Image provided by: SEIU Local 503; Salem, OR
About The Oregon public employe. (Salem, Oregon) 1981-???? | View Entire Issue (April 1, 2002)
SEIU Local 503, OPEU District Elections District Director and Assistant District Director Candidates asting your ballot in the upcom ing Union election for D istrict Directors and A ssistant D istrict Directors who serve on SEIU Local 503, OPEU's Board of Directors is one M ary L. Lang of the most im portant steps y o u can take to SDSD, Local 411 preserve and prom ote democratic trade unionism . W hen the rank-and-file mem bers take the tim e to - W HATAREYOUR QUALIFICATIONS FOR THIS cast inform ed votes for district officers (and O FFICE? Shop Steward 1995-present, statew ide officers and representatives for our have served as an assistant district U nion's G eneral Council, coming up this August), director and district director and on the OPEU Board of Directors 2000-present, efforts to ensure that pow er w ithin SEIU Local member organizer FEB-Aug. 2000 on the homecare campaign, 503, OPEU flow s from the grassroots upw ard currently serving on the executive Board committee rem ains intact. B W hen you receive your ballot for district officers in the m ail later this m onth, consider the candidate statem ents on the follow ing pages as your guide before com pleting and returning your ballot. A nd d o n 't stop there. Talk to your co w orkers and encourage them to take p art in their Union's elections as well. Collective action, w hethêr at th e ’ballot box, the w orksite, the bargaining table, or in the community, means greater pow er for w orking people. Terms of office run 2 years from August 25,2002 through G eneral Council, 2004. Positions to be filled in D istrict Elections are as follows: District 1 Director: 3 positions District 1 Assistant Director: 3 positions District? Director; . 4 positions District 2 Assistant Director: 4 positions District 3N Director: 1 position District 3N Assistant Director: 2 positions District 3S Director: 2 positions District 3S Assistant Director: 1 position District 4 Director: 2 positions District 4 Assistant Director: 2 positions District 5 Director: 2 positions District 5 Assistant Director: 2 positions District 6 Director: 2 positions District 6 Assistant Director: 2 positions District 1 District Director UNION EXPERIENCE NOT ITEM IZED ABOVE: Case Manager Selective Salary increase committee, petition signature gathering, phone banking, SDSD Adult Protective Services Reclass effort. Chief Steward SDA 16, DHS Stewards meetings for SDA 16, candidate forums. Curt Mader Department of Administrative Services, Local 125 W HATAREYOUR QUALIFICATIONS FO R THIS OFFICE? My QUALIFICATIONS include serving as President of DAS Local 125, shop steward and President of trades council. I was trained as «in economist, «and worked for the Department of Economic Development for four years. UNION EXPERIENCE NOT ITEM IZED ABOVE: My UNION EXPERIENCE includes serving as a member of the teamsters union for 10 years and member of the advisory committee to bargaining delegates and serving on the organiz ing committee for certification election in my previous worksite for ATU. WHY ARE YOU SEEKING THIS O FFIC E AND WHAT ARE YOUR GOALS FOR SEIU LOCAL 503, OPEU WHY ARE YOU SEEKING THIS OFFICE AND WHAT D U R IN G Y O U R T E R M ? If w o u ld -b e a n h o n o r t o c o n tin u e A R E Y O U R G O A L S F O R S E IU L O C A L 503, OPEU serving as District Director My goals a r e to f u r t h e r n e g o tia tion of a contract for homecare workers, strengthen support for Stewards in all locals, enlist members in becoming bold activists, provide members with the staff and resources to enforce the contracts) and win grievances, and to build the membership through external organizing. WHAT ARE YOUR GOALS FO R YOUR DISTRICT? My goals are to diversify participation at our district meetings by bringing in members from private non profits, local governments, higher ed & homecare. I want our district 1 events to become like family gatherings, welcoming everyone to participate. , • - WHAT IS THE BIGGEST SINGLE ISSUE THE UNION W ILL FACE DURING YOUR TERM AND HOW WOULD YOU PROPOSE TO RESOLVE IT? One of the largest issues will be the reorganization of DHS and the merger of many sub-locals into one. We must be proactive in deciding what the best structure for the new union local will be, and we must remain unified in our goals. Layoffs will be another serious possibility. We must offer win-win solutions to avoid this happening. We must remind the state of the ballot measures we have defeated & how much money we have saved them. If it was not for our bold action the state budget crisis would be much worse than it is right now. About the Candidate Statements in this Guide... All photos were supplied by the candidates. The following appears on all candidate nomination forms/questionnaires for District Directors: Answers to these questions will be printed in The Oregon Public Employee (TOPE) to assist members in making their selection. (325 words or less) m JH rN G YOlJR r K R M ? M y « d M C I K U E G O A T S f o r s m are maintaining our current benefit structure and examining alternatives to our health insurance packages. Secondly, I believe we must resist any efforts to “privatize" our jobs and programs. . I believe my training as a professional economist, my union activist background and varied work experiences will be particularly useful in these depressed and difficult economic times. WHAT ARE YOUR GOALS FOR YOUR DISTRICT? GOALS FOR DISTRICT ONE: 1. Increase communication with members of district locals. 2. Solicit input on strategic plans from district locals • and make them responsible and accountable for construct ing, approving and implementing those strategic plans. 3. Continue the education efforts and plans for increas ing member’s participation in leadership training classes. WHAT IS THE BIGGEST SINGLE ISSUE THE UNION W ILL FACE DURING YOUR TERM AND HOW WOULD YOU PROPOSE TO RESOLVE IT? The BIGGEST ISSUE facing our union is health care benefits. The continuing rise of health care costs must be aggressively addressed. I believe we have a responsibility to exhaustively research any and all alternatives to stabilize and enhance member’s health insurance. If elected, I intend to be an activist director. I feel passionately about the issues facing the union and promise to clearly and forcefully present out views at all levels of the Union I will be available every lunch hour at the Portland State Office Building (PSOB) to answer any of your questions and I plan to attend as many local meetings as possible to listen to member concerns. My home phone number is 503-284-2009 and I am available most evenings until 9:00 pm to discuss any issues affecting our union. I would appreciate your vote. PAGE 10 THE OREGON PUBLIC EMPLOYEE BBSs
