pccff: Our Union

AFL-CIO Summer School
August 8-10, 2008

The Federation is able to send a few members to this year's labor summer school at the Labor Education and Research Center at the University of Oregon in Eugene. Lodging and meals are included, and you will come together with union leaders from across the state. Contact a Federation officer to get registered. For a flyer, click here.

Several members of the Faculty Federation attended the AFL-CIO Summer School at the Labor Education and Research Center at the University of Oregon. Click here for a short video of the graduating class of 2007.

Members approve two amendments and vote in new leadership

Members voted in the June 2008 union election to re-name the Faculty Federation to the the Federation of Faculty and Academic Professionals. They also approved the creation of two new offices for the Executive Council: Vice-Presidents FT and PT for Southeast Center.
Eddie Lincoln won the presidential election and Peter Seaman is our new Executive Vice-President. Sylvania has two new PT Vice-Presidents, Florance Deutsch-Timmons and Talal Abdulkareem, and two new FT Vice-Presidents, Ed Degrauw and Alan Cordle. Re-elected officers include Richard Lazere for Sylvania PT Vice-President, Linda Eby for Sylvania FT Vice-President, David Rives for Contract Adminstration Vice-President PT, Frank Goulard for Contract Administration Vice-President FT, and Karl Steady for Treasurer. For a list of Executive Council officers, click here.

OSEA members choose AFT affiliation

Members of the Oregon School Employees Association (OSEA) said “YES” to AFT affiliation in a landside vote of 5,121 (Yes) to 885 (No). The group of over 20,000 members will be recognized as an AFT regional council, rather than an AFT-Oregon Local and is the largest independent association to affiliate in AFT history.

“We welcome OSEA into the AFT, and look forward to our continued work with them on joint activities and causes, such as the recent successful candidates night, to promote and protect workers rights,” said Mark Schwebke, AFT-Oregon President.

This AFT victory comes after a decade-long campaign to affiliate OSEA members. AFT-Oregon cooperated every step of the way by providing organizational support and office space for AFT National Representatives and staff, agreeing to a mutual no-raid agreement, and working with OSEA on various joint projects through the years including workshops, conferences, an event to end school violence, and lobbying efforts in Salem.

“This vote is the culmination of a decade of mutual respect and cooperation between the AFT and OSEA,” said OSEA president Merlene Martin. “It formalizes what has always been a close relationship between our unions, and allows us to take our partnership to a new level.”

Former and long-time President Debbi Covert and representatives of the Executive Council made every effort to build relationships with OSEA leaders through the years. Leaders of both organizations attended each others’ conferences, conventions and exchanged publications. Current AFT-Oregon President, Mark Schwebke, Leaders and Staff have continued this support of AFT-Oregon’s relationship with OSEA.

In June 2007, OSEA’s Conference delegation approved and scheduled an affiliation vote for January 2008. AFT-Oregon’s Executive Council approved a resolution in support of OSEA affiliation in September.

AFT-Oregon and the Oregon School Employees Association have developed a list of legislative priorities for 2008 in the areas of Education, Employee Benefits and Collective Bargaining. To view these goals, visit www.aft-oregon.org.

OSEA represents school classified employees, including secretaries; special education, instructional, and library assistants; custodians; maintenance workers; groundskeepers; bus drivers; couriers; food service workers; nurses; teachers; physical and occupational therapists; interpreters (deaf, hearing impaired, ESL); vision specialists; campus security; braillists; reproduction specialists; computer technicians; ABE instructors; and district office staff, such as bookkeepers and payroll and accounting clerks.