Union Struggle in Eugene, OR (fwd)

[Chegitz Guevara <mluziett@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Marc, "the Chegitz," Luzietti
personal homepage: http://shrike.depaul.edu/~mluziett
political homepage: http://shrike.depaul.edu/~mluziett/chegitz.html

A curse on the judges, the coppers and screws | Who tortured the
innocent, the wrongly accused, | For the price of promotion | And justice
to sell | May the judged be their judges when they rot down in hell

The Pogues, "Streets of Sorrow/Birmingham Six"

---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: 16 Dec 1995 23:56:51
From: dsoper@xxxxxxx
To: Recipients of conference <iww-news@xxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: Union Struggle in Eugene, OR

From: "Dennis Soper" <dsoper@xxxxxxx>

NEWS RELEASE---  PLEASE DISTRIBUTE FREELY

OREGON PUBLIC EMPLOYEES' UNION LOCAL 928 Eugene, Oregon


Oregon Public Employees Union Local 928 came into being when
workers at Family Resources, Inc., of Eugene, Oregon, voted 40-6
to unionize.  We organized ourselves through our own efforts in
order to combat low wages and low benefits, which are inferior to
those of workers performing comparable work in either the private
or public sector in the Eugene-Springfield metropolitan area, as
well as to fight for better working conditions.  By doing so, we
became the first non-profit corporation in Lane County, Oregon,
to unionize.

Family Resources, Inc., as has been stated, is a non-profit
corporation.  Its primary functions are being the contractor for
the federally-funded WIC nutrition program, providing counselling
to individuals and families in the area, providing social
services to at-risk families, and engaging in-home and respite
care to the elderly and alter-abled.  Management made no attempt
to contest the election, and upon entering into his duties,
newly-hired CEO Barry Sawyer agreed to bargain in good faith with
the union, saying that management wanted to create and maintain a
harmonious relationship between management and the union.

When Mr. Sawyer presented the corporation's proposed contract to
the elected union bargaining team, the contract contained, among
other things, the following points:

****Workers employed less than .75 FTE (30 hours per week) would
have no benefits.  Currently, worker employed .50 FTE (20 hours
per week) or greater are given benefits, which is the norm for
workers performing similar jobs in the area.

****There would be no Union Security, dues check-off, or fair
share.  In addition, employees would not be required to join the
union.

****Steward representation would be required to be performed off
the clock.

****There would be no sick leave cash-out upon retirement.

****There would be no filling of open positions based upon
seniority.

****Layoffs would not be based upon seniority.

****There would be no guaranteed insurance, either at the
current, or any level.

****A dress code would be required which bans the wearing of
Union buttons, as well as any pinned-on jewelry.

****There would be no limitation on the amount of temporary
employees hired.

****Management would "retain its right[s] to hire, direct,
schedule, assign work to, evaluate, promote, discipline, layoff,
and discharge its employees, within and without the bargaining
unit...."  In addition, management "reserves its rights to issue
work rules, policies, procedures and practices, which in its sole
discretion, assist the Employer in fulfilling its
responsibilities."

****Management "shall discuss any proposed changes in benefit
plans with the Union, but the Employer shall have sole discretion
to make any changes."

****"The Employer reserves its right to require physical or
mental health evaluations of any employee whenever behavior
exhibited calls into question the basic ability of the employee
to perform his/her duties.  The evaluation will be conducted by a
health professional chosen by... the Employer.  As part of the
evaluation of physical or mental health, the employee may be
requested to submit blood or urine, or any other sample for
appropriate tests, including tests to determine the presence of
alcohol, illegal drugs, or _other chemical substances...._

"Refusal to submit immediately... shall constitute grounds for
refusal to hire an applicant, or for discipline up to and
including discharge of an employee."

****Grievances filed by Union members must be filed within 30
days of the event giving rise to the action.  "If the Employer
files a grievance against the Union, the time limits... shall not
apply."

