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About Northwest labor press. (Portland , Ore.) 1987-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 20, 2019)
NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS | September 20, 2019 | PAGE 7 Workers could strike Oregon universities as soon as Sept. 27 Raymond Thomas Cynthia Newton Melissa Haggerty James Coon Chris Frost Sydney Montanaro A worker injured on the job has the right to workers’ comp benefits even if their employer didn’t have workers’ comp insurance. 820 SW Second Ave., Suite 200, Portland, OR 97204 Scott Sell Chris Thomas www.tcnf.legal “THERE IS NO GOOD SOCIETY WITHOUT A GOOD UNION, AND THERE IS NO GOOD UNION THAT ISN'T REBORN EVERY DAY IN THE PERIPHERIES, THAT DOESN'T TRANS- FORM THE REJECTED STONES OF THE ECONOMY INTO CORNER STONES.” — POPE FRANCIS Rejecting a 2% wage increase as too little too late, Oregon public university support workers were taking a strike vote Sept. 16-17 as this edition headed to press, and expecting to give a 10-day strike notice afterward. The strike would involve about 5,000 members of SEIU Local 503 at Oregon’s seven public universities. Their wages have risen just 13% in 10 years, while the cost of living has risen 19% in that time. This year, univer- sity administrators gave man- agers 3% raises while sticking to a 0% offer since February for the clerical support staff, custo- dians, and cafeteria workers of Local 503. On Sept. 13, the em- ployer offer increased to 2%, but members want to make up for lost ground. The union is proposing raises of 3% and 3.25%. Support staff rallied Sept. 12 at Ore- gon State University in Corvallis. “We’re asking for a cost-of- living increase that reflects the cost of living,” says Local 503 spokesperson Jay Parasco. Further bargaining will take place Sept. 23. —Don McIntosh UNION ORGANIZING DePaul treatment center agrees to recognize union By Don McIntosh Facing low wages and high turnover, workers at DePaul Treatment Services started talk- ing with Oregon AFSCME sev- eral months ago about unioniz- ing. The campaign moved quickly, and soon an over- whelming majority of the addic- tion recovery agency’s 108 em- ployees had signed union authorization cards. On Aug. 20, they requested a union election, but that proved unnecessary: DePaul agreed Sept. 3 to voluntarily recognize the union. DePaul Treatment Services is a non-profit agency that works to help people recover from alco- hol and drug addiction and re- lated mental health conditions. It was founded by the Portland So- ciety of St. Vincent de Paul in 1974, but became an independ- ent secular charity in 1977. Its main facility at 1312 SW Wash- ington St. in downtown Portland includes a 24-hour residential treatment center, a medical detox facility, and an outpatient clinic that dispenses suboxone, a drug used to treat opioid addiction. DePaul also treats addicted ado- lescents at a facility at 4310 NE Killingsworth St., and operates a smaller outpatient location at 205 SE Third Ave. in Hillsboro. Karl Hence, who has a degree in substance abuse counseling, makes $14 an hour as a residen- tial counselor at the downtown location, and depends on the Oregon Health Plan for health insurance and Section 8 housing vouchers for help with rent. “The pay for what we do is very low,” Hence said. “I could go down to a restaurant and start at more than that, but I don’t want to. I want to help people.” Through a county-wide cam- paign called United We Heal, AFSCME has made the case to non-profit funders that low pay leads to high turnover and af- fects the quality of care. “It really affects clients,” says Oregon AFSCME spokesperson David Kreisman. “If they’re used to seeing somebody, they de- velop a level or rapport and trust. When that person disappears, it can hurt their treatment.” “We care very deeply about these clients,” Hence said. “We want to continue working for a nonprofit agency, but with the cost of living getting where it is, it’s getting very difficult.” The new DePaul union in- cludes addiction counselors and outreach workers, detox nurses, nurse practitioners, and teachers. The two sides expect to meet soon to begin negotiating a col- lective bargaining agreement.
