Vol 2, Issue 12

Joe DiNicola, President SEIU Local 503, OPEU

June 15, 2006

    Every worker represented by SEIU Local 503, OPEU has contract rights and we defend those rights on the job every day. Sometimes, an issue arises that is outside specific contract language. It may involve fairness or it may involve plain common sense. Regardless of the issue, when workers stand together and support each other, we can overcome any obstacle.

     In this issue of President Joe’s Journal, learn how Beaverton Employment Department workers moved a fight about free speech all the way to a win for workplace dignity. Also, ODOT members at Ona Beach near Newport ask for your help to find out if management really supports “family friendly” workplaces. Finally, be sure to mark your calendar for July 22 when SEIU Local 503, OPEU state and university system bargaining delegates will gather in Salem to talk about the DAS/OUS 2007-2009 contract. All members are welcome.

In this issue: • Free Speech Leads to Employment Win • ODOT: Family Friendly at Ona Beach?
• Bargaining Kicks Off for State and Higher Ed • eNews Flash: PPS Nutrition Service Workers Settle

Stronger Together,
Joe DiNicola, President
SEIU Local 503, OPEU

Free Speech Leads to Employment Win

     Management at Beaverton Employment told an SEIU Local 503, OPEU steward to stop handing out political flyers for the candidate SEIU members endorsed for Governor. Workers were told not to post political flyers in Beaverton office cubicles and not to talk about politics.

     In response, members got together and decided to send a letter to the Regional Director of Employment. Members told the Director to notify managers to stop violating workers’ First Amendment rights to political speech.

     As members fought to defend our Constitutional rights, another workplace issue surfaced. Workers said a Beaverton supervisor was harassing employees. The work environment was so difficult, many workers quit. Nearly every worker who reported to this manager signed a second letter to the Regional Director to ask for a meeting to discuss the issue.

     Workers in other Portland area Employment offices put up balloons and wore SEIU buttons to demonstrate solidarity with Beaverton co-workers. Members who had worked for the supervisor wrote about their experience to help get out the facts. Encouraged by support from other Employment offices members at the Beaverton office put up their own purple balloons. They worked to document the specific actions of the supervisor.

     Soon, management notified members their First Amendment rights to political speech would be recognized and they were entitled to distribute political literature on their own time and post political signs in cubicles. Workers in Beaverton celebrated with a big cake that said, “First Amendment Rights.”

     Unfortunately, a new challenge surfaced concerning the “bad supervisor” issue. Human Resource (HR) staff showed up for a surprise visit and began to take workers aside individually for “interviews.” Given past experience and fear of retaliation, some refused to be interviewed alone and requested union representation. The SEIU 503 member-steward was out of town, but when confronted by the SEIU 503 organizer, HR agreed to delay further interviews until a union representative was available.

     During the “interviews” with HR, at least two people were asked if they were forced to sign the “bad supervisor” letter SEIU 503 members sent the Director. They were asked if they read the whole letter and if they signed it during work time. HR staff said there was nothing wrong with this threatening line of questions. Members disagree.

     The following week, HR returned and met with the worksite steward. The outcome? Management announced that, pending further investigation, the supervisor would be reassigned; she has not been in the office since. The power of the First Amendment brought workers together to protect their right to free speech. The power of members standing together helped every SEIU Local 503, OPEU worker win dignity and respect in the Beaverton Employment office and everywhere in Oregon.

     Join with Beaverton Employment members and celebrate this victory. If you have a similar worksite concern, contact your steward or organizer and get the conversation started with your co-workers.

ODOT: Family Friendly at Ona Beach?

     Members at ODOT shops on the coast are busy with maintenance and renovation projects. Last week, the ODOT Ona Beach bridge crew was working in one of the narrowest and most demanding SEIU Local 503, OPEU worksites: the sidewalk on the bay side of the historic Yaquina Bay Bridge. Built in 1936 as part of the old Roosevelt Highway, this narrow, single-file-only sidewalk is sandwiched between the concrete bridge railing on one side and two busy lanes of Highway 101 traffic on the other. The exposed bridge deck above Yaquina Bay is over 100 feet high.

