serve our community? Where is the equity in all of this?”
ABOUT OPEIU LOCAL 11
OPEIU Local 11 represents nearly 1,800 employees across five states: Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Utah and Montana. OPEIU Local 11 ’s members work in many settings, including local governments, offices, mental health care facilities, nonprofits, and utilities providers. Through OPEIU Local 11, employees have a voice on the job and an avenue to equality, fair treatment and economic security. Learn more online at OPEIU11.org.
OPEIU Local 11 members at the City of Vancouver are the front lines of city services. They serve in roles that interact directly with citizens and provide services like non-emergency police support, utilities inspections, construction work, permit reviews, records maintenance and customer service in city facilities.