Homecare and Personal Support workers have reached a tentative agreement with the State for our new contract.

Read all about it here! And be sure to attend one of our in-person meetings being held all across the state to answer all your questions.

IN PERSON RATIFICATION MEETINGS: Be sure to click here to learn more about the in-person meetings.

Read the full Tentative Agreement Summary here.

 

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Homecare and Personal Support Workers held a big Rally and March on May 17, 2023 in Salem to tell legislators and DHS about our top priorities. First and foremost, we need pay raises that not only keep up with inflation but also make homecare jobs more competitive within the market. Check out these images taken at the rally by SEIU Homecare member, Sergio Osorio.

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Who are Homecare Workers?

As Homecare and Personal Support workers, we provide essential, skilled care that allows parents, grandparents and people with disabilities to continue living at home. Together in union, we share a goal of providing services that make Oregon a better place to live. We work to improve the lives of SEIU 503 members and their consumers, and help build an Oregon where access to care and support is a top priority. Our strength as a care provider union has resulted in some of the strongest worker contracts in the nation, enacting improvements that strengthen the program for ourselves and the families we support.

What do we want?

In 2023, we are bargaining a new contract that covers wages, benefits, and workplace conditions like safety, and more. In this contract we will demand to be shown the respect we deserve for the essential services we provide. We know we make Oregon work, now it’s time to make our contract work for us!

Our Priorities:

• Drive to $25
  Our top priority is pay. We need pay raises that not only keep up with inflation but also make homecare jobs more competitive within the market. That is why we will be proposing a significant cost of living pay raises for all providers. Additionally, we will press the State to implement the Pay Scale that will give us additional pay increases as we gain longevity in our careers.
• Benefits
  We will propose to maintain and improve the current health insurance benefit, our Holiday Pay that begins in July and the improved PTO benefit that begins in March.
• Hours
  The vast majority of members would like to work more paid hours. And we know that many of our consumers need our care for more than 40 hours a week. That’s why many providers and consumers are moving to private agencies without a cap. This year we’ll prioritize changing the 40 hour a week cap and will push the State to fully implement the new matchmaking service (Carina) to make it easier to find a consumer to work with and to schedule respite care.
• Respect
  Our work as Care Providers is valuable – and should be valued. We will hold the state accountable to fix the issues that frustrate and demoralize us. We want to be paid on time, every time. We need to be able to call someone to fix our issue, whether it is an issue in the pay system or an issue related to the care of our consumer. We also need to have better communication from the State – and that communication needs to be in our preferred language.

Get involved:

• Attend a Hometown Speak-Out in a city near you – because our stories matter, our consumers matter, and our voices must be heard! Click here to find the SEIU 503 Bargaining Hometown Speak-Out nearest you!
• Stay up to date by joining our SEIU Local 503 Homecare Facebook group!
• Download a virtual meeting background! Version 1, Version 2
• Use the SEIU Digital Toolkit to show union solidarity on your social media platforms, and in your virtual meetings

Do you know who your SEIU organizer is?

Here’s a list of all SEIU Homecare Organizers by county. Contact your SEIU Organizer for ways to get involved and take action!

Raul Gardea – Multnomah 503-720-0804, email
Joe LeBlanc – Clackamas, Hood River 253-330-7555, email
Andrew Kung – Washington, Columbia, Clatsop, Tillamook 360-558-9225, email
Lupe Canales – Marion, Yamhill, Polk 661-429-8939, email
Julia Bockelman – Lane, Linn, Lincoln, Benton, 458-232-7608, email
Renee Booker – Douglas, Josephine, Coos, Curry, Jackson 650-222-5025, email
Erik Horeis – Deschutes, Jefferson, Crook, Harney, Klamath, Lake 541-601-8042, email
Matthew Wilson – Wasco, Sherman, Gilliam, Wheeler, Morrow, Malheur, Umatilla, Union, Grant, Baker, Wallowa 541-429-5082, email

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Here’s your 2023 Homecare Bargaining Team!

Bargaining Co-Chair: Cristal DeJarnac, Bend, Chief Steward, Bargaining Delegate, HCW
Bargaining Co-Chair: Patty Falkenstein, Tigard, Secretary- Treasurer, Bargaining Delegate, PSW

Andrew Cook: Eugene, Bargaining Delegate, HCW
Barbara Evans: Dorena, Bargaining Delegate, HCW, PCA
Carla Hodges: St. Helens, District Director Columbia/Clatsop Co, Bargaining Delegate, HCW
Carol Kelly: Portland, District Director Multnomah Co, Barg. Delegate, HCW
Cristina Aviles: Hillsboro, Bargaining Delegate, PSW
Gary Fletcher: Roseburg, Bargaining Delegate, PSW
Heather James: Hermiston, Bargaining Delegate, PSW
Jolene White: Grants Pass, District Director, Josephine Co, Barg Delegate, HCW
Joy’e Willman: Portland, Vice President, Bargaining Delegate, PSW
ReNae Hill: Keizer, District Director, Marion Co, Bargaining Delegate, HCW
Phyllis Wills: Clatskanie, Chief Steward, Bargaining Delegate, PSW
Alice Redding: Rainier, Bargaining Alternate #1, HCW

Bargaining Sessions and Updates from each Session: