In early July SEIU 503 members sent a letter to Governor Kate Brown demanding a fix to how the Oregon Employment Department was handling workshare. This week, an important part of the fix was made! 

This should have happened a long time ago, but we are still excited to see members’ activism have a positive result. Here are the details: 

• The Work Share program requires workers to be “available for work.” The Employment Department interprets this requirement to mean that workers taking sick or vacation leave are not available for work and ineligible for Work Share.
  
• This contradicts the intent of the agreement, which allows employees who would be employed during the summer if not for the pandemic to be eligible for Work Share.
  
• The fix: Oregon Employment Department will allow employees using approved leave to still qualify for benefits under the Work Share agreement. 

If this impacts you, please contact a steward or your union organizer. Call us at 1-844-503-SEIU (7348) to get connected.