Image provided by: SEIU Local 503; Salem, OR
About The OSEA news. (Salem, Oregon) 1970-1981 | View Entire Issue (Dec. 1, 1970)
December, 1970 The OSEA News Page 4 HEADQUARTERS O FFIC E PORTLAND BRANCH OFFICE 1515 State Street, Salem, Oregon, 97301 I 1432 S.W. Sixth Avenue, Portland, Oregon, 97201 or P.O. Box 2307, Salem, Oregon, 97308 Telephone: 224*1870 Telephone: 581-1505 Published monthly by the Oregon State Employes Association OREGON STATE EMPLOYES ASSOCIATION OSEA D irecto rs PRÉSIDENT CHALMERS L. JONES 223 NE Graham S t Portland 97212 PAST-PRESIDENT GERARD J. LIEBERTZ ’ 2708 NE 22nd St. Portland 97212 VICE-FR ESI DENT RICHARD F. YOUNG 3949 Summers Lane Klamath Falls 97601 SECRETARY-TREASURER ADELE L. EGAN ,3 2 5 Chemeketa NE Salem 97301 ACADEM IC and UNCLASSIFIED PAUL H. WESWIG 2112 Polk St. Corvallis 97330 EMPLOYE REPRESENTATION KENNETH P. STUEVE R t 1, Box 29K Philomath 97370 IN STITU TIO N S “ DELBERT C. CHANEY 828 SE 8th S t Pendleton 97801 INSURANCE - JACK A. DANLEY ,3 0 0 NW Menlo Dr. Corvallis 97330 LAW-LEGISLATION PATRICK GREGORY 324 SE Ella S v Roseburg 97470 MEMBERSHIP DAVID L. BACKMAN 942 Lancaster Dr. NE Salem 97310 The Court Said. by John S. Irvin, OSEA Staff Attorney Specific Charges Required By fa r the most common deficiency of notices of dismissal or suspension of state employes in Oregon is the failure of the agency to specify w ith p articula rity just what the employe did wrong. In two cases this year from Kentucky, state em ployes were reinstated because their dismissal notices did not state sufficiently specific reasons for the action taken. In one case the notice sim ply charged violation of a statute and two rules. In the other case the reasons for dismissal of seven employes were: (1) Inefficiency in the performance of the duties of the job; (2) Falsifying official records; (3) Continued absence; (4) Insubordination; (5) Unauthorized absence in con nection w ith a drinking problem. The Kentucky statute allowed discharge only for cause "a fte r the person to be discharged has been presented w ith the reasons for such discharge stated in w ritin g, and has been allowed a reasonable tim e to reply thereto in w ritin g ." The court condemned these notices for their lack of necessary p articu la rity and said: " In the absence of a notice stating dates, places and names, the employe would not have a fa ir opportunity ot reply. Under a sim ila r federal statute it has been held that the notice must inform the employe with 'certainty and precision' of the cause for removal and must give dates, places and names." Oregon Personnel Division rules also require dismissal notices to state "s p e c ific " facts, but frequently the notice w ill contain such worthless statements as: "Y ou have been informed of deficiencies in your work but you have failed to im p ro ve "; "T he incidents upon which this action is based have been discussed with you several times over the past few m onths"; or "Y o u r attitude has deteriorated in recent months and your work does not measure up to the required standards." OSEA representation may look effective when a dismissal based on a defective dismissal notice is set aside when in fa ct such success only means that some personnel officer is not doing his job. Moral to state agencies: Say it in the dismissal letter or the PERB w ill lay a big said on you! From the Executive Secretary PUBLIC RELATIONS JAMES R. DYER KSI . ,1 8 0 7th S t NW Salem 97304 RETIREMENT 7 ARTHUR KRICHEVSKY 76 25 SE Franklin S t Portland 97206 Decade of the Public Employe In labor relations literature, the years of the 1970s have begun to be described as the "decade of the public em ploye." Collective bargaining in U.S. public em ployment was slow to come, but it is moving fast. Experience in Oregon state government during the past year shows us to be ahead of most, but w ith a ways to go. OSEA's m ajor staff a c tiv ity in 1970 was negotiation of meaningful new contracts in the many agency units, w ith two-year term s designed to come up fo r renewal in years between legislative sessions. That has been accomplished in most agencies, and w ill be completed in the rem ainder in the next few months. The association's negotiating team of Ev Stiles, Joe Johansen and the late Don Beninger faced rough going in the earlier months. Time, patience and firmness were required to establish new concepts such as neutral arbitration of grievances. As the year went along, however, points which at firs t took weeks to negotiate began to be accepted by most agencies in comparatively short sessions. * Negotiating contracts agency by agency was criticized by the Management 70's Task Force for the amount of man hours consumed. We agree and point to Higher Education as a model for joint negotiation of contracts w ithin a department. In Higher Ed a ll academic institution contracts were negotiated by a single team appointed by the chancellor, w ith in dividual institution adm inistrators as advisors on local questions. One of the characteristics of public employment bargaining criticized by many employes is the inability to bargain on salaries and certain fringe banefits. That feeling probably w ill be increased by the salary im plementation plan decided unilaterally by the ad m inistration for submission to the coming legislature. Legislation backed by the adm inistration and OSEA in the 1969 session got bargaining off the ground. Ef fective PERB staff a ctivity plus leadership by the new Employe Relations Section of the Persbnnel Division made im portant contributions. Further legislation in the coming session and more work and experience w ill set the stage for realization of the "decade of the public em ploye" in Oregon in the 70s. District Directors ,. BETH BRANDES 106 NE 62nd Avé. , Portland 97213 . X W IL L I A M J . L A G L A IR 725% Church St. NE Salem 97301 3. RUSSELL E. BLAIR 208 Harrison S t Ashland 97520 4. PAUL N. CONNER 4420 Berry S t Klamath Falls 97601 5. DONALD KELLEY 740 SW 28th S t Pendleton 97801 6'. FERN BORDE 839 Columbus St. Albany 9 7 32 , 7. EARL G. WARZYNSKI 8. THEODORE H. THOMPSON 9. MYRTLE B. JARVIS 720 E. ,4 th S t The Dalles 97058 508 Holladay Dr. Seaside 97138 Station A , Griffith Hall Salem 97310 Professional Staff THOMAS C. ENRIGHT Executive Secretary EVERETT B. STILES . Executive Assistant, Legis lative Representation and Research C. D. JOHANSEN Executive Assistant, Oper ations and Business Manage ment ' JOHNS. IRVIN Staff Attorney DONALD G. OLDS Business end Services Manager JOHN M. SCHOONOVER Field Representative GILBERT C. POLANSKI Field Representative HARRY C. WARD Field Representative PAUL R. WARD Field Representative DESSEL GRAVES Research Analyst SHARLENE CRABTREE Employe Counselor DALE E. LEACH Public Relations Manager and Editor (Address all communications to the Salem address.) Second Class Postage Paid at Salem, Oregon. Subscription rates: $1.50 per year to association members; $3.00 to all others; 25c per copy. Official publication of the Oregon State Employes Association, a non profit organization.
