SALEM CITY EMPLOYEES TO UNDERGO DRUG TESTS

3 Unions Agree To Random Checks, Which Might Begin In January

Salem is about to become the first major city in Oregon to subject
its employees to random drug-testing, prompted by the area's ongoing
battle with methamphetamine.

Three of the city government's four employee unions have agreed to
drug testing in their contracts, most recently Local 2607 of the
American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees.

The city also will ask about 240 nonunion employees, including all
managers, to voluntarily submit to random drug tests.

At the request of the AFSCME local, all of its members will be tested
within the first year of the program. As the city's largest union, it
represents more than 600 municipal employees.

"They're willing to give up a little bit of their personal liberty to
open up a door for (the) salvation for a co-worker," said Tim Pfau,
the AFSCME representative who negotiated the most-recent contract.

The drug-testing program is expected to begin in January, city
human-resources manager Connie Munnell said.

The program will cost about $31,000 the first year, as all AFSCME
employees undergo testing. After the first year, 20 percent of city
employees will be tested annually, lowering the cost to about $10,000.

One hundred forty-six employees represented by the firefighters union
will not be subject to random tests because their contract allows
testing only if there is reasonable suspicion that the person is using drugs.

The city will press for testing of firefighters when their contract
is renegotiated in 2007, Munnell said.

Portland and Eugene follow the "reasonable suspicion" standard for
drug-testing their employees. Human-resources officials for those
cities were surprised that the Salem unions will allow random testing.

"They agreed to that? I am amazed," said Lauren Chouinard, the
human-resources and risk-services director for Eugene. "I'm not a
real proponent of random drug testing on a whole class of people who
may or may not need it."

A national spokeswoman for AFSCME said that more local governments
are pressing unions to agree to random drug testing.

"In a post-9/11 world, this has become more routine. It's coming up
in negotiations at the local level more and more," said Joki Sakol,
the associate director of public affairs for AFSCME national. "In
general, there is an acceptance of a new level of scrutiny. People
want to make sure their public servants are going to be fit to protect them."

Neither Marion County nor the state imposes random drug testing on
all of its employees, Pfau said. However, people holding commercial
driver's licenses at all levels of government are required by federal
law to undergo such testing.

City Manager Bob Wells said Salem is pursuing random drug testing
because it is one of the anti-meth strategies the city regularly
recommends to local businesses.

"If we're going to make that pitch in the community, we need to be
consistent and do it ourselves," Wells said, adding that he will
undergo a drug test if selected.

Salem union employees contacted this week said they support the drug testing.

"I think when you work for the city, you're setting an example," said
Mechele Surgeon, an office assistant for the Salem Community
Enforcement Division. "By submitting to those tests, you're showing
you're an honest and trustworthy person."

Local residents were divided in their reaction.

Scott Lee, who works as a vice president for a broadband-network
company in Salem, said that his business randomly drug-tests its
employees and that he has no problem with it. He said he appreciated
that the city is testing all of its employees rather than a select few.

"If they're going to enforce drug screening for some employees for
safety, they need to do it with all employees," Lee said.

Southeast Salem resident Robin Bielefeld frowned at the idea.

"I'm always uncomfortable with that kind of intrusion," she said. "I
think the city has other things it needs to spend this money on."

The Salem police union agreed to random testing in its 2004 contract,
city officials said. The union representing 911 dispatchers has had
random testing in its contract for years, although the city has not
been performing the tests.

The city plans to test 20 percent of its employees every year.
Police, dispatchers and nonunion employees will be tested at that
rate the first year.

Under the Salem program, a list of employee names will be given to an
independent drug-testing company, Bio-Med Testing Service Inc.,
Munnell said. The company will assign each employee a number and
randomly select who will be tested for illegal drug use.

If a test comes back positive, Bio-Med will ask an independent
medical review officer to contact the employee. If the employee can
prove that the result came from a prescription medication, the test
is reported to the city as negative.

Employees found to be using illegal drugs will be given the chance to
continue working while receiving drug-abuse treatment, Munnell said.
If they test positive during treatment, they will be subject to
disciplinary action and could be fired.

Union employees who refuse testing will be subject to disciplinary
action, Pfau said.

Nonunion employees or managers could refuse the testing without
immediate repercussions because such testing is not part of their
employment agreement, Munnell said. However, she has not heard of
anyone who will balk.

If a manager refuses to undergo a random test, it could lead the
union to oppose further participation, Pfau said.

"It would impact our position on this very strongly if there were
managers excluded from the process," he said. "I think for this to
work, there has to be a good-faith element to it. Everyone needs to
step up to the plate."

Facing the prospect of testing, some members of AFSCME already have
come to their leadership to say they have a drug problem, local
president Jack Tucker said.

Those people are being routed into voluntary drug-abuse treatment.

"They're working with employees on the front end of it, and that's
really positive," Munnell said.