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
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