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SEID Local 503, OPEU General Council 2002
SEIU Local 503, OPEU
members and leaders will be
assessing how we move from
" Vision to Action " for three
days in August when delegates
convene in Corvallis for the
Union's General Council.
Bringing Action to Our Vision
T
ocal 503 doesn't just talk about the
needs of Oregon's working people; we
1 have a vision of what our state should
be and we work to put that vision into action.
"Vision to Action." It means that we
show the power of our Union; that workers'
voices must be heard in all decisions that
affect our lives.
VISION TO ACTION - "Our Vision to
Action theme for this Council and for the
next two years really shows that we place our
emphasis on the action," said SEIU Local
503, OPEU President Kathie Best. "Many
organizations have a 'vision,' or should.
Some sound very nice. What's special about
SEIU Local 503, OPEU, is that our actions
are directed by our vision."
SEIU Local 503, OPEU's 51st General
Council will be held from Wednesday,
August 21 through Saturday, August 24.
At the General Council, delegates will
vote on resolutions that set the course of the
Union for the next two years. They will also
review and approve the 2002-2003 budget.
SEIU Local 503, OPEU members know
that decisions are made that affect our lives at
the Legislature and at local governing board
meetings; in local, state and federal elections;
in the workplace and at the bargaining table;
in the courts; at the Employment Relations
Board and arbitration hearings; by
community groups and in our neighborhoods.
Consequently, as a Union, as working people,
as voters in our state, we must demand a
place in each of these forums where decisions
are being contemplated that may affect our
lives. Our voices must be heard.
PACE 4 THE OREGON PUBLIC EMPLOYEE
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Our Union’s Action
Recognized by AFL
t the recent 47th Oregon AFL-CIO
Convention, SEIU Local 503, OPEU
was honored for fielding the most door-
to-door volunteers. (See story, "Vision to
Action," this page)
"I was proud to accept this award that
recognizes the members of our Union who
continue to volunteer countless hours to
campaigns that affect our lives," said SEIU
Local 503, OPEU President Kathie Best. "It
shows that others are recognizing we are turning
our vision into action."
When President Best received die award,
she was joined by candidate for Governor of
Oregon Ted Kulongoski, Commissioner of
Labor and Industries Dan Gardner and Oregon
AFL-CIO President Tim Nesbitt. A union that
can turn out a large number of political
volunteers to go door-to-door is a union political
candidates appreciate.
The convention itself was one that
committed Oregon labor to a raised bar for
organizing and participation by union members
in elections.
SEIU Local 49 was honored at the
convention for its coverage of downtown
Portland worksites. Four other unions and
individuals were given awards.
Some 256 delegates from 80 different
unions met on the OSU campus in mid-June.
They approved resolutions and launched
programs to;
♦ Expand the state labor federation's
organizing assistance program.
♦ Increase member-to-member
communication to elect pro-worker
candidates and protect and advance the
interests of working families through
the initiative process.
♦ Move forward with campaigns to
qualify for the ballot and pass the
Initiative Integrity Act and the
Minimum Wage Inflation Adjustment Act.
> Undertake a program to control health
care costs and reform the health care system.
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SEIU Local 503, OPEU President Kathie Best is
surrounded by candidate for Governor of Oregon
Ted Kulongoski, Commissioner of Labor and
Industries Dan Gardner, and Oregon AFL-CIO
President Tim Nesbitt.
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THE STRENGTH OF OUR
MEMBERSHIP ~ SEIU Local 503, OPEU
members know that our success depends on
the strength of our membership. It takes
trained members and leaders to turn our
vision into action. It takes members who
know how to become leaders in our
communities and in our workplaces. It takes
members who are trained, prepared and
supported when we speak to the media, when
we organize our fellow members or
unorganized workers, when we address a
crowd or testify at the Legislature — when
we take on the boss.
At SEIU Local 503, OPEU, it is truly our
members who run the Union. Trained and
supported shop stewards are the most visible
faces of the Union in the workplace.
Throughout our Union, members who have
never given a speech or thought of
themselves as leaders find that they have the
skills and ideas to succeed as local officers,
leading several thousand rank-and-file
members. Members and activists have
demonstrated to the Governor of the state, to
legislators, to city council members and
county commissioners, to nonprofit board
members that their power and their authority
derives from the voters of the state — people
like us.
Our vision extends to others who may not
be members of our Union. Our action
includes standing side-by-side with them,
fighting for dignity and justice for all.
Whether it's steelworkers or farmworkers, our
elderly and disabled clients, families needing
assistance and children needing protection, or
members of the community demonstrating
for a just cause, we are there — in action.
Turning our vision into action. We've
done it for years. We'll rededicate ourselves
to it at General Council in August.
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