During the 2019 legislative session, Oregon lawmakers passed House Bill 2016, the Oregon Public Employee Protection Act. On January 1, 2020, these changes took effect, enacting some of the largest pro-employee changes to Oregon law in several decades.  Under the…

As teacher’s across the country fight to improve the conditions they work in, both for staff and for the students they serve, we often forget about the non-teaching staff that are essential to student success.  The custodians and nutritional assistants…

This is the fourth in a series of articles looking back on 2019, and shining a spotlight on the most significant events in our Union. Check out article #1, #2, #3.  Over the past twenty years, Homecare and personal support…

The public employees of Jackson County have been dealing with one of the “worst case scenarios” that unions members do everything to avoid: they are working without a contract. The Jackson County Employees Association (a sublocal of SEIU Local 503)…

When the 2019 legislative session began in January, SEIU 503 laid out an ambitious agenda at the Oregon State Capitol. Our work supporting candidates who support workers resulted in a pro-union governor and a pro-worker supermajority in the House and…

Throughout Oregon, there are tens of thousands of critical jobs that keep our state moving. Everything from fixing our roads and fighting forest fires to helping families in need enroll in public services or supporting the IT infrastructure at our…

The Oregon House of Representatives today passed the Oregon Public Worker Protection Act (HB 2016), which now advances to Governor Kate Brown for signature. “With income inequality widening, the cost of living skyrocketing, and unprecedented attacks on unions, it’s a…

Bargaining delegates at the Coos Bay/North Bend Water Board have finally come to an agreement on a hard fought contract, settling months of negotiations that will see major improvements for workers across the unit.  The Water Board is one of…

  Fifteen hundred state, personal support, homecare, and public services workers came together on Monday, May 20th at a historic rally to push for fair contracts and investments in public services.  Members of SEIU Local 503 from across Oregon marched…

The crisis in Oregon’s foster care system highlights the risk we take when we underfund the resources Oregon families depend on. Over the past two decades, Child Welfare Services has seen understaffed departments, high caseloads, a lack of state resources…