President’s
Corner
Reflections from
our Immediate
Past President
It has been 14 months now
since we started bargaining
our Homecare contract.
Joy'e Willman
In that time, we have
welcomed in our newest group of workers
- providers for people with developmental
disabilities and mental illness - and then
educated ourselves and the state as to their
needs and our stand to bring them into the
fold of Homecare local 99. Welcome one and
all.
It's been a long road with a lot of ups and
downs at the bargaining table. This is the
first time ever that we could not come to
an agreement with the state about some
key issues, so we are now in what is called
Arbitration. That is where the union and
the state each give our "Best Final Offer" to
the Arbitrator and she listens to the facts
presented by each side, then she makes
a decision which is final. We feel that we
have presented a good case on piir side and
hopefully she will make the right decision
and agree with us on our offer.
I would like to thank everyone who has
been with us through it all, making phone
calls, writing letters, going to Lobby Days,
rallies and coming to the table fighting
the fight for thousands of workers. Our
bargaining team has really done a great job
representing us all, and I appreciate and
respect their dedication.
As we go forward I hope every member
considers joining CAPE and exercises their
right to vote in the upcoming elections to
help get the people voted in who will do the
best job for us alJ. ’
I look forward to seeing many of you at
General Cou^l and other upcoming events.
A Plea from our Hew President
Hello fellow Homecare workers, I am very excited to become the
president pf such an important and dynamic group of people. I
am especially excited because I see what wonderful and amazing
things we have already accomplished and even more wonderful
and amazing things gping forward-together! We fought very hard
to save Health Care for Homecare, and we won! No matter what
happens in the final stages of our contract negotiations, we held the
Rebecca Sandoval
line on the number of hours needed to qualify for Health Care-the
state has agreed to keep it at 80 hours. We were also victorious on
keeping our paid time off. These are huge victories, and they are totally due to the
diligent, hard-fought campaign that we waged to convince the powers that be-
the Governor and the Legislature-that Homecare workers in Oregon are a political
force to be reckoned with. The SEIU 503 Board of Directors invested hundreds of
thousands of dollars in our campaign; and our excellent SEIU staff provided us
with the plans and direction for an incredibly successful campaign. Many of our
SEIU 503 brothers and sisters from other sectors joined us over and over again as
we took our message to the politicians that had the future of our program in their
hands. All of this proves that the statement "stronger together" is way more than
just a phrase-it is absolutely true!
I am also very excited to say that this is just the beginning. Our victory is secure, ,
but our future is not. More than anything, I have learned from this fight that we
absolutely must step Up and band together in even larger numbers to make sure
that the future of Homecare is protected. Our program is not just the most cost
efficient way to care for seniors and people with disabilities; it is also the most
humane. The most fundamental personal freedom is the freedom to choose where
one lives. Our program makes it possible for our society's most vulnerable citizens
to choose to live in their own homes, and this basic freedom must be protected.
It falls to those of us who do this work, those of us who have proven that we can
make a real difference in Oregon politic^ to lead the fight to preserve the future of
public services.
There are forces in this country and this state who want very much to do ¡away
with public services, and they have a lot of money on their side. But we have
something even better; we have "Truth" compassion, dedication, and the power
of our potential to exert political power. Corporate America and the very wealthy
may have very deep pockets, and with the U.S. Supreme Court's Citizens United
ruling they can now try to buy our politicians. But we have something even more
valuable than all of their money. We have our votes, and the politicians need us tp
get into office and to stay there. The Homecare sector of SEIU is huge-we number
somewhere around 20,000 now. That is a huge number. In fact, Governor Kitzhaber
only won by 17,000 votes last time. The path before us is clear: We have to get all
homecare workers involved in this fight. It starts with getting all of us registered to
vote and educated about what is going on, then continues with us taking our case
to our fellpw Oregonians. Sp, even if you are not inclined to become involved in
Union activities or politics, WE NEED YOU NOW-WE NEED YOU LIKE NEVER BEFORE.
I believe that we can win. this fight. We have a proven track record, but it is going to
take all of us. We cap save the future of Homecare-the future of the people we care
for- if we pull together. The time is now, and the people are us. As your president,
I plan to lead the charge: LET'S SAVE HOMECARE-TOGETHER!!! Thank you.
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