Several years ago, a group of ODOT Local 730 members decided to go their own way. The path chosen was to attempt to decertify SEIU 503, OPEU as the Union for ODOT represented employees; excluding DMV & the engineers. The Oregon Workers Union was to be the new organization.
To get to the point, a number of those employees, who were considered to have led the decertification attempt, had their 503 membership suspended. An easy way for me to think about it is that they were involuntarily forced to become Fair Share members.
This was an action taken by the SEIU 503, OPEU Board of Directors; our statewide board. This board represents all members of 503, not just ODOT employees. It is my understanding that there were two level of suspension; some of these suspensions have expired; some have not.
One of these suspended members has ask the 503 Board of Directors to rescind his individual suspension. The Board of Directors will hear his case during the January 2008 Board meeting.
I am not inclined to rehash the decertification. It is the past. There is much to learn from the past. ODOT Local 730 has many things to do now and in our future. There are many things happening right now: Local 730 elections, restructure, politics; general counsel and the next round of bargaining are not far away.
My reasons for addressing this here are several. It is the purpose of this blog to help keep our 730 members aware of what is going on. Hopefully we will get better and post articles more frequently.
Another reason to make sure we are all ready to unite and look to the future together. These folks are still ODOT represented employees. Our Union would still represent them, if necessary, just as we would any Fair Share employee. Our collective bargaining agreement does not suspend any contract language base on Fair Share status. They are, as a group, hard working State of Oregon employees. They were, once, some of the strongest Union voices in our collective public employee Union.
I have been ask if I am afraid they will come back and take over. I was elected, by you, to be the president of ODOT Local 730. If these members are reinstated and YOU THE MEMBERSHIP elect them as your officers and delegates, so be it. It is by definition the right thing. We are a represented body of laborers. All of us make up Our Union. The officers and delegates are chosen to raise our collective voice to our agency and the legislature to protect our rights as laborers.
I have faith that you know what is right for you and your families; now and in the future.
mac
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
3 comments:
My thoughts are available at the link below under the title, "Post ERB-Decision: An Update":
http://www.oregonworkersunion.org/
It would be good to see what others are thinking/feeling.
Craig Chadwick
mac,
There's no doubt in my mind that you are not afraid of the banned members of 503 being reinstated membership.
I applaud your efforts in stepping forward to do what you are doing as a rank and file elected leader...It's a lot of work and takes countless hours of effort to do the job.
It's a shame you can't reason with the district directors to understand your position. It's unfortunate that the DD's and SWO's as a voting body don't share your same open mindedness and take a hard worker and sincere advocate for working people like Mr. Chadwick with his apologies in doing nearly everything humanly possible to regain his status and grant him the status he seeks.
Mr. Chadwick doesn't have a "silver tongue" or "gift of gab" to verbally express himself however there is no doubt in my mind he writes with more clarity and true expression with more conviction of nearly anyone I have read.
Ask him to give you a link to his to the poetry site he is a regular contributor of...It will blow you away the many facets behind this man.
I'm all for folks feeling free to express their feelings about how things are going with their Union. But the union has a sacred job, it looks out for the health and benefits of the workers it represents, and the limits on such expressions necessarily must be the health of the organization. Kill the Union with your complaints, and you destroy the welfare of the workers it represents. In other words, the health of the organization weighs more than the health of the individual. If you don't believe that, then you're just not what's called "Union."
Post a Comment