Vol 2, Issue 3

By Joe DiNicola, President, SEIU Local 503, OPEU

Feb 2, 2006

What happens when SEIU Local 503, OPEU members get together to win for Working Families? It's all about power. We have it and we plan to use it to put Oregon back on track.

In this issue of President Joe's Journal , SEIU workers at Josephine County used their power to join with AFSCME and settle a tough contract. PERS members are using their power in the courts to help win the fight to protect workers' pensions. And you have the power to talk to everyone you know about what it takes to keep working families strong in Oregon.

In this Issue: Victory in Josephine County! PERS Retirees Go to Court Working to Win eNews Flash: Listen Up Portland and Leadership Training Gets Going

Victory in Josephine County!

Josephine County contract talks ended last week with a win and SEIU Local 503, OPEU members are celebrating a hard-fought victory. Members stepped up big time. Twenty-eight of 35 SEIU members stood together and showed up for the last bargaining session!

SEIU workers joined together with AFSCME and supported each other in our contract negotiations. While 35 workers at Jo County Public Works are SEIU members, the county negotiates a separate contract with over 300 AFSCME workers. Two weeks ago, AFSCME walked off the job and went on strike for four days.

While we supported AFSCME picket lines, SEIU members were barred from joining the strike because our contract expired at a later date. AFSCME settled at the end of the strike and SEIU members then agreed to similar core economic terms.

Josephine County workers won two cost-of-living raises and maintained health benefits. Other economic gains include on-call pay and the right to use sick time during the first three days following an on-the-job injury. Members fought back most of management’s take-aways. One hundred percent of ratification voters said, "Yes!" to the agreement.

We also fought to win an 18-month contract. The date the agreement ends is important because SEIU and AFSCME contracts now expire at the same time. That means we will have the ability to work together again and, if necessary, strike together next time.

Congratulations to Josephine County members. Great job everyone!

PERS Retirees Go To Court

On January 17, SEIU Local 503, OPEU and other PERS coalition partners filed a class action complaint in Multnomah County Circuit Court on behalf of PERS members who retired between April 1, 2000 and April 1, 2004, commonly referred to as "window" retirees. Hundreds of millions of dollars in retirement benefits are at stake.

Our lawsuit says the PERS Board must stop withholding cost-of-living raises (COLA's) for the years 2003 to 2006 for PERS retirees based upon our victory on that issue last year. Remember, in February 2005, the Oregon Supreme Court said that withholding COLA's from retirees is a breach of their contract rights and violates the Oregon Constitution. Withholding COLA's is also a violation of Oregon wage and hour laws. This new lawsuit challenges the intent of the PERS Board to pursue collection actions against retirees for so-called "overpayment" of 1999 earnings. This is also a breach of their PERS contract. Collection action has no probable cause, since no court has ever mandated collection of these "overpayments." Further, any collection effort would cause irreparable harm to PERS participants who made decisions based upon promises made at the time they retired. Two retired SEIU Local 503, OPEU members, John Hawkins and Leslie Hunter, are named in the class-action lawsuit. John worked for Linn County and Leslie for the University of Oregon.

Of course, every PERS member has a stake in the outcome of this case. If members cannot rely on the pension benefit computed by PERS at retirement, they will not have any confidence that their benefits will continue as promised. If PERS benefits can be taken away after retirement at the whim of the PERS board, members will be unable to make an informed decision about when to retire.

Our attorney, Greg Hartman, believes this new lawsuit can be resolved by summary judgment of the court. That means a trial should not be necessary. We have asked the judge to grant an injunction to immediately halt the process, tell PERS they cannot collect "overpayments" from retirees and begin paying COLA's.

In every one of our PERS lawsuits, SEIU Local 503, OPEU members are holding the line to protect a secure retirement benefit for all workers. A deal is a deal.

Working to Win

It was purple, it was crowded, it was exciting, it was fun and it was definitely the best place to be last Saturday. SEIU Local 503, OPEU members met at the Working Families conference to learn what we can do to win for workers. Everyone was talking about the tremendous turnout and the fact that 417 members came together to find out how we can use our power to make a difference. I'd like to thank each and every member who attended from every corner of the state.

The workshops were great. All of our guest speakers were terrific. Many legislators came and told us about how important SEIU members are in the fight to keep working families in Oregon on the road to a better future. One SEIU member said, "I've never been to a union conference, so I want to learn more about the activities... and walk away with a little more understanding of what we are doing."

I want everyone to focus on one thing Lisa Grove, our ace pollster, said. She told us again on Saturday what she tells us all the time: the best spokespeople, the people with the most credibility, are front-line workers. It doesn't matter if you're talking about living wages, staffing levels, health care costs or secure pensions. The public believes a front-line worker. They believe a front-line worker more than a politician or an elected official. More than a state manager, more than the owner of a nursing home chain.

Because people believe front-line workers, you have a lot of power where you work, where you live and in every SEIU local. You can use that power to talk to everyone you know: relatives, neighbors, the people in your church, the people in the checkout line at the grocery store. Tell them what you do. Tell them about the value of public services you and your co-workers deliver to Oregonians day in and day out. Talk to them about how we're working hard together to put this state back on the right track. We can win at the bargaining table because we see the big picture. We know that every day we work to make a difference for Oregon. Our opponents want to come after us and attack the services our communities and neighbors value. They may be well-funded. They may think they can put Oregon down, but they will find out again that we're ready to win for working families this November. The stakes are big. We have the power and we will hold them accountable. We know it's the right thing to do.

Let's be ready to stand up and say, "When you take one of us on, you take all of us on!"

eNews Flash

Listen Up Portland: Nutrition Services workers joined with other SEIU members to carry signs and make noise at a rally outside a recent Portland Public Schools Board meeting to say, "Do the right thing! It's fair to settle with health care for all!" Contract talks continue. Call the Portland school board at 503-916-3741 and let them know we stand together in the fight for affordable health care. Leadership Training Gets Going: Want a great opportunity to meet with other SEIU Local 503, OPEU members at training classes? Check out the calendar and talk to your organizer, local officer or steward about how to sign up. You can make a difference.