*Authorize a Letter of Agreement between the City and the Professional and Technical Employees Union Local 17 relating to the terms and conditions of represented employees merit pay structure

The City of Portland ordains: Section 1. The Council finds: The City and Professional and Technical Employees Local 17 are parties to a collective bargaining agreement (CBA) effective July 1, 2017 to December 31, 2021. In the City’s HR Administrative Rule (HRAR) 9.02 – Performance Management, employees in a specific classification shall be evaluated and could be eligible for up to a 4.1% merit pay increase until the employee reaches the maximum of the pay range for the employee’s classification. On March 4, 2020, Council adopted ordinance 189873 to change the merit pay structure outlined in HRAR 9.02 which states, in part, that the maximum amount of merit pay that may be awarded to eligible staff shall be determined annually by City Council. The CBA has a provision that provides employees in a specific classification shall be evaluated and receive a pay increase based on the City’s performance management system under HRAR 9.02. With the rule change, PROTEC-17 asserts its collective bargaining rights under the Public Employees Collective Bargaining Act (PECBA). On July 19, 2021 representatives of the City and PROTEC-17 signed a Letter of Agreement, Exhibit A (the Agreement), that outlines the terms and conditions of merit increase for represented employees in the PROTEC-17 bargaining unit for the period of July 1, 2020 to December 31, 2021. The agreement allows the maximum amount of merit pay that may be awarded to employees who are under the merit pay performance system is two (2) percent. For Fiscal Year 2020-2021, merit eligible employees will receive their merit pay six (6) months following their anniversary date, per the Letter of Agreement on COVID-19 Impacts executed in May 2020. For the period between July 1, 2021 and December 31, 2021, merit eligible employees will receive their merit pay on their anniversary date. The City and PROTEC-17 will negotiate a new merit pay process through the Interest Base Bargaining model in successor negotiations. The agreement is based on the unique circumstances described about and does not constitute or create a precedent for any party to this agreement. NOW, THEREFORE, the Council directs: The Director of the Bureau of Human Resources is authorized to enter into a Letter of Agreement, Exhibit A, between the City and PROTEC-17 for the merit pay structure. Section 2. The Council declares that an emergency exists because delay would unnecessarily delay the orderly implementation of the provisions of this Letter of Agreement; therefore, this ordinance shall be in full force and effect after its passage by the Council.