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About The 503 voice. (Salem, OR) ????-current | View Entire Issue (July 1, 2004)
■li™ ■SIH ■■ ■■■ See Inside Mr Statewide Candidate Statements... Nonprofit Organization U.S. POSTAGE PAID Permit No. 202 Salem, Oregon Address service requested MBS SEIU Local 503, OPEU PO Box 12159, Salem, OR 97309-0159 In this Issue... Health care or raises? We demand both! Statewide Officer Statements ... .2/3 Healthcare Voters Unite!............... flap Building a Positive Public Image .. .4 by Leslie Frane, Executive Director, SEIU Local 563. OPEU SEIU International Convention......... 4 Its that time again! In a few months, the 30,000 SEIU members who work tor DAS, the Oregon University System, and the Home Care Commission will begin bargaining new contracts. Our goals are clear For DAS and OUS, we need to get our steps back, win fair cost of livirtg increases, and protect bur health insurance. Sihce health care cqsts continue to skyrocket, protecting our benefits will again be a challenge. But based on conversations with members throughout the state, I'Ve concluded that ilnis year, we cannotallow management to forceps ¿to choose between good health care and good raises. This year, we need to win both. For home care workers, we need to build on the progress we made in our last contract. We won health coverage - but only for employees, not for their families. We need more than one paid day off a year, and our wage rate - $8.73 for most home care workers 8is still too low. So the stakes are high. But I'm encouraged by the large numbers of state employees who have said to me "I was willing td^ Message from the President............ 4 sacrifice last time because of the budget situation, but ENOUGH ALREADY with the state solving its budget problems on our backs." And by home care workers who have said "Last contract proved that when we stick together we can make progress. But we've only just begun." THE CNIC ROUTE NEEDS IMPROVING CNIC (Computer Networking Infrastructure Consolidation), the State's plan to consolidate data centers over the next 2 - 3 years, will have a significant impact on many agencies. 70% of the projected savings in the plan are labor costs. Yet the plan doesn't identify where the position reductions will bel The twelve state agencies affected are DHS, ODOT, Education, Employment, DCBS, Forestry, State Police, Corrections, Veterans Affairs, Revenue, DAS and OHCS Winning fair contracts will take tenacity, statewide action, and lots of membership participation. Here's how to get involved: ■ Come to the DAS/OUS Bargaining Conference: July 24. ■ Fill in a bargaining survey (to be distrib uted in August). ■ Vote for pro-working families candidates in the November erection. ■ Participate in uni»breaks, purple-up days, and other contract actions. ■ For DAS & OUS, be ready, as a last resort, to strike if we need. GENERAL COUNCIL AUGUST 18-21, 2004 OSU Alumni Center, Corvallis In Jackson County members are facing a tough fight to protect their health insurance and receive a wage increase. In fact, the health insur ance offer they received would result in a pay cut to more than half of the members. Members rallied on June 30, the day their contract expired. Come to SEIU's Strategy Committee meetings on the first and third Tuesdays every month at 5:30 p.m. Represent your agency's issues, share information, discuss concerns, and help develop our action plan. Fo r mo re i nfo contact Do n n a dathaT““ at 503-581-1505, x 140 (1-800-452- 2146) or at glathard@opeuseiu.org Marion County members vote on their tentative contract agreement - one that includes fully paid health care, wage and step increases, and improvements in language. Participation was critical in getting more than the boss wanted to give. Members held weekly rally/barbecues, circulated petitions, and wore stickers to pressure county commissioners. SEIU Local 503, OPEU - STRONGER TOGETHER PAGE 7
