Change to Win focuses on building the strength
of the labor movement
by Leslie Frane, Executive Director
On September 27, delegates from seven
international unions met in St. Louis to
found the Change to Win Federation.
Most of the Change to Win unions split
from the AFL-CI© in July, determined to
build a stronger voice for working families?
in America.
f was part of the SEIU delegation, along
with Bill Howard, an Oregon State Lottery
employee who is helping to lead the efforts
of Lottery employees toj^mpur unions '
Anna Burger, chair of the new federation,
expressed the spirit of the group when she
said "We are on the way to rekindle the
American dream."
The Change to Win federation will focus P
—-"on-organtsmg-tmofganized-workersso that
?: we can rebuild the labor movement. SEIU
President Andy Stern reminded us'that fifty
years ago, one in three American workers
were in unions. Now it's down to one in
eight workers, and only one in twelve i^
the private sector. Fewer union members
means less power for workers. It's that
simple.
The Change to Win Federation pledged to
create "a lean, mean, organizing machine"
and to spend 75% of its $16 milliop
national budget on organizing unorganized
Workers.
SEIU's share of that money will
tome from our-lnternational union, not
from Local 503.
In Local 503, we spend approximately'20%
of our resources on organizing unorganized
workers, with the rest of our revenue going
convention, Km convinced that the seven
to strengthen our existing membership,
unSS thé Change to Win federation are
through contract campaigns, representation,
leadership development, communications, | committed to making that changé. Now
that the speeches are over, we need to turn
political work on behalf of our members'.
that commitment into organizing.
interests, etc.
The Change to Win Federation also
committed itself to organizing by industry?
In an era Of corporate mergers, workers in
one industry have more power if they
organize into one union. For example’,
United Airlines employees are divided ’
among six unic^- Imagine how much: |
stronger, they'd be if they bargained
together.
At the Convention, we passed resolutions
promoting diversity so that our leadership
will reflect our membership. It felt great to
elect the first woman ever to head
labor federation (Anna Burger,,frq^SEIU)?\
and the first African American e^er to hold
executive officeun ads. labor federation
(Edgar Romney, from UNITE-HERE).
Change to Win is about looking
at how we can make America
more liveable - to give a living
wage and higher standard of
living to American workers.
We are a strong country and
workers should have decent
wages and benefits.
The Change to Win founding
convention was a step
forward for the labor
movement. 99
further decline in union power is
inevitable. Based on. what I heard at the a
Notice of Nominations: DCBS local 440
Interim Vice President (1 position)
and Stewards (4 positions)
Members advocate for changes
to insurance code and win
by Greg Ledbetter, Consumer Advocate, Department of Consumer and Business Services
Members at Department of Consumer and
Business Services (DCBS) saw first hand
the effects of insurance company
procedures and took action that improved
the situation for consumers in Oregon.
This is an example of what we can do, as a
union, to fight for fairness. Even though
this issue was perhaps a non-traditional
labor issue, it was important to members
at DCBS.
The State of Oregon regulates insurance
companies doing business in Oregon. When
the profitability^eclihed after September 11,
20Ô1, thej^implemented underwriting rules
Company policies costly to consumers
Companies would charge consumers with a
claim even if they just, called to inquire about
an.qëcurrence and were told it wasn't cov
ered -under their^¿licy, with no money ever
being paid.
For me, thebest part of the. convention was
listening to the stories'of workers from all
' acro'ss the country wh® are currently trying
' to organize unions^ often against long ■
odds, and to win,rights and benefitsthat
those of us who have been in the union fqr
a long time sometimes take for granted.
The American labor movementdearly .
came to a fork in the road this year. The
key to choosing a hew path was recognizing
that unless.we make growth aiprlOTil^^
Homeowners' Bill of Rights for Oregon consumers
Under the law,’insurance companies were
given great’discrëtfen in making theste'g
decisions. The theory was thatthére was B
mùthWqmpëtition, and so many i^sitrance
companies, that when consumers were told
to .shop around tor an insura^ce'co.mpany
after being cancelled^r-when they were
unhappy with Kf they were treated, they ;
Workers recommend solutions to
industry abuses
Insurance Division employees at DCBS had
observed problems and recommended
changes'to the,Insurance Commissioner to
better protect consumers from abuses by the
industry they regulate.
The problems had gotten to the point that
even the Insurance Commissioner stated that
it might be a good idea to require more $
"disclosure by insurance companies.
Concerned SEIU 503 members organized a
committee to adyoratejor con
passing legislation in the ZOOS' s^s^n, to
improve protectio.n for.consumers. When
the Commissioner formed a task force of
• industry representatives, our members *
requested to be included on that committee
as^a.Vofeefor cbhsumers. We participated
in drafting what became Senate Bill 118,
known as the?H©meov^ners' Insurance Bill
of Rights. We also testified to the Senate -
Committee on behalf of the bill and it C
ultimately passed both houses and was
signed by the Governor.
| Members at DCBS took^on a fight for
fairness - and won!
Bill Howard a Service Technician with The
Lottery Bill and dthei employees at Oregon Lottery
are working to form a union with SEIU Local 503
Pressure from seniors and PERS Coalition lessens blow for retired members
PERS Board goes forward with plan to collect from retirees
Despite pressure we have brought to bear on the PERS Board through calj^.emails. and .a
big tur^
Board hSethig, the Board decided to proceed with a plan to collect
To nominate a candidate or for duties of the officers, contact a member <2
of the Nominations Committee: Von Ledbetter at (503) 947-7268 or5 ’
Barbara Hopkins at (503)947-7598.
so-called overpayments from current retirees. But they have adopted an approach which
could be called the least pain strategy.
The ideaMB stmtch^t the collection over a period-dttime based on an actuarial estimate
Ballots will be mailed to each member mid-November. You may request an
absentee ballot by contacting Barbara at Salem HQ: 503-581-1505, x! 50 or
1-800-452-2146, x! 50.,
of an individual's lifespan, rather tRaTi tb attempt to collect any lump sum amounts. In.
addition, the least pain approach would not charge interest for the Wgnce 1999^fo|i
the future^e span;of the individual. Th^%fhtich better position than the'onejannounced
previously.
Although the PERS Board agreed that they liked the approach in concept, they will -not likely
take formalomit until their Number or December 2005 meeting. Benefits would be
The 503 Voice is published by SEIU Local 503, OPEU.
Editor:]. Szliske szl@opeuseiu.org
Salem Headquarters
w
«s*
1730 Commercial St. SE
¡¡lii
PO BOX12159
Salem, OR 97309-0159
503-581-1505 / 800-452-2146 (Fax) 503-581 -1664
OPEU
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
www.seiu503.org
recalculated as of April 1, 2006.
However, it'is stiff the position^Bour PERS Coalition that the Supreme Court's Strunk decision
SEIU
LOCAL 503
Retirees stopped in the Governor's office on their way to the PERS
Board meeting on September 23. They presented the Governor's
aide with petitions filled out by retirees from all over the state.
From left: Governor's Aide receiving letters from retiree Len Cleary;
Robert Gourley (behind Cleary); Dean Hulbert; John Hawkins;
Natalia Letson; Dave Cleveland.
forbids such collections from Current retirees. Our PERS Coalition attorney, Greg Hartman,
li/ery firm in his conviction that the proposed PERS action is a violation of Strunk, and it is
very likely thattpu^>aliti.Qq^ill-.launch further courtactipn to prevent the implementation
of the least-pain strategy.
For some members of SEIU's Retirees local, it was their first-ever SEIU Retiree action, and
several were brand new members who joined because of our PERS campaign. Along with
us were retirees from AFSCME, the Oregon Education Association (OEA), the Laborers Union-,
and others.
This is.a battle that will clearly go on for some time, both on the legal front and on the
political front. Stay tuned...
Department of Consumer and
Business Services, tells how'members
'took action for legislative change that
-.ivili benefit Oregon consumers. The
Homeowners’Consumer Bill of Rights
will protect consumers from insurance
industry practices.
Members advocate legislation to
fight back
would not have any difficulty finaingfreason
ably priced replacement’coverage
Nominations Close at T:OO PM onThtirsday October 20, 2005
Greg Ledbetter at
OPEN ENROLLMENT
Make a choice
-dont default
This year, as in some previous
S
I
Open Enrollment period with a
If you live in Multnomah,
Clackamas, Washington,
Yamhill, Columbia, Clark (WA),
Marion, Polk, Linn, Benton or
Lincoln county - and you are
enrolled in the Regence Blue
Cross Blue Shield Plan - you
must re-enroll during the open
enrollment period, or PEBB will
put you in its "default" plan:
Samaritan, for Linn, Benton,
and Lincoln counties, and
Kaiser Added Choice Plan for
the other counties listed above.
There are many advantages to
the default plans-induding
lower prescription co-pays for
many drugs in the Kaiser plan,
and lower co-pays on certain
services for both Samaritan and
Kaiser-compared to the
Regence plan. There is also a
$250 incentive payment (into
a flexible spending account)
for any one who enrolls in the
Kaiser HMO plan for the
first time.
However, we want to make
sure that all PEBB participants
have an opportunity to make
their own decisions about
what's right for them
Don't get "defaulted"!
Re-enroll in the plan that works
best for you and your family!
SEIU Local 503, OPEU - STRONGER TOGETHER
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SEIU Local 503, OPEU - STRONGER TOGETHER
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