Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Northwest labor press. (Portland , Ore.) 1987-current | View Entire Issue (April 21, 2017)
PAGE 4 | April 21, 2017 | NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS JOBS Portland Public Schools could face layoffs for 2017-18 school year MDA AMBASSADORS. The Camps are ambassadors for the Oregon Muscular Dystrophy Association. Lynette Camp (center) and four of her six children have been diagnosed with the disease. Taking part in the MDA La- bor Bowl were Benjamin, 12, Ephraim, 10, Hannah, 9, and Caleb, 5. Also bowling is their father, Wayne. BUILDING COMMUNITY Union members score big with bowling fundraiser for MDA Oregon School Employees Association Beaverton Chapter 48 fielded three teams this year. Above, OSEA member Matt Bennett prepares to roll a strike as team- mates Hansen Hess, Amanda Bennett, and Kristen Croft look on. IATSE Local 28 Business Representative Rose Etta Vene- tucci (left) and Board member Kathy Andrews prepare to bowl — complete with team uniforms. Eighty-five bowlers representing 21 union- sponsored teams raised $8,536.52 for the Mus- cular Dystrophy Association April 9 at Sunset Lanes in Beaverton. The National Association of Letter Carriers Branch 82 sponsors the event, with promotional help from the Northwest Ore- gon Labor Council. Since its inception in 1989, the Labor Bowl for MDA has raised $392,119. Money is collected through pledges and a silent auction. The top fundraiser, with $412, was Mike O’Conner, a member of the National As- sociation of Letter Carriers Branch 82. All money raised helps kids go to summer camp, buy wheelchairs and braces, and pay for research. Muscular dystrophy is a hereditary con- dition marked by a progressive weakening and wasting of the muscles over time. Unions represented at this year’s event were NALC Portland Branch 82, NALC Salem Branch 347, Oregon School Employees Asso- ciation Beaverton Chapter 48, IATSE Local 28, and NW Priority Credit Union. Top bowlers on the day were Mike Hennings of OSEA Branch 48, and Char Bryce of NALC Branch 82. First time MDA bowler Eric Taunt is a member of NALC Branch 82 at Creston Post Office in Southeast Portland. A loss in state education funding could spell layoffs next year for more than a hundred union members who work at Portland Public Schools (PPS). Interim Superintendent Robert McKean presented his proposed budget to the Portland School Board on April 4. The budget is based on the assump- tion that the state will not pro- vide enough funding for K-12 schools to cover the district’s current level of services, so cuts likely will be necessary — though nothing is set in stone. The State of Oregon is facing a $1.7 billion budget shortfall for the next biennium. Under the superintendent’s proposal, 83 teachers and 59 non-union central office em- ployees are on the chopping block. More than 200 classified em- ployees remain unassigned for next year, according to Belinda Reagan, president of Portland Federation of School Profes- sionals (PFSP) Local 111. Ear- lier this year the union was no- tified that 100 workers could be laid off next year if the state doesn’t allocate more money to the school budget. “We’re now up to approxi- mately 225 unassigned employ- ees,” Reagan said. “It runs across the board — from school secretaries, library assistants, EAs (education assistants), to instructional techs.” The superintendent’s budget allocates $4.3 million for custo- dians and maintenance, with an additional $1 million for new school custodians and mainte- nance, which would add 12 jobs dedicated to new buildings. Custodians are represented by Service Employees Local 503, and maintenance depart- ment personnel are represented by a dozen union locals under the District Council of Unions (DCU). With just 84 workers, the maintenance department already is well below industry standards for staffing in relation to the square footage of buildings they are responsible for, said DCU spokesman Pat Christensen, a business rep for Plumbers and Fitters Local 290. The School Board has sched- uled listening sessions to take public comment on how to allo- cate dollars in the coming year. The first one was held April 11. The next session is April 25, from 5-6 p.m. at Blanchard Ed- ucation Service Center, 501 N. Dixon St., Portland. The final session will be held May 9 from 5-6 p.m., also at Blanchard Ed- ucation Service Center. The School Board will hold a budget work session May 23, with final adoption expected June 13.,
