Kurt Kessler
"It's the Election of 2006 that made what we accomplished in 2007 possible. Without a predominantly pro-labor legislature and governorship, the hard work we put into Lobby Days and our other lobbying programs would have produced slim results...." Kurt Kessler, Dept of Human Services, Medford CAPE Committee Member
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Members Tell Their Stories, Workers Win

Mary Wood, Homecare Provider "After years of trying to get workers' compensation for home care, in 2007 the legislators that we worked to elect listened to us and realized that we deserved the same benefits as 99% of other Oregon workers."
 Mary Wood
Child Care Providers, Depoe Bay


When Care Providers Win, Vulnerable Oregonians Win
In 2007, care providers fought long and hard for improved quality of care for their clients and improved working conditions for providers, and in the end they made their voices heard and won victories.

Home care workers won mandatory workers' compensation coverage by passing HB 3362. This is the same protection from on-the-job injuries that 99% of Oregon workers enjoy. Home care workers will no longer have to bargain to get this protection.

Home care workers also fought to protect funding for their contract. The state budgeted only a small raise for some home care workers and for a two-year wage freeze for many others. Home care workers were also threatened with the loss of fully-paid health insurance premiums for themselves. Our members won the fight by increasing the state budget by $4 for home care.

Nursing home workers lobbied hard for safe staffing levels in their facilities. Short staffing makes working conditions stressful and threatens the quality of care received. The hard work of front-line workers paid off with the passage of HB 3057 which included $3M to fund additional staff.

Jim Walker, Oregon State Hospital
Jim Walker
Oregon State Hospital		"I appreciate the pro-worker legislature that backed SB 400. It's important we have the opportunity to negotiate safety during contract years. In the past management could do whatever they wanted. Now, for the first time, we have the right to have a say. For the legislators that backed us, we are going to back them during election cycles."


SB 400-Bargaining over Safety