Author: Connor Anderson

Members, The below letter was submitted to the Mayor and City Council members on Monday, November 27, 2023.

Mayor Wheeler and Commissioners,

Three weeks ago, the Bureau of Development Services’ outgoing Director, Rebecca Esau, announced layoffs at the bureau after more than a year of well-observed macroeconomic forces driving down the permit revenue upon which the bureau depends for its operations.

On November 1, CPPW requested to meet with City Human Resources and BDS officials to bargain to help mitigate the effects of the revenue shortfalls not just on our members but on all staff who might be affected.

We finally met with officials of the City’s Labor Relations and HR on November 21. In that meeting Labor Relations presented us with information on the nine CPPW members that BDS planned to lay off, beginning the notification process the Tuesday after Thanksgiving. In that meeting Labor Relations was unable or unwilling to answer any questions of substance regarding how the layoffs were determined and whether any managers were being laid off. Labor Relations claimed that BDS had made all of the decisions. Labor Relations was unwilling or unable to provide us with additional information on whether contractors or temporary employees were released first, or whether any attempts had been made to protect seniority, all items required under HRAR 7.06 Layoffs & Recall.

The CPPW consists of over 700 Analysts, Financial Analysts, Coordinators, Administrative Specialists, Technology Business Representatives and Multimedia Specialists. These people have years of deep, expert knowledge of how our bureaus and programs work. The City of Portland is about to go through some once-in-a-lifetime opportunities and challenges, and CPPW members are eager and excited to contribute collaboratively in helping the City be successful. We think our members, and the members of the rest of the City’s organized workforce have a lot to offer in helping BDS through this period of uncertainty.

At this time we are writing to remind you that PECBA makes layoffs a mandatory subject of bargaining under the post-election, pre contract status quo. Our City colleagues in other unions have contracts requiring bargaining in this situation and have informed you of their insistence to bargain about these matters. We strongly encourage our elected representatives to direct BDS and City HR to come to the table with CPPW and the other unions to work collaboratively on a path forward that minimizes the impact on our most precious resource, our people.

Our members have a number of ideas that can be used in combination in order to reduce the impact of the financial shortfalls. Frankly, we are incredulous that these do not seem to have been discussed in any of the communications from BDS management to date.

• Voluntary retirement incentive programs.
• Redeployment analysis and assistance for affected employees.
• Reductions in services in alignment with reduced building and permitting activities.
• Management span-of-control analysis that shares the burden of layoffs with management and staff.
• Reductions in hours and voluntary furloughs.

If layoffs become absolutely necessary:

• A COBRA safety net program to help employees retain their health insurance.
• Enhanced wellness and mental health services.
• Job placement assistance with other public entities.

Of course, any work we do now, specifically around BDS, can set the stage for healthy, collaborative work that we all may need to do in other bureaus as the City works through the challenges of the 2024-25 budget.

We look forward to meeting with you and discussing these matters in early December, 2023.