Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Northwest labor press. (Portland , Ore.) 1987-current | View Entire Issue (March 15, 2013)
Public employee unions respond to Oregon budget proposal Oregon state Sen. Richard Devlin and state Rep. Peter Buckley, Demo- cratic co-chairs of the Joint Committee on Ways and Means, released their budget for the 2013-15 biennium on March 4. The co-chairs’ $16.5 billion budget — which serves as a starting point for negotiations among lawmak- ers — calls for $6.55 billion in K-12 ed- ucation spending and $455 million in Public Employee Retirement System (PERS) cuts, leaves nearly $600 mil- lion in ‘rainy day’ funds untouched, and ignores any new revenue options. Public employee unions — includ- ing the Oregon Education Association, Service Employees International Union Local 503, Oregon AFSCME Council 75, the Oregon State Fire Fighters Council, American Federation of Teachers-Oregon, the Oregon School Employees Association, and the Asso- ciation of Oregon Faculties — released this joint response: “Oregon’s educators, front-line, public safety and health care workers recognize that our economy continues to struggle as a result of the recent eco- nomic collapse. We fully appreciate the co-chairs faced tough choices in putting together a budget that ensures that we can fund services that middle-class families and vulnerable Oregonians rely on. Research and election results clearly show that Oregonians want legislators to prioritize schools, health care, pub- lic safety and services to seniors and the vulnerable. They also expect a shared sacrifice and want corporations and the wealthy to pay their fair share. We are disappointed that the co- chairs’ proposed budget does not call upon corporations and the wealthiest Oregonians, who have enjoyed almost all of the benefit of the economic re- covery, to do their part in funding schools, senior services and other vital programs. It’s unfair and irresponsible to balance the budget on the backs of working Oregonians and on those who rely on services. Legislators should make sure that those who’ve prospered even through this economic crisis are paying their fair share. It is extremely troubling that the co- chairs’ budget breaks a promise to hard- working, middle class Oregonians and retirees on a fixed income. At the same time, the Legislature recently bent over backwards — even calling an emer- gency session — to be able to promise special treatment to profitable corpora- tions like Nike. The PERS proposal included in the co-chairs’ budget is very similar to a 2003 proposal that was ruled unconsti- tutional. This means that these dollars will likely never make it into Oregon’s classrooms or to other valuable pro- grams. Making matters worse, the COLA (cost of living adjustment) proposal will cost the state millions of dollars to litigate, and once this proposal is found to be illegal — again — the Legislature would have to rebalance the budget and slash funding for schools, health and senior care, and public safety, in the middle of the biennium. It’s important to remember that every public employee group — teach- ers, public safety, health care and other front-line workers — has taken pay cuts and furloughs and is paying more out of pocket for health insurance. They are also doing more with less. Class sizes are bigger. Caseloads are larger. Public employees, like all middle-class Oregonians, are making sacrifices. Un- fortunately, the co-chairs’ budget con- tinues to ask working and middle-class families and the vulnerable to carry all of the burden. This budget appears to be another way of scapegoating those with a target on their back: public employees. We are now seeing the kinds of demoniza- tion of public employees here in Ore- gon that were the foundation for what happened in Wisconsin, Michigan, and Ohio, where middle-class workers’ voices have been silenced. We’ve seen clear evidence of this trend through continued attacks on promised pen- sions, and petitioners are now on the street with an initiative to put right-to- work on Oregon’s ballot. We believe that we can do better. The budget can be balanced in a way that is fair, sustainable and prioritizes what Oregonians value. We call on our lawmakers to consider the following: • Cut out-of-control tax breaks and make sure everyone pays their fair share. Oregon’s corporate tax rate is tied for the lowest in the nation, and over the next two years, Oregon is ex- pected to give away more than $36 bil- lion in tax breaks. We need to do more to close loopholes and ask those with the ability to pay to invest more before we ask teachers, front-line workers and retirees on fixed incomes to shoulder even more of the burden. • Make every dollar count. A re- port released by a broad coalition of 10 organizations identified $278 million in savings at state agencies by increas- ing efficiencies and cracking down on tax cheats. These recommendations should be exhaustively examined be- fore seniors and the vulnerable face cuts to services or attacks on their pen- sions. • Pursue common sense, legal ap- proaches to PERS. Wall Street mis- deeds crashed our economy and signif- icantly harmed PERS financial health. We are now faced with having to clean up the mess made by bad-behaving in- vestment banks and others who abused our financial system. We should strive to recoup losses from fraud caused by Wall Street. The treasurer and attorney general have already recovered some of the money PERS was defrauded and they should continue down this path. Additionally, in bringing certain fi- nancial and investment functions under the authority of the state treasurer, we can keep a closer watch on how Ore- gon’s tax dollars are invested, and we can significantly reduce wasteful spending on unnecessary fees to out-of- state corporations who don’t have any ties to Oregon. We can also realize substantial sav- ings by having the PERS Board recap- ture the loss from the malevolence of Wall Street in 2008 over a longer pe- riod of time to help smooth the dra- matic impact on schools, seniors and families. • It’s raining now. Our economy is slowly recovering from Wall Street’s il- legal and irresponsible actions; we should use our reserves for the purpose for which they are intended: preserv- ing services when Oregonians need them most. There is a better way forward. Be- fore a single retiree has the rug pulled out from under her in her golden years, we need to make sure that the wealthy and every corporation pays their fair share. Before our teachers, firefighters and personal support workers are asked to do more with less, we need to make sure that our leaders are being respon- sible and efficient with our tax dollars. It may be a challenge, but it’s what Ore- gonians expect from their leaders.” OHSU Local 328, AFSCME’s largest, buys nearby storefront AFSCME Local 328 — Oregon AFSCME’s largest local — has pur- chased its own office space, a corner storefront at 4006 SW Barbur Boule- vard, which is near where members work. Local 328’s 5,500 members are employed at Oregon Health and Sci- ence University (OHSU), at its campus and hospital on “Pill Hill” as well as facilities downtown and in Portland’s South Waterfront neighborhood. Local 328 formerly rented an office, but was asked to leave when the owner had other plans for the space. The local used its contract defense (strike) fund to make the purchase. Purchased last August for $620,000, the 1949 building includes 1,200 square feet of office space for the use of the Oregon AFSCME staff rep- resentatives who are assigned to the Local: Frank Vehafric, Diane Lovell and Val Andreas. They moved in at the end of January into the space, the for- mer location of Rose City Hearing Aids. The building also includes an ad- jacent office where Farmers Insurance is a tenant, as well as a basement that is being remodeled into a 2,000-square- foot three-bedroom apartment. Ve- hafric said rents from the two tenants are expected to cover the monthly mortgage. Calling 2-1-1 can be a lifesaver It’s not as well known as the 9-1-1 emergency line, but for thousands of Oregonians, calling 2-1-1 can be a life- saver. 2-1-1 is an easy to remember telephone number that connects callers to information about critical health and human services available in their com- munities. In Oregon, 2-1-1 is run by 211info, in partnership with United Way. In addition to the phone number, it can be accessed at www.211info. org. MARCH 15, 2013 NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS PAGE 7
