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About The OSEA news. (Salem, Oregon) 1970-1981 | View Entire Issue (Feb. 1, 1981)
February 1981 Page 5 Members ratify new name: Oregon Public Employes Union which is not a bargaining unit or is a bargaining unit not represented by OSEA, which has over 50 members, shall constitute one statew ide chapter whose membership shall be comprised of every associate member of that agency. All other non-bargain ing unit agencies or bargaining units not represented by OSEA shall constitute one statewide chapter. Starting February 2, OSEA will officially become the Oregon Public Employes Union. The name change was passed by the 1980 General Council and ratified by mem bership on Jan. 26. Formal changes on all union documents and stationary will take place gradually, as old material will be used up to keep expenses down. In addition to the name change, amendments to Article IX, Section 3 were ratified on Jan. 16, and Article V, Section 2, Article VIII, Section 2 and Article VI, Section 3 were ratified on Jan. 24. The following is a verbatim transcript of the changes. Any deleted material is (bracketed) and any new material is in boldface. Article I is amended to read: The name of this organization is the (Oregon State Employes Association) Oregon Public Employes Union, hereinafter referred to as the (Association) Union. And: That all reference to “chap ters” hereinafter be changed to “locals” and that all ref erence to “Association” be changed to “Union” in the Constitution and By Laws. Article IX, Section 3 is amended to read: Section 3. Every person who holds any office in the Association and every employe of the Association (other than an employe performing ex clusively clerical or custodial services) shall file a report at (c) Special chapters for re tir e d people m ay be established by a petition to the district of 50 or more retired employes residing in that district. (d) A regular chapter may also be formed by affiliation of an existing employe organ ization with this Association. Affiliation shall be by two- thirds vote of the active members of the organization and shall be pursuant to an affiliation agreement between the organization and the Association approved by the Board and signed by the President and Secretary- Treasurer of the Association. The affiliation agreement shall provide, in addition to other necessary provisions, that upon payment of Association dues and acceptance of the As sociation Constitution and By-Laws and other obligations of Association membership by the various members of the organization qualifying for active membership in the Association, such members shall be entitled to all the rights Oc of, and shall be, a c tiv e m em tober 1 and November 1 of) within 60 days after the final day of General Council each year listing and describing, for the one-year period beginning October 1 of the previous year. Article V, Section 2 will be deleted and replaced by: Section 2. Chapters shall be established in accordance with the following procedure: (a) Each bargaining unit represented by OSEA shall constitute one statew ide chapter whose membership shall be comprised of every a c tiv e m em ber of the Association employed in that bargaining unit. (b) Each agency of the state bers of the Association and the organization shall be entitled to all the rights and subject to all the obligations of, and shall be, a regular chapter of the Association. Upon signing of the affiliation agreem ent, the Board shall issue the chapter a charter signed by the President and the Secretary-Treasurer of the Association. And: That sections 3 and 6 be deleted. And: That Sections 4, 5, 7, 8 and 9 be renumbered as 3,4,5,6 and 7. Article VIII, Section 2 is amended to read: Section 2. The membership roll of General Council is deter H eadquarters (betw een mined at each annual session and consists of: (a) Delegates from the chapters; (b) Delegates from the districts; (c) Past Presidents; (d) Members of the Board; (e) Delegates from special retired chapters. Eligibility for this membership roll is limited to active mem bers; - retired members who were active members at the time they retired; and Past Presidents of the Association who are active members, or are retired members and were active members at the time they retired. Article VI, Section 3 was amended to read: Section 3. A district shall form council-type organizations composed of (representatives from the chapters) m em bers in the district as provided in that district’s constitution. The District Council shall assist the [chapters! m em bers in the district, maintain an effective communication system bet ween the Board of Directors and the chapters, promote the organization’s welfare in the areas of government relations, employe benefits and com munity action, and carry out any other provision of the district constitution and by laws not in conflict with the Constitution and By-Laws of the Association or the enactments of General Council. (The District Council shall approve chapter m ergers, ensure adequate Bargaining Unit Representation Committee (BURC) participation within the district, enforce BURC policies for selection and removal of job representatives, preside over impeachment of chapter officers, encourage and promote chapter membership, maintain an effective