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SEIU 503, OPEU
• Nonprofit Org
U.S. POSTAGE
PAID
Permit No. 202
Salem, Oregon
PO Box 12159, Salem, OR 97309-0159
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2015: A Year of Building Strength
2015 has been a year of strength and growth for SEIU 503.
Between organizing previously unorganized workers and signing
up represented workers who weren't yet members, over 2000
workers joined SEIU 503 last year, and over 5000 of us recommitted
to stand with our fellow members to build a just and vibrant society.
SEIU 503 VOICE
Our union's growth in 2015 was due in large part to coordinated
member-to-member conversations and engaging new and existing
membership on a scale unparalleled in previous years. Uniting
around the strength of our recent contract wins has reinforced the
strength of our union.
By strengthening our union and growing our membership, CAPE
(Citizen Action For Political Education) contributions have increased
over 50 percent since 2013. CAPE has helped elect political leaders
who stand with working Oregonians. 2016 will see a strengthened
Local 503 that is ready and able to hold elected officials accountable
in our mission to create an Oregon where all workers have a fair shot
to get ahead.
Fair Shot Launches 2016 Legislative Agenda
The status quo is not working for many of us—women, people of color, people
who identify as LGBTQ, immigrants and working families—and the gap between
the wealthy and the rest of us continues to grow.
are targeted by profiling the most, leading to higher arrest and conviction rates
among people of color generally—and African-Americans specifically. Many are
already struggling to make ends meet and risk harsher penalties and extra fees
when they can't afford to pay the fines—putting their jobs on the line and their
families at risk.
Many of us are struggling with workplace policies that simply don't work for families
and are faced with zero retirement savings. On top of that, staggering opportunity
gaps and long-standing inequalities faced by communities of color leave us even
further behind.
We made progress on this issue with the passage of HB 2002, a bill that prohibits
profiling by law enforcement and created a work group that will continue to build
transparency and accountability into our laws. That's a huge step.
We need policies that fix our broken economy and give us all a fair shot. We need
change. We need elected officials to make us a priority.
Members of our union, like Secretary-Treasurer Rebecca
Sandoval, are weighing in with Attorney General Ellen
Rosenblum, who leads the profiling work group.
That’s why a group of economic and social justice organizations—including SEIU 503,
Family Forward Oregon, the Asian Pacific American Network of Oregon, Basic Rights
Oregon, the Center for Intercultural Organizing, the Oregon AFL-CIO, PCUN, Portland
Jobs with Justice, the Urban League of Portland, the YWCA,and many others—have
joined together as Fair Shot Oregon.
The Fair Shot Oregon coalition is now building momentum on the heels of a victorious
2015 legislative session. Together, we achieved significant progress for working
Oregonians and their families—passing paid sick days, expanding employment
opportunity by prohibiting employers from including questions about applicants
criminal history on job applications, providing a secure way for all Oregonians to
save for retirement, and taking important steps to end profiling.
But our work is far from over.
With long-standing inequalities holding many of us back, and a growing gap between
the wealthy and working families, it is clear that the economy is only working for a few.
We need policies that fix our broken economy and give us all a fair shot to get ahead.
To that end, the coalition has adopted three priority issues for the next legislative
session:
1.
Raise the wage for all Oregonians. Oregon's current minimum wage is not
enough to live on. An Oregonian working foil time for $9.25 an hour earns just
$19,240 a year. No matter where you live, that's not nearly enough to afford the
basics like housing, food and childcare.
It's simple: If you work full time, you and your family should be able to get by.
2.
Ending profiling, the systemic process of law enforcement targeting certain
communities. People in low-income neighborhoods and communities of color
"Profiling based on race, gender, sexual orientation or other
Rebecca Sandoval
3.
identities is wrong," Rebecca said to the Attorney General at
a listening session on November 5 in Medford.'lt does not
fit with Oregon's values and our state will be held back from
benefiting from the full participation arid contributions of
every Oregonian so long as the practice continues." '
Ending wage theft, the widespread illegal practice of not paying workers
the wages they've earned. Wage theft occurs when employers pay less than
the minimum wage, don't pay overtime, force employees to work"off the clock"
or "under the table," issue paychecks that bounce, steal tips, deny legally
required meal and rest breaks, or don't pay workers at all. Shockingly,
it happens all the time. '
Addressing wage theft is an exciting new focus for the coalition. The first step
is creating stronger laws that protect workers. The coalition is also working with
government agencies and community advocates to ensure that enforcement
mechanisms are effective at holding employers accountable when they break
the law.
Raising the minimum wage, ending profiling and stopping wage theft are policies
that will help give every Oregonian an opportunity to succeed. Thanks to the
support of SEIU 503 members and our community partners, Fair Shot Oregon is
sending lawmakers a message loud and clean It's time Oregonians have a fair
shot to get ahead, not just get by.
JANUARY 2016