Why I'm Voting
Yes on the Contract
By Linda Burgin, SEIU 503 President
OUS Bargaining Team at Salem Headquarters.
OUS Workers, Care
Providers Continue
to Pursue Contracts
While tentative agreement has been reached on a
new contract for DAS state workers, SEIU Local 503
bargaining teams continue to negotiate four other
statewide contracts on behalf of classified workers
on seven campuses in the Oregon University
System, homecare workers, family child care
workers, and adult foster home providers.
Heading into mediation in August, homecare
workers were able to rebuff state efforts to eat into
prior gains on issues such as paid time off, but state
negotiators continued to push an unacceptable
proposal that would make health insurance
unaffordable for many members. According to
projections, in a couple of years some members
could pay up to $200 per month to retain health
care coverage under the state proposal.
"Ever since we formed our union, we have fought
hard for health care so we can keep ourselves
healthy to provide consistent, quality, safe, and
healthy care for our clients," Homecare Bargaining
Chair Beverly Mackey and members of the team
declared. "We can't afford to backtrack now."
Adult foster home providers-the newest care
provider group-are bargaining for fairer standards
and consistent rules, but meeting resistance from
State negotiators who do not want to discuss
those topics.
OUS members are covered by two aspects of the
DAS agreement that they will vote on, and if it is
ratified, they will continue to receive fully paid
health coverage and go without a cost-of-living
increase in the next two years. But all other aspects
of their contract are negotiated separately with the
office of the Chancellor, which has sought some
draconian measures in bargaining, including the
right to assign an unlimited number of unpaid
furlough days at will.
Members who are not part of the SEIU 503
bargaining team have made presentations on
various union proposals at negotiations, which
are conducted on a rotating basis at campuses
throughout the system. Workers at negotiation
sites have rallied in support of the team and,
following the DAS agreement, they and DAS
members have intensified actions, reaching out
to the Chancellor and university presidents to
demand equitable treatment for workers. In
mid-August, the union filed an unfair labor practice
charge with the Employment Relations Board
against OUS for refusing to bargain over the unit's
14 newest members, Portland State University
student recycling workers who voted 9-0 to join
SEIU 503 in an election conducted by ERB.
"They are the first undergraduate student
employees to gain union recognition and we are
proud they chose to align themselves with us,"
Bargaining Team members said. "We now need to
show the university system that being part of a
union means solidarity - 'if you take one of us on,
you take all of us on.'"
Latest updates on all ongoing negotiations are
available on the web at www.seiu503.org on
the State/University page for OUS, and Care
Providers page for homecare, child care and
adult foster homes.
In my 25 years as a state employee, we have had contracts with a wage freeze and without
cost-of-living increases, but this is the first contract we have ever negotiated that includes
furlough days, or mandatory unpaid time off. AAARGH!
Most of us had never heard of furlough days before, but given the economy and the budget gap,
we sensed that they would have to be part of any negotiated settlement. That was apparent
when managers in all agencies started taking them several months ago. Sure enough, we
quickly concluded that we could not bargain furlough days away entirely; the best we could do
was to reduce the number of them we would have to take.
That said, considering that we were negotiating during the worst economic crisis we have seen
since the Great Depression, this contract is little short of miraculous. In fact, it ranks with the best
state worker contracts in the whole country. Why? We protected fully paid health care for our
families. (North Dakota is the only other state that has fully paid health care, but the coverage
there is far inferior to ours.)
Why was this tentative agreement a victory for state workers? Consider...
Initial Management Proposal
Tentative Agreement 7/28/09
Fully paid health insurance
Unclear
Covered
Furlough days over 2 years
26
10-14
Step Increases
Complete step freeze & 10th
step eliminated
1 Step for all workers,
including new 10th Step
COLA
None
None
Classification Study
Few positions
Widely expanded
Plus, under the old contract, the old first step disappeared from all state classifications June 30,
giving new hires a more competitive starting rate.The new 10th step was also added.
In addition, this tentative agreement follows a legislative session in which we successfully
fought off very real threats to slash state services and lay off thousands of state-paid
employees. Only our support of CAPE, campaigns for progressive legislators, and lobbying
on behalf of ourselves and our clients prevented most of those cuts and layoffs.
Tough times worry and challenge us but also remind us why having a union is so important.
Where would we have been without this union in the past year? Can you guess? Thank God
for this union, and for those of you, our members, who step up to volunteer to do what needs
to be done to inform the public and the legislature. You work hard at providing services to
Oregonians and then to devote some of your well-earned time off to ensure that those
services are not taken away.
We reached this agreement after eight long months of difficult negotiations. As our elected
bargaining team has pointed out, we knew this would not be the year we would win the raises
our members truly deserve. Instead, our goal was to make sure state employees were not
required to shoulder a disproportionate share of the burden of balancing the budget. Looking
around at other segments of the work force and workers in other states, it is safe to say that this
agreement meets that goal.
That is why I am voting YES on ratification and I hope you do, too.
503 Civil and Human Rights Committee
Plans Conference in Portland, October 24
The SEIU Local 503 Civil and Human Rights
Committee will hold a day-long conference,
Saturday, October 24 at the union's Portland
headquarters. Keynote speaker is Dan HoSang,
University of Oregon Assistant Professor of Ethnic
Studies and Political Science.
The SEIU Portland Field office is located at
6401 SE Foster Road. Because space is limited,
members are encouraged to pre-register. For
registration details and an agenda, call the Salem
SEIU HQ at 800-452-2146 / 503-581 -1505, or see
the SEIU Calendar on line at www.seiu503.org.
The conference was developed by SEIU 503 Civil
and Human Rights Committee members and
members of the AFRAM, Lavender, and Latino/
Latina Caucuses. Topics and format will be
varied. Future events will focus in more depth
on specific issues that have sparked a high
level of member interest. For example, the
committee will sponsor a workshop on
immigration at the SEIU headquarters in
Salem on Thursday evening September 10.
See the SEIU Calendar at www.seiu503.org
for details.
"By hearing people's stories and learning
about issues," said Rose Kachadoorian, chair
of the Civil and Human Rights Committee,
"we can strengthen the union by being
more informed and inclusive."
"Unions are about fairness and equality,"
added Johnny Earl of the AFRAM Caucus,
"so this is an ideal conference for union
members to develop."