****Exempt employees are not entitled to overtime pay or comp
time.

****"On call compensation shall be at the rate of twenty-five
dollars for weekend on call duty, unless it is after a three-day
weekend when such weekends will be compensated at $30 rate.  On
call compensation for week nights shall be at the rate of $5 per
hour for each hour worked.  On-call during the week shall not be
compensated when no calls are received."  This includes degreed
and certified counselors.

****A physician's certificate may be required for the use of sick
leave.

****Employees "shall be allowed" time off without compensation
for jury duty.  Time off for jury duty is currently compensated,
and as we all know, refusal to allow time off for jury duty is a
violation of state and federal law.

****There will still be two categories of skilled worked whose
starting pay is under $5.00 an hour and two additional categories
whose pay is less than $6.00 an hour.  Most of these workers
will, additionally, receive no benefits.

****Salary increases will not be based upon negotiation, but upon
whether management feels it can afford them.

Does this sound like an honest attempt to bargain with us in good
faith and to create and maintain harmonious relationships between
employees and management?  Does this sound like management is
willing to act toward its employees in a respectful manner?  We
don't think so!  We think this is yet another step in the
increasing exploitation of American workers by employers that has
been so prevalent in the past few years-- exploitation we are
going to fight.  And we need your help!

Why should you help?  If you live in the Eugene/Springfield area,
you should know well enough.  We are your friends, your
neighbors, your husbands and wives, your lovers, and we bust our
tails to make our community a better place to live in, to do
what's right for our children and families.  You also know how
hard it is to make a decent living in this area-- a living each
and every one of us deserve.  We need to fight for what is
rightfully ours, to fight for the right to unionize, to be
respected, we need to create more strong unions, both in non-
profits and other businesses in the area, and this is the place
to start.

If you live out of the area, these reasons might not make much
sense to you.  But think about this-- first, more and more
services provided by the government are now being provided by
non-profits.  These workers (at least, non-management personnel)
have traditionally been non-union, and among the most underpaid
workers in the workforce.  When unionized public-sector workers
(most often, highly trained professionals) are laid off by
government due to this transfer in the provision of services,
they are forced to give up family-wage jobs to take low-wage jobs
in the non-profit sector.  These are people who have dedicated
their lives to making our communities a better place to live-- we
don't think food stamps should be a benefit for this dedication.
And of course, when large groups of people are forced into low-
wage work, this has the effect we have all seen in recent years
of driving wages down for everyone (except of course, the
wealthy).

What can you do?  First and foremost, support the right of all
workers to unionize.  And secondly, you can spend a few minutes
to help us in our particular struggle.

Take the time to send us a message, stating that you support our
efforts to secure our members' goals.  In this message ask Barry
Sawyer, CEO of Family Resources, Inc., to negotiate in a
meaningful manner and in good faith with OPEU Local 928.  The
message might look like this:


Dear Mr. Sawyer:

The workers of Family Resources, Inc., perform invaluable
services to the community.  Like you and I, they share a deep
concern about issues which affect us all; the elderly, mental
health, the health of our children, teen pregnancy, poverty and
how it affects families.  As workers, they are on the front lines
every day, trying to deal with these issues.

To be successful, they need a work environment that is fair,
where they are free from fear and harassment, and where they are
adequately compensated.  Unfortunately, as I have been led to
understand, this is not the current work environment at Family
Resources, Inc.  Please agree to negotiate with them in a
meaningful and respectful manner.

Sincerely yours,

"Your name"

Then either e-mail this to:
    opeu@xxxxxxxxxxxx

Or snail us at
    OPEU Local 928
    c/o SEIU Local 503
    97-C Centennial Loop
    Eugene, OR  97401-7908

Thank you for your help and support.

In solidarity,
Dennis Soper
(OPEU community volunteer)

AN INJURY TO ONE IS AN INJURY TO ALL!

Coming soon, the OPEU Local 928 Web page....








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Dennis Soper      The Emma Goldman Brewing Co., Eugene, Oregon
dsoper@xxxxxxx    Now Featuring Tam O'Shanter's Infamous Scotch Bonnet Ale
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lesson to be learned.  Do not have sex with the authorities."
                                       Matt Groening



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