Dignity, September 01, 2019, Image 1

LOCAL 503
SEIU
SEPTEMBER 2019
DIGNITY
Oregons Homecare & Personal Support Worker Newsletter
What do politics have to do
with a strong contract?
Winning a strong contract begins long before
we sit down at the bargaining table. Months and
even years of member and political engagement
lay the groundwork to have sufficient resources
for a fair contract Our Tentative Agreement with
the state for homecare workers is the result of
years of hard work by SEIU 503 members.
Since a ballot initiative capped real property
taxes in 1990, Oregon has had a critical need for
meaningful revenue reform to fund the quality
services that the people of our state rely on every
day, including in-home care. Many of us can recall
the Measure 97 campaign in 2016. While millions
of dollars from corporate-interests kept our effort
to pass a tax on large corporations from passing at
the ballot box, all of the doors we knocked, phone
calls we made, and conversations we had with
voters were not in vain.
Passing revenue-raising legislation requires a two-
thirds "supermajority” in the Oregon State Senate
and House of Representatives, which is no easy
task, but SEIU members volunteered thousands
of hours to elect a Legislature capable of passing
revenue reform in 2018. Our hard work resulted in
the passage of the Student Success Act earlier this
year, which will raise more than $1 billion a year in
new revenue to fund education, and relieve stress
on the overall state budget. Not pitting in-home
care and other important public services against
education for limited public funding finally created
an opportunity to reach a contract that better
reflects the value of our labor.
SEIU 503’s United for a Better Oregon campaign
aimed to ensure that the Legislature invested
in the people who make our state work by
dedicating resources to fund strong contracts for
public workers. Oregon passed a budget that had
DOUBLE the money for homecare worker salaries
as the last budget! The members on our bargaining
team made sure that the extra investment by the
Legislature ends up going to workers.
We thank every SEIU 503 member who
participated in this work. It’s a real testament to
the fact that we are truly stronger together. This is
the union difference.
Invest in our political strength today!
Go to seiu503.org/contribute-to-cape/
Homecare/PSWs Settle New Contract, Path to
Retirement, Historic Anti-Harassment Protections
Back in December, our Homecare
Bargaining Team conducted surveys
and went on the road to hear SEIU
members’ top priorities for our next
contract. We heard loud and clear that
members wanted a wage increase. We
also learned that 73% of homecare
and personal support workers do
not have a retirement plan, and that
hundreds of us experienced late
paychecks.
This week, the bargaining team settled
a contract with the State that will
raise wages, create a retirement plan
for homecare workers, address the
late pay issue, and more! Below you’ll
find the highlights of the tentative
agreement.
Bargaining Process
• Survey members to identify
key issues
• Campaign to pressure
management
• Win a “salary pot” through the
Legislature’s budget process
• Settle a “Tentative Agreement”
• Ratify by a vote of all dues paying
members (you must be a member
to vote)
• Get our raises and member
benefits
“This is one of the proudest
moments in my career. We are
rising to the challenges in the
long-term care sector. Winning
a retirement plan and a wage
increase will help pull this
workforce up financially. This
contract will make us stronger,
more stable, and better able to
support seniors and people with
disabilities.”
- Rebecca Sandoval, Homecare President
Membership Is Key
We win contracts because we stick
together in Union. In order to vote on
your contract or get access to member
benefits, you must be a member of
SEIU 503. You can sign up online at
any time at seiu503.org/join-us/
Contract Highlights:
Wages
Homecare workers will receive a $0.35
per hour raise on January 1, 2020,
bringing our base pay to $15 per hour!
Our Union has long fought to bring the
base pay rates up to $15 to stay above
the minimum wage in Portland.
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