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BREAD AND ROSES
Women garment workers in New York marched to demand better working conditions and pay, shorter hours, an end to child
labor, voting rights and a needle trades union.
That struggle adopted the slogan; Bread and Roses, which later inspired the song that became one of the anthems of the
women's movement, bread symbolizing economic security and roses meaning a better life.
March 2008
What Have You Done For Me Lately?
REVERSING COURSE -- Council 75 is now supporting an amended version of HB 3167, which deals with workers statewide who work
in MR/DD group homes, be they private or public sector.
Some quick background here. This issue has been in the news since last fall when the Oregonian ran a series about "abuse"
in group home settings.
The paper also provided a link to the state's public record list of "abusers."
From the union's standpoint, there are two huge problems to this issue. One lies within the definition of "abuse."
When you hear that term, you tend to automatically think the worst -- physical or sexual situations.
In fact, an MR/DD worker can be guilty of, for lack of a better term, "administrative abuse" in record-keeping
or other equally less offensive circumstances.
For example, one employee was listed as an abuser because, on an outing, she borrowed 87 cents from a client to buy a
soda. She promptly repaid the client when they returned to the group home, but because employees aren't supposed to deal with
a client's finances in that way, she was cited as an "abuser" on the state list.
Even worse to union members used to the concept of "just cause," employees simply accused of abuse of any kind
were automatically added to the list with no process for the situation to be reviewed or appealed.
Then, state Rep. Sara Gelser (D-Corvallis) dropped HB 3167 in the special session, a measure to tighten abuse rules even
further.
AFSCME saw the bill as an opportunity to address some of the concerns outlined above, but initially Gelser resisted the
union's input on the matter.
Happily, that's changed. The version of HB 3167 that's now moving through the special session and expected to pass contains
AFSCME-induced amendments that include the equivalent of a "just cause" process.
Now, workers will be notified before their name is placed on the abuser list, there will be an appeal and review process
set in place and, most importantly, an employee's name cannot be placed on the list until that process is completed.
"We have what we need in the bill, and we're supporting the measure now," said Botkin.
GELSER'S BILL DIES -- The abrupt end of the special session caught state Rep. Sara Gelser (D-Corvallis) by surprise. One of
the casualties of the swift adjournment was Gelser's HB 3167, a measure aimed at providing enhanced protections to MR/DD and
other disabled clients living in group home settings. As we've reported previously, her bill was originally opposed by AFSCME
because it exacerbated the problem, from the union's standpoint, of MR/DD group home workers being placed on a statewide Internet
"abuser list" without any method of due process or appeal.
Ultimately, Botkin worked with Gelser to the point where the Corvallis Democrat finally accepted a series of amendments
that would have put into place due process, appeal rights and, most importantly, would have banned any worker from having
his or her name added to the list until such processes were completed. At that point, AFSCME heartily supported the bill,
which simply died unpassed when the session adjourned.
"We would support the same bill in the 2009 regular session," said Botkin. "In the interim, union members
who have ended up on this 'abuser list' can fight it through the grievance process in their contract. Unrepresented workers
are out of luck."
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