Vol 2, Issue 2
By Joe DiNicola, President, SEIU Local 503, OPEU
Vol 2, Issue 2: Jan 19, 2006
For SEIU Local 503, OPEU members, union values mean more than just the fight for contracts. We also value our friends and co-workers, provide quality services, raise healthy families and work to build strong communities.
This issue of President Joe's Journal reports on the terrible mine tragedy in West Virginia and how Oregon workers can honor those who perished and those who survive. Our newest members at a Lincoln City nursing home fight to improve resident care and Charleston ODFW workers stand with their community to do the right thing.
In this Issue:
Mineworkers and Oregon Welcome Nursing Home Members! ODFW Members Win Again eNews Flash: Working Families Conference Nears
Mineworkers and Oregon
Members of United Mine Workers of America joined the desperate struggle to rescue thirteen miners trapped by the explosion January 2 in the Sago mine in West Virginia. Years ago, UMWA mineworkers lost jobs and the right to represent workers at the Sago mine due to a change in mine ownership. But skilled UMWA members didn't hesitate. They raced to help neighbors, relatives and fellow mine workers in the non-union mine. Tragically, 12 miners perished in the disaster. One young miner is still fighting hard to live and grieving families and mining communities must find a way to heal after heartbreaking loss.
Such terrible news brings all workers in America together to renew hope for a better future for all working families. While Oregon uses coal for energy, we don't have any active coal mines. Although large amounts of coal were mined in Coos County, Oregon, and shipped to California between 1890 and 1910, no coal mines in that county have been in production since 1950. Today, Oregon has no coal miners.
That doesn't change the fact that families all around Oregon send loved ones to work every day to jobs that put workers' lives at risk. For example, SEIU Local 503, OPEU members at Oregon Youth Authority, Oregon State Hospital, Forestry and ODOT, as well as county and municipal road workers and health care providers may encounter real life-threatening danger during any average day on the job. However, every SEIU Local 503, OPEU member has a voice on the job and the protection of a union contract.
David Bonior, chair of American Rights at Work, said, "It is no coincidence that the Sago mine produced safety infractions at several times the industry norm, and that it is a non-union mine, where workers did not enjoy the job protection to speak out. Concerns about safety and health risks are one of the most compelling reasons why workers seek unions on the job in the first place...In all workplaces there should be fewer obstacles to forming a union."
As we remember West Virginia's miners and appreciate the dangerous work SEIU members do every day, we can do something to honor them all. We can work to understand the risks our co-workers face. We can work to keep our union strong for brothers and sisters everywhere who work hard and deserve fair treatment, dignity and respect. We can stand up and speak up for a safe place to work for everyone.
Welcome Nursing Home Members!
On January 12, nursing home workers at Lincoln City Rehabilitation Center voted to join SEIU Local 503, OPEU. This victory is another step forward in the fight for better staffing levels and improved benefits, and it comes after months of union-busting tactics by the employer. While workers focused on the quality of care for residents, management stalled and attempted to tie the process in legal knots.
Workers celebrated the outcome of the vote and the right to have a voice in their workplace. Becca Thompson, a Certified Nursing Assistant and Certified Medication Aide, said, "By joining into a union, we can work more effectively for more staff to give higher standards of care. We really become the family of our residents and they rely on us."
Linda Cave is a Restorative Aide who works with patients to restore their mobility. She also cited the need for adequate staffing. According to Linda, "It makes it hard to stay here. People lose heart when they can't get the level of care they feel they should have."
Nursing home workers across the state are joining together in the fight for respect and dignity on the job, along with basic union rights like seniority and grievance procedures. They are also determined to make their facilities better homes for the residents who live there.
With this victory, SEIU Local 503, OPEU represents more than 800 workers in 18 nursing homes from Ashland to Milton-Freewater to the Oregon coast.
We're proud you chose to join our union family!
ODFW Members Win Again
Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife members in Charleston made history in December. Faced with an unfair management decision, ODFW workers joined with community partners and SEIU members from other locals to win the right for two co-workers to return to their original positions.
It all started when a well-respected ODFW worker alerted management that members of a volunteer organization had violated the agency’s code of conduct. Although management did not take any action, Oregon State Police eventually cited some of the volunteers.
The volunteer organization retaliated and made accusations against the whistle-blower at ODFW. Human Resources launched a complete investigation, and cleared the SEIU member of all charges. The next day, however, ODFW forced him to swap jobs and displace another employee. Angry co-workers demanded, "What’s the union going to do about this?" Steward Bill Kinyoun had a ready answer: "What are WE going to do about it?"
ODFW Charleston members went into action. Every worker in the group signed a petition. They joined with business leaders, educators, area residents and SEIU represented workers from other locals in the Coos Bay / North Bend area. Their demand was clear and direct: reverse the agency decision and restore the two workers to their rightful positions. After a huge public outcry and several meetings with management, ODFW agreed.
Bill Kinyoun credits the partnership between the community and SEIU members as the key to this victory. He welcomes a new relationship between workers and ODFW management. Bill says, "Now, we operate more like a system of checks and balances. It's a two-way street."
Congratulations to ODFW and the Coos Bay/North Bend community. It's like we always say, "We're stronger together!"
eNews Flash
Working Families Conference Nears: There is nowhere more important to be than the Doubletree Inn in Portland on January 28, 2006. The workshops, events and guest speakers will help all of us learn what we can do to build a better future in Oregon for ourselves and our families.