Image provided by: SEIU Local 503; Salem, OR
About The OSEA news. (Salem, Oregon) 1970-1981 | View Entire Issue (Dec. 1, 1970)
December, 1970 Page 9 The OSEA News From The Inquiring Photographer M ailbox Individual of Integrity Shocked To Hear News To the Editor: I was shocked to learn of Don Beninger's un tim ely death. I had become quite fond of Don over a period of years and found him to be an individual who had integrity and was most responsible in any relationships th at we enjoyed. I am sure that OSEA will miss his presence? !* am sure I w ill. Russell L. Guiss, M .D . Superintendent, Dammasch State Hospital, Wilsonville To the Editor: I was shocked to learn of the death of Don Beninger. He and several of m y staff had been negotiating on a collective bargaining contract during the past few weeks. Please accept m y expression of sorrow and regret at this unfortunate event. Robert L. Harris, Superintendent, MacLaren School for Boys, Woodburn Thanks For The Help To the Editor: I wish to express m y appreciation to the OSEA staff and especially to Joe Johansen and John Irvin for the manner in which they came to m y aid in a moment of need. I feel that the association is quite fortunate to employ the expertise of men such as these and I shall always be thankful for their advice and able representation a t m y hearing before the Public Employe Relations Board. Elliott Parker Roseburg Chapter 2 Roseburg (Asked at Department of Forestry, Salem) Why Not Publish Survey? To the Editor: A story in a recent issue of The OSEA News said a survey of fringe benefits paid to employes of state governments across the nation has been made by staff m em ber Dessell F. Graves. Why not publish a resume' of the survey in the newspaper? I'm sure many employes would be interested in the results. John W. Gordon Oregon Chapter 22 Salem "It's Enough to Make A Proud Oregonian Sick" In January state officials are likely to get a terrible shock. So w ill the voters. They will discover th at Oregon is in perhaps the worst financial crisis in its history. The result w ill be new taxes or a seriously damaged state. Keep in mind th at when one talks about state spending he is really speaking of only three items—education, w elfare and salaries. The rest is peanuts. The Board of Education is asking for an a d d itio n a l—a d d itio n a l, m in d you—$189 m illion. This it needs to beef up its pitifully low level of support for local schools and to assist the burgeoning community colleges. The Board of Higher Education wants an additional $86 m illion. This it says it needs just to m aintain the quality of higher education in Oregon. And higher education is in deep financial trouble. Every tim e an adm inistrator opens a draw er he finds a need that ought to be met. The Public W elfare Commission wants an additional $76 m illion. This it w ill need just to m aintain present standards, which in many cases are actually below the subsistence level. A further downturn of the economy would make this need even more pressing. The Oregon State Employes Association wants a 13.5 per cent pay increase. This would cost $51 m illion. State employes now lag fa r behind most employes of private firm s both in pay and in fringe benefits. Add up those increases and you get $402 million above th e 3712 million the Legislature ELTO N G. B R UTSCHER Forester I invested m y dividend in the association's new headquarters building fund. I got enough back to buy five shares. I was really torn between investing it in the building fund or the Oregon Employes Federal Credit Union. In the end the building fund won out. But when I get it back I'm going to put It in the credit union. It pays high interest too! Editor's Note: We thought you had a good idea, John, so we followed up on it. See pages 5-6-7-S. From the Eugene Register-Guard— Editor's Note: The State of Oregon is facing the worst financial crisis in its history, ac cording to statements made recently by some legislators, government officials, reporters and newspapers. Another warning of the fiscal crisis was sounded by the Eugene Register-Guard in the following editorial. It appeared in a recent edition under the headline, "O ld Man Oregon is Going Broke." How Are You Going to Spend Your OSEA Insurance Refund? appropriated for the general fund last session. Oregon's general fund w ill, for the first tim e, exceed $1 billion—if everybody gets all that everybody wants. Assuming that the tax structure remains what it is and that income tax collections increase a t the same rate they have since the present law went into effect 13 years ago, Oregon w ill collect an additional $60 m illion. Subtract 60 from 402 and you have Oregon in the red by $342 m illion. Where w ill we get it? The logical thing is to pass a sales tax and increase the income tax. Voters have demonstrated that they don't want local property taxes increased, so that source is out. In fact, some of the increases now called for a re in answer to the demands of local government for more state help. And 15 months ago voters showed by eight to one that they won't have a sales tax . That was a bad sales tax bill, to be sure, but even so the m argin of defeat means that even a good bill would have failed. Effectively, the Legislature can't pass an income tax increase. The people would be sure to slap a referendum on it before it could go into effect. Even if the people later voted to uphold the increase, the needed money would not be coming in for at least two years. Demagogues will talk about soaking the rich or taxing the big corporations. Oregon doesn't have enough rich to m atter. And corporate taxes are simply passed on in the form of increased prices, a poorer m arket for Oregon products, and fewer jobs. Sim ilarly, income tax increases have a way of being cared for by higher wages, which means a higher cost of labor and thus an increase in prices. Let no man tell you th at the guy down the street is going to pay your taxes. The Legislature can probably pick up a few nickels and dimes by increasing sm all, special taxes that directly hurt so few people fhat a referendum on them is unlikely. But it can't find anywhere near $342 million this w ay. It is likely that education, w elfare and the salaries of state employes w ill suffer. It's enough to make a proud Oregonian sick. BOB EATON Radio Technician I intend to give m y refund to m y w ife to use for Christmas. I think it's a fine policy for the association to refun d th e a c cu m u lated premium money to the members who have been insured under the plan. If the money isn't used to pay claim s, it should be refun ded. It was quite a surprise to get a refund. I hope it happens again next year. B U R R E L L E. B IR C H Forester I put it in the bank. I was very pleased to get a refund from our insurance program and happy that the claim s experience was good enough so part of the money could be returned to the members of the plan. We have a daughter in college and you can believe me when I tell you th at every little bit of income helps! S Y L V IA CO O M LER Receptionist I've already spent the money I got back, but I can't tell you how. I thought it was great that OSEA decided to give it back to the mem bers; however, I would rather see the money be used to increase life and weekly Income protection insurance benefits. Usually the amount refunded to each person is sm all; I would rather see the benefits increased. BOB F R A N K L IN Forester I'll use m y refund to buy Christmas presents. I wasn't surprised to get the money because I had heard ea rlier th at a dividend would be issued. I was pleased, of course. I'm very happy that the association decided to refund the money to members of the group plan. That action, in effect, reduces the premiums. And that's good. A R N O LD C. A A S E R U D E Shop Superintendent I suppose m y dividend check will be used for Christmas. It was a pleasant surprise to get it— just like getting money from home. I also think it's an excellent idea for OSEA to distribute the money when there is a surplus. If the money isn't distributed, then it should be used to lower the premiums or increase the benefits.
