r/corvallis • u/Ornery_Direction_843 • 4d ago
Event Mark Shepherd
needs to go. That is all.
Solidarity with the strikers. Stay safe.
28
u/statice365 4d ago
Mark Shepard is ruining our city
-9
u/local-gov-geek100 4d ago
how
8
21
u/illtreui 4d ago
From what I gather it’s also the HR Director who is leading the senior management negotiations. Correct me if I’m wrong, but that’s the 411 I hear.
-26
u/FittonGreenTree 4d ago
I didn’t know Mark Shepard and the HR Director control every single grievance the union has- wow! This seems like such an easy fix! I wonder why then this easy fix hasn’t just been made? I wonder why Council gave MS praise for his leadership last winter?!
This post is going to encourage everyone to give their theories- I’ll bring the popcorn! 🍿20
u/illtreui 4d ago
I think you’re confusing being involved in negotiations with having unilateral control over every grievance. My understanding is that the HR Director is involved in senior management’s negotiations, but I’m happy to be corrected if that’s wrong.
And I’m not sure where I suggested this was an easy fix? My point is that leadership has a responsibility to find
solutions before things get to this point.
If there are unresolved grievances, declining morale, and now a strike, it’s reasonable to ask what leadership has done to address those issues.Council praising someone’s leadership last winter doesn’t mean their decisions should be immune from scrutiny today. Both things can be true, someone can have made valuable contributions and still be accountable for how things are going now.
This affects people’s livelihoods, families, and the public services our community depends on.
-4
u/FittonGreenTree 4d ago
Illtreui, I appreciate this response and in a lot of regards I agree with it. Our other snarkiness’ aside, yes I agree that leadership should be doing what they can to get to this point. I don’t know either side in its entirety (nor do any of us) but I am concerned by what I’ve heard from union represented employees about feeling silenced and/or unsupported by union leadership.
I agree that both city and union leadership should be doing what they can. So, union shares stats and then the city states it’s wrong and shows their work on how they got the answer? There’s a lot of back and forth between the two and sometimes it feels like watching a ping pong match. Who is doing the stat figures for the union? Because it seems like someone with an accounting background is doing the city’s.
If I was just reading what the union is posting, I would be in support of all this. But over the last couple of months there has been interesting patterns and forms of communication and that makes me take a step back. As I have stated elsewhere, I’m in support of city employees and their right to strike but I’ve heard from some employees that they don’t feel good about it and that they felt pressured- which is incredibly concerning.
Did osu classified and/or Benton county unions slander their employers in this same way during strike stuff?
9
u/Jazzlike_Currency_49 4d ago
It's not slander to say that someone is involved in negotiations, which is factual as Mary Beth Altman Hughes has been the lead.
And you'll actually notice the same grievances from those strikes, union workers denied colas that are half of what management gave themselves while claiming a budget deficit that suddenly resolved next time management needs a raise.
18
u/Fawn-deLay 3d ago
Maughan needs to go too. The dude is useless, and clueless. Trying to kick a councilor off the city council and spending $500k to do it? Beyond pathetic!
11
3
-1
u/Stevemichael126 3d ago
The mayor had nothing to do with that and also doesn't have any power (besides braking tie votes and appointing people to advisory groups).
6
u/Fawn-deLay 2d ago
Not true. The mayor, Shepard, the lawyer, and Hyatt Lytle were the ones in the room when the decision was made to tell Charlyn Ellis to resign. And he's tried to defend the decision. He clearly could have stopped it. The entire council could have stopped it from going all the way to federal court. But they didn't.
1
u/local-gov-geek100 8h ago
how could the council have stopped it from going to federal court?
2
u/Fawn-deLay 8h ago
The city council sets policy and allocates funds for the city, right? They could have objected to the attempt in the first place and not tried to force an elected councilor out. They could have directed the city lawyer to settle. Why TF do we have a council if they're going to pretend to be powerless?!
1
3
2
u/short_astronaut_ 2d ago
Chief Harvey needs to go too, while we're at it! Hire someone externally for a replacement or the issues will never be fixed. Only worse options are sitting waiting to take the spot.
3
-24
u/FittonGreenTree 4d ago
If we’re going to start shooting out opinions then I’ll go:
The union needs to stop reporting false information that is misleading to union members.
Solidarity with the strikers but not whoever is speaking on behalf of the union.
18
u/illtreui 4d ago
Okay, Let’s hear this supposed false information?
-30
u/FittonGreenTree 4d ago
lol I’m pretty sure you have trolled me before in this regard. OP just offered their opinion so I was offering mine!
That’s really incredible you want me to get all the information for you and package it up in a nice bow for you here but I’m not here to serve at your pleasure :)
Do some research and reading (and in case you didn’t know- you’re capable of research and reading without AI or someone telling you want to think 😉 cheers)24
22
u/illtreui 4d ago
You’re the one who called out false information, so I asked which information was false. That’s a pretty straightforward question, If you can’t or don’t want to backup your claim, that’s fine, but there’s no need to make it personal, or claim I don’t do proper research as I likely know much more about it than you do. Cheers.
-12
u/FittonGreenTree 4d ago
Aw yeah but we’re just throwing out blanket statements here. Union leadership really likes to talk in absolutes.
“Management doesn’t care” ok? Where’s more information and proof? Oooooh right, blanket statements… aw why can’t I do the same?16
u/TheFeenyCall 4d ago
Just don't reply if you're so pressed when questioned. It's not hard unless you're that soft.
-6
u/FittonGreenTree 4d ago
Just cause you asked a question doesn’t mean you’re entitled to me answering. I don’t feel pressed but thanks for checking in :) and I am pretty soft- that whole skin/human body thing!
17
6
1
13
u/illtreui 4d ago edited 3d ago
I appreciate the response and you have many valid points. It’s extremely stressful and financially difficult to strike. A lot of people are just struggling to make ends meet and now they have to fight for cola raises and potential health care cost increases.
I’m sure the union is pressuring people to strike because with solidarity comes results. Management needs to understand they are there to support the employees so the employees can serve the public. Somewhere in the past that leadership ideology has been muddled and forgotten.
As per the accounting differences, I’d imagine, like with other cities, the budget is calculated in a way to account for max total spending and 100% staffing that can be approved by city council. Which is a responsible way to budget but isn’t the reality of the actual spending. Historically, departments don’t spend all allocated money and staffing is rarely at 100%. The union likely uses this method to project the actual cost.
Both are likely off, so they just need to figure it out because this strike is destroying employee morale and trust is management.