com munication system between the Board of Directors and the chapter membership and carry out any other provisions of the district constitution and by laws not in conflict with the Constitution and By-Laws of the Association or the enactment of General Council. To the extent th a t any such d is tr ic t organization provision is in conflict, it is void.) At Board meeting Change asked in investments Millions of dollars of public retirement funds may be ef fected by an OSEA board of director’s decision to ask the state not to invest those funds in South Africa or in real estate outside of Oregon. At its meeting on Jan. 17, the board passed a resolution opposing investments by the state in South African financial enterprises or in companies doing business in South Africa. ’However, the Board’s op position went beyond in vestments by the state, its agencies and employes in the financial enterprises of South Africa. It called for legislation to “prohibit state investments in corporations operating in countries whose laws require discrimination on the basis of race, color or national origin.” The board then resolved that its position be forwarded to the state AFL-CIO, with a recommendation that the state AFL-CIO endorse OSEA’s proposed legislation. Board members also ex pressed their strong opposition to the State Treasurer Clay Myers* proposal to invest PERS funds in real estate ventures outside of Oregon. Myers drew the board’s ire by calling for investing $10- million to $12-million in the construction of a San Jose, Calif., office building. Myers defends his proposal, saying that the investment will diversify the state’s investment portfolio and that it will provide the state with an alternative avenue of in vestment at a time when stock equities and long-term bonds don’t appear as financially alluring as they once did. He also contends that the area of commercial real estate can provide a low-risk, high-return investment of pension fund dollars and that substantial investments have already been made in Oregon. OSEA president voiced the board’s displeasure in a strongly-worded letter to the State Treasurer. "We recognize that a large amount of PERS monies have already been invested in Oregon. But the fact remains that our real estate market is severely depressed, our home building industry is suffering a catastrophic decline, unem ployment is as high as 36 percent in portions of the state and our state budget is tighter than at any point in recent history. We must pursue every avenue possible to correct these problems. “ While real estate in vestment outside Oregon may yield an additional percentage or so, such investments do not provide the ‘hidden yield’ of assuring Oregon’s growth, creating jobs and providing additional tax dollars to the state. “In light of these facts, it is the feeling of the Oregon State Employes Association Board of Directors that any real estate investments outside the State of Oregon during our present lagging economy would not only be untimely, but would be extremely unwise.” S ervin g a ll o f O reg o n I NOW IS j Mo/or motions ot Jan. Board meeting Following are the main motions acted on at the reg ular meeting of the OSEA Board of Directors held in Salem on Jan. 17. Committee Appointments Government Relations— Earl Beier, Henery Wilson and Jeff Conniff. Retirement: Lee Heindl. Institutional Study: Jim Kinzer (chairperson), Barry Rudd. Rules: Bud Graham (chairperson), Digby Mar row, Donna Peterson, Shirley Bettencourt. CASE Administration: Terri Anderson. Employe Representation: Steve Teters. Installations The Board installed Ruth Montgomery as director and Henery Wilson as assistant director of District 4. Kei Quitevis was installed as assistant director of District 1. Other Action In other major business, the Board: • Authorized Thomas Gal lagher and the Executive Committee to make the final decision on our position in the Oregon State Police election. • Tentatively approved that one Board meeting be held in Pendleton this spring. • Took a position oppos ing investment by the State of Oregon, its agencies and employes in the financial matters of South Africa and called for legislation to support this position. The Board asked that its stand ing on this matter be for warded to the state AFL- CIO with a recommendation that it also support this legislation. • Instructed Deb Bolton to inform State Treasurer Clay M y e rs of O SE A ’s displeasure with Myer’s de cision to invest PERS funds in California. • Ordered a review of the scholarship program and asked that recommenda tions for changes be pre pared for the February Board meeting. • Requested that the Gov ernment Relations Com mittee study possible legis lation enabling contributors to PERS to borrow from that fund for home mort gages. • Removed the Assoc iation vice president from the list of officers authorized to sign checks and make withdrawals from Associa tion checking and savings accounts. THE TIME! } Start a payroll savings plan now for half of your next raise. You will not miss it, and it will be working for you. Plus, you will be eligible for all of the benefits of credit union membership. Multnomah State Employees Credit Union 1220 S.W. Columbia Street, Portland, OR 97201 Telephone: 227-4132 Hours: Mon.- Fri., 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
