Accountability:
/1 Mil
HE 2005 legislative session was one of the most partisan in
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Oregon's history. Both the pro-worker Senate and the anti
worker House had the power to block substantive legislation of
any type. In that context, SEIU Local 503 members fared well.
We protected funding for the contract settlement for
DAS and OUS workers. Homecare workers fought off serious
negative changes to their program and protected enough
funding for a fair contract settlement.
AFFORDABLE HEALTH CARE FOR ALL
We moved the issue of affordable health care to the forefront
of the legislative agenda. We successfully identified drug
companies, the insurance industry, and greedy hospital
corporations as the primary factors in out-of-control health care
costs. This was important because anti-worker forces were eager
to blame state budget woes on the cost of public employee
benefits.
SB 835: Department of Revenue workers get a
public hearing on Spanish-language documents
For years our members at the Department of Revenue have been
pushing for the creation of basic tax documents written in Spanish.
This year we went over management's head, straight to the legislature.
Members like Maria Barba were successful in convincing State
Senator Frank Shields (D: Portland) to hold a public hearing, forcing
management to explain why the 9% of Oregon taxpayers who speak
Spanish have been neglected . Members like Maria are frustrated
because they spend much of their time at work repeatedly translating
basic tax issues over the phone, when they could avoid this with
Spanish-language documents. While we didn't succeed in passing the
legislation, we did succeed in moving the Revenue Department to
change its practices. More than 30 forms have now been translated.
“Zt was truly empowering to
testify at a public hearing about
an issue that is so close to my
heart. Together, we really are
strong enough to make a
difference."
Maria Barba, Revenue Agent