Image provided by: SEIU Local 503; Salem, OR
About The 503 voice. (Salem, OR) ????-current | View Entire Issue (April 1, 2007)
SEIU members making a difference... Lobby Days 2007 by Kurt Kessler, CAPE Chair SEIU 503 members made a huge difference in the last election. We're now poised to make a huge difference in the lives of working families in the coming years. In addition to our victories in the candidate races, we defeated anti-worker ballot measures, and we expanded the Prescription Drug Pool, which will be a huge benefit to Oregonians. It was a landslide for working families. In light of that victory, we are organizing at work and turning out for lobby days, creating the unity and visibility that will win us fair contracts and proactive legislation. But we also need to build on the political success of '06. We need to ensure that our victory is not a one-time windfall, but a foundation for future successes. Please, get involved in CAPE, our union's Political Action We are making sure that our legislators see the importance of the services we provide the people of Oregon and that they understand the issues that are central to the livelihoods of Oregon's working families. Motor Carrier Enforcement Officers went to Salem to regain the authority they needed to ensure trucks on our roads are safe. Committee and the driving force behind our union's political program. CAPE is what a political action committee is supposed to be - an opportunity for average Americans to pool their resources and support the issues they believe in. So contribute your 2-cents an hour ($50 a year), and your voice to the most effective grass roots political program in the State. Talk to your steward and sign up for CAPE today! Nursing Home care providers lobby to increase staffing levels for { better I patient care. Because the child care agreement must be funded by the 2007 Legislature before the improvements will go into effect, child care providers from around the State - some with kids in tow - have been trekking to the Capitol to make their stories heard. Pictured are providers meeting with Brian Clem. An added "bonus"of Lobby Days - making new friends. Over the past three months, 400 members had face-to-face conversations with legislators. Pictured are DHS members Jill Sipt from Klamath Falls and Gina Santacroce from Portland with Rep. Tina Kotek. « Mi Having the right people in office doesn’t, in and of itself, improve our lives. We've got the pieces on the board, but we still have to win the game, in our worksites, as well as in Salem and in Washington, DC. Members from Jackson, Curry and Baker counties went to DC to secure funding for services in rural timber counties. WELCOME BACK CRAIG DAVIS! Joining together to improve care for clients and build security and benefits to sustain their families Craig Davis, Water Distribution Tech, has been a City of Beaverton employee for over 20 years. He had a total knee replacement on Oct. 9, 2006. In late December, he was released for light duty - only management wouldn't give him any. He's now back to Adult Foster Care Organizing work thanks to the support of his co-workers! How co-workers got the City to make the right decision: w SEIU family child care providers reach historic agreement Five thousand family child care providers are the newest members of our union. These hard working men and women work in their homes, caring for the kids of low-income Oregon families. For their work, they receive an hourly "subsidy" payment from the Department of Human Services. In December 2006, SEIU family child care providers reached an historic agreement with the State that improves Oregon's child care system. The Agreement calls for the first subsidy rate increase ever. It also lowers parent co-payments and increases the income limit for participation in the subsidy program to help more working parents qualify for child care assistance. Providers currently earn between $1.60 to $2.20/hour per child, while caring for a maximum of 3 children. Even if they care for three children at a time, they earn a lot less than minimum wage, and they have no health insurance or Workers' Compensation. The Agreement was reached after many months of tough negotiations with input - from providers, state agencies, the Governor's office, and child care advocates. It will bring some (though not all) providers up to minimum wage. Providers like Portia Moye have been lobbying every month. If you ask Portia why she keeps coming back to lobby lawmakers, she will tell you, "Our stories make a difference. This agreement is going to help all of Oregon's working families." According to SEIU Local 503 Executive Director Leslie Frane, winning collective bargaining rights for these members "will enable us to reduce turnover, to improve quality, to advocate for the kids we care for, and to professionalize the work our members do, day in and day out to protect and to nurture our children." The Governor's recommended budget for child welfare cuts the funds for 100 Social Service Assistants (SSA's). DHS members testified about the important role SSA's play in the lives of Oregon’s most vulnerable children. ■ In mid-January, Craig contacted Steward Mike Sterle about running out of paid leave and not being allowed light duty. Mike arranged a meeting with Operations Managers and Human Resources to get all the facts. ■ The City reported that unless Craig had a date when he would be released at 100% capacity, they wouldn't even consider light duty. Craig's water crew was told that they would be hiring temps to do light duty work that Craig was capable of doing. The crew expressed their concerns to management. ■ Mike teamed up with Steward Kathy Gaona. Together they spoke with the head of Human Resources about the injustice of temps doing what Craig could do. ■ Both stewards decided that raising awareness and raising money for Craig's health insurance must happen quickly. ■ Beaverton union leaders and activists enlisted members from across the City to sell raffle tickets and spread the word. ■ On February 21, Craig came back to work on light duty after getting another positive report from his doctor. ■ On February 26, Faye Turner, a Support Specialist who lives in Tigard, won the raffle for a weekend at the beach - congrats Faye! ■ The $860 raised through generous contributions will be kept in the City of Beaverton local's Hardship Fund in case this happens again. Restructure in effect Sept.’O8 SEIU Local 503, OPEU General Council delegates voted 92% in favor of approving the plan designed to restructure our local. The new structure reflects how our union has changed. by Michael Simpson, SEIU Local 5U3 DHS member As far as I know, sooner or later everyone dies. If we are fortunate enough to live a relatively long life, but suffer the misfortune of needing help with our daily activities, we may be faced with finding a home and someone to provide a safe and nurturing environment for us to live out our years. Many of us do not have family or friends who can fill this need and that can be unfortunate. But there may be a home for you, and perhaps an adoptive family, through the Adult Foster Care (AFC) Program. AFC providers in Oregon are in the process of joining our union. They know that by organizing, they can improve care for their clients and build security and benefits that will sustain their families and the services they provide. On March 1,2007,1 began a two-month leave of absence from my employment with the Oregon Department of Human Services as a member organizer, or MOC, to work on the Adult Foster Care (AFC) campaign. We are organizing those Oregonians who provide essential care in their home to seniors and people with disabilities in need of medical care and/or supervision. Adult Foster Care provides a home for medically fragile seniors and Oregonians of all ages with physical and mental disabilities. Care is provided in a home environment rather than an institution such as a nursing home or assisted living facility, and it's done in a pleasant and nurturing environment for about a third of the cost paid to institutions. I have personally visited almost 200 AFC homes and have had the privilege of meeting even more AFC providers. Our team has made thousands of such visits and met an equal number of providers. We have found them to be intensely caring and dedicated to the residents with whom they frequently not only share their homes, but their families as well. It is not uncommon to encounter situations where residents have been members of the household and family for many years and as such, have shared the joys, the sorrows, triumphs, defeats, and significant events in one another's lives. Adult Foster Care (AFC) providers exist in just about every type of community, urban and rural. It could be a large luxury home or mobile home, apartment, solitary trailer, or a distant and isolated farm. Providers range from medically-trained professionals to friends or neighbors who open their home to people they know or care about. It's very gratifying to help these providers organize. There may come a time in our lives when we need quality, affordable care from someone in our Care Providers Division. This is our chance to give some thing to them while we're still sound and able-bodied enough to do so. As called for by the resolution, the plan was put in writing and adopted into our Constitution and Bylaws (C&B) and our Administrative Policies and Procedure (AP&P) documents. These changes will go into effect Sept 1,2008. Our next union election will be run under the new Constitution and Bylaws. Local 730/0D0T Notice of Nominations Secretary (1 position) & Treasurer (1 position) Nominations Close at 5 pm on Friday, May 11,2007. To nominate a candidate(s), or yourself, please contact Sharon Brogan at SEIU Local 503, OPEU Portland Field office for a nomination form, at 503-408-4090 x469 or brogans@opeuseiu.org Nomination forms must be received at SEIU Local 503, OPEU Salem HQ by 5 pm, Friday, May 11,2007. All candidate(s) must read the job description on the nomination form, and sign the signature line to accept the nomination. For the nomination to be valid, each candidate must be verified as a member of SEIU Local 503, OPEU. The nominee information will be compiled into a ballot which will be sent to all ODOT members the following week. 2007 Board and Executive Committee meeting dates May 19 June 9 July 14 August 11 September 8 October 13 November 17 December 8 Board Executive Committee Board Executive Committee Board Executive Committee Board Executive Committee The 503 Voice is published by SEIU Local 503, OPEll. Contact: Kathie Best bestk@opeuseiu.org LOCAL 503 Salem Headquarters & I am not out here every month for myself; I am out here because of the children. Kids need a safe environment to grow and learn. That place is hard to find when the State is only willing to put in less than two bucks an hour. 99 Portia Moye, Child Care provider, Portland Craig Davis (left) is back to work thanks to the support of his co-workers and stewards Mike Sterle (right) and Kathy Gaona (missing from pic). Adult Foster Care provider, Portland SEIU Local 503, OPEU - STRONGER TOGETHER PAGE 2 SEIU Local 503, OPEU - STRONGER TOGETHER 1730 Commercial St. SE PO Box 12159, Salem, OR 97309-0159 503-581 -1505/ 800-452-2146 (Fax) 503-581 -1664 & The winds of change have opened the curtains surrounding the critical needs of medically fragile seniors and disabled Oregonians living in Adult Foster Care. We need to ride this wind until justice shines on every AFC home in Oregon, if not the nation. 99 Claudia McDuffie PAGE 3 Portland Field Office: 503-408-4090 / 800-527-9374 Bend Field Office: 541-385-8471/800-832-0593 Corvallis Field Office: 541-752-0183 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 SEIU Stronger Together
