Image provided by: SEIU Local 503; Salem, OR
About The 503 voice. (Salem, OR) ????-current | View Entire Issue (July 1, 2004)
Healthcare Voters Unite! by Maribeth Healey. Executive Director Oregonians for Health Security Got health care? You are one of the lucky few. Nearly one million Oregonians lacked health care coverage at one point in the past two years. Over 80% were from families with someone who was working or looking for work. By educating and electing pro-affordable health care candidates from Laurie Monnes Anderson for State Senate in Gresham to John Kerry for President, we canimprove access to health care and reduce costs. That's what I'll be working for this year. 99 SHF I SEIU International convention highlights healthcare and finding ways to win for working families bvKathie Best, President Having just attended the SEIU Convention in San Francisco, I'm reminded about the importance of being part of a national movement to improve the quality of life for working families in this country. Barney Gorter Whether it's expanding access to healthcare for millions of people, creating secure jobs that pay a family wage, or protecting the rights of workers everywhere to organize and have a voice on the job, we must engage in these fights nationally,Jf not globally. Health care is becoming a bigger SEIU retiree and health care voter and bigger fight in contract negotiations in Oregon and across the country. Health insurance premiums have increased at double-digit rates for the past five years. One result of increasing health care costs is that employers are attempting to pass more costs onto workers in the form of higher premiums, co-pays, and deductibles, in one survey, 42% of Oregon employers surveyed said they would increase the percentage of premium/plan cost contributed by employees and 38% said they would increase cost-sharing provisions such as deductibles, co-pays/co-insurances and out-of-pocket maximums. (Mercer Sponsored I HeaHh Plans 2003) The increasing costs of health care make it more difficult to negotiate on workplace issues, wage increases and other benefits. We need to maintain fully paid health insurance as the standard for all employers. This will be our fight in the 2005 legislature and at the bargaining table. Oregon is one of only a few states to offer fully-paid family health care benefits to state employees. We must maintain these benefits.; < .. , . * ; Health care is a top issue in the election this year and an area where the Democratic presidential candidate, John Kerry, has a plan that will reduce the number of uninsured and reduce costs for employers. Oregonians for Health Security, along with SEIU International's Americans for Health Care are designing common sense solutions to pass in State legislatures from Augusta, Maine to Salem, Oregon. We are finding Oregonians who want to join us by becoming "health care voters" by pledging to support candidates who will....... stand for quality, affordable and secure health care. Electing pro-affordable health care candidates at the local, State and national level will help find solutions to the health care crisis. Join us! Sign up to be a health care voter at: http://www.oregoniansforhealthsecuritv.org. The 503 Voice is published by SEIU Local 503, OPEU. Editor: J. Szliske szi@opeuseiu.org Salem Headquarters 1730 Commercial St. SE PO Box 12159 Salem, OR 97309-0159 503-581-1505 1 800-452-2146 (Fax) 503-581-1664 Portland Field Office: 503-408-4090 / 800-527-9374 Bend Field Office: 541-385-8471/ 800-832-0593 Corvallis Field Office: 541-766-4968 Eugene Field Office: 541 -342-1055 / 800-521 -3446 Medford Field Office: 541-779-4324/800-452-7965 Pendleton Field Office: 541-276-4983 / 800-452-8146 SE/U i At the convention we adopted a four-year plaKT^ati^ we will work to build SEIU in the South and Southwest to increase the number of union workers in America. We also plan to organize more workers in our core industries like hospitals, long term care,' building services, and the public sector. Politically we plan to ensure accountability - the International is setting up a $1 million fund to support racés against incumbents who betray us. Here at home, healthcare and tax reform are key issues in our pursuiO of better wages, benefits and working conditions. Our success on these Oues will result in contracts we can once again get excited about. Please turn out when called upon to do so, and support these issues and our contract campaigns. And get involved in the upcoming federal election to win for working families. Act locally, win globally. Members Cynthia Harold, Mary Springer, and Darlene Wright join 15,000 SEIU members in an early morning march across the Golden Gate Bridge, demanding that this country bridge the gap between our health care system and the health care needs of working Americans. Local 503's delegation to the SEIU International's convention. Getting our message out what we do to win public support Public opinion affects all unions, but especially public sector unions. When we are under attack, public opinion influences whether politicians support us or oppose us. That can make the difference between winning and losing. The public perspective Lots of factors.determin.ew.hat average ' people think about public employees. It's crucial that the public understands how our struggles affect the community. Better wages mean people stay in their jobs longer. That means more experienced wpfkers and better public, services. We talk to the public in different ways - through earned media (coverage we don't * have to pay for like articles and editorials in newspapers), paid advertising (television, radio, billboards, newspapers), statements by coalition groups, and talking to our family, neighbors, and friends. One way to influence public opin^^^M through media coverage including néws reports and editorials. To get this coverage we send out press releases and we meet with editorial boards. We develop relationships with reporters and we have members available to speak with reporters when they call us looking for an opinion. An example of successful media work was an editorial in the Statesman Journal titled PAGE 4 "University staffers deserve fair contract", editorial didn't just happen. Bargaining team members helped craft a message and spent time on media training to, learn how to best deliver it. Our Executive Director, PR director and team members visited editorial boards through out the state to meet editors and let them know what was happening. We talked about the important services that bur OUS members provide every day of the year. It takes a lot of groundwork and many calls to reporters and program directors before a story makes 'it to the newspaper or airwaves. Some stations and papers flatly refuse to cover-union rallies. Sometimes other events interfere with our efforts to tell our story. At the PERS hear ings in February, the court room corridors were t[l|ed with reporters and camera crews. Unfortunately, they had no interest in the PERS hearing. They were there to cover a murder trial! PuW^Rblations department to help us get more and better media coverage throughout- Oregon. We may not have the advertising budget that Coca-Cola has, but we dohave tens of thousands of members who provide quality services that our communities rely on. As always, our’members are our best resource. ■ What we can do to help: Tell your organizer about interesting things that happen in your work place or agency. We may be able to get press coverage about them. Talk to your neighbors, friends and relatives so they understand that our fight for affordable health care, living wages, and funding for public services benefits our communities. Let them know about the quality public services you provide. Q SEIU's commitment to building a positive public image As an organization, weare commited to building a positive public image for public employees. SEIU helps fund both Oregonians for Health Security and Citizens for Oregon's Future Today, two coalition groups that educate about health care and taxation. Our Board of Directors has just created another position fa the SEIU Local 503, OPEU - STRONGER TOGETHER H Whenever you talk to the media, give them your name and say that you are a member of SEIU before you mention where you work. For example, "I'm Jane Doe, a member of SEIU Local 503. I drive a truck forODOT." ■J uey 2004
