Clackamas County employees press commissioners for retroactive pay, health premium relief as mediation looms

Clackamas County employees and union leaders urged the county Board of Commissioners on March 20 to resolve an expired collective bargaining agreement, return a budgeted retroactive cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) dating to July 1, 2024, and address a recent jump in Kaiser Health Plan premiums that employees say has left many unable to pay bills.

The Employees Association (EA), which speakers said represents more than 1,300 county workers, asked the board to authorize full retroactive COLA pay and to halt or reimburse the unbudgeted premium increases. Alex Gonzalez, president of the Employees Association, told commissioners the county’s bargaining team has told the union it lacks final authority to settle the contract and that mediation is scheduled for March 24, 2025.

The union’s demands are tied to a personnel-costs line the board adopted in the county’s FY 2024–25 budget, speakers said. Several employees said the COLA was budgeted and approved on June 20, 2024, and they expect…