     It takes skill and a strong, capable team to keep everyone safe and effective in these difficult working conditions. ODOT management at Ona Beach has put teamwork at risk with plans to move office specialist Chris Mavity’s job to Corvallis. The stream of radio traffic on her desk makes it clear that Chris is central to keeping everybody in touch. John Drago, Transportation Maintenance Specialist 2 and SEIU 503 member elected steward says, “Chris has been successfully doing her job for the past five years from the Ona Beach office; this has included helping out the Corvallis office with some of their work.”

     It’s no surprise that every member of the ODOT Ona Beach crew, along with the nearby Rose Lodge ODOT shop, has signed a petition to support Chris Mavity. The petition says this move by ODOT management isn’t family friendly. Chris is a single mom and owns a home in the area. Her parents live nearby so they pitch in and provide loving childcare. If her position is moved to Corvallis, Chris will face an hour and a half commute each way. Co-workers say it will restrict her ability to respond in case of a family emergency. The lengthy new commute will nearly eliminate any time Chris can spend with her child during waking hours. It is clearly an added and unwarranted financial and family burden.

     ODOT Ona Beach crew members say this move is unnecessary and frivolous. There are already several Office Specialists at the Corvallis office. Without Chris, no one will be available to do office work at Ona Beach. The help she provides for the Rose Lodge crew will also be impacted.

     Chris takes pride in her work and is worried about her co-workers. She says, “There will no longer be anyone to greet the public and help with their needs. There will be no one to deal with the growing number of contractors that need to know who to see when they arrive, no one to answer the phones, no one to receive, sort and distribute the mail and no one to meet the day to day needs of the crews based at Ona Beach.”

     The grievance Chris filed has been denied at the first level. Her co-workers say that it’s not right to put families at risk. They also know the teamwork of Ona Beach crews will suffer without the work Chris does to keep the office organized and effective. ODOT members at Ona Beach want management to reexamine this unnecessary staff move.

     Steward John Drago says, “We want to encourage SEIU 503 members to call April Makalea of ODOT Human Resources in Salem and ask her to reconsider this job relocation. It will not benefit the agency, the workers at Ona Beach or Chris’ family.”

     On your own time, and from your personal phone, please call April Makalea at 503-378-4172 in Salem and ask her to examine this issue. Let ODOT managers know SEIU Local 503, OPEU members believe that Chris Mavity and workers at every ODOT shop deserve a family friendly workplace.

Bargaining Kicks Off for State and Higher Ed

     Mark your calendar for July 22. State and university system members will gather at our Bargaining Conference to kick off discussions for the 2007-2009 Department of Administrative Services (DAS) and Oregon University System (OUS) contract talks. Every two years, members elect co-workers to represent more than 20,000 DAS and OUS employees in contract negotiations.

     Members at the Bargaining Conference will also discuss the candidates for Governor on the upcoming November ballot. Stories about the candidates have already hit newspapers, radio and television.

     Contact your elected SEIU Local 503, OPEU CAPE (Citizens Action for Political Education) delegates, District Directors, or any statewide officer to share what you think. Who will be the next Governor of Oregon? Members want to know, “Is there a candidate we can support? Can we afford to sit on the sidelines?”

     Members decide which candidates SEIU Local 503, OPEU endorses.  Be sure to contact your elected CAPE Delegates, member elected District Directors and statewide officers. They want to hear your views.

eNews Flash: 

PPS Nutrition Service Workers Settle:  Members reached an agreement in their contract negotiations with Portland Public Schools (PPS). Deanna Gathman, nutrition service worker and PPS local president, says this agreement is only a starting point for the future. A back pay settlement and 3% cost of living raise helps members offset increased health care costs. PPS members struggled to maintain health benefits for all workers, but management took a hard line. In the end, the Portland School Board chose to lower standards and eliminate health insurance for new part-time hires. After 18 months of negotiations, it won’t be long before talks begin for the next contract. Members at PPS say they will be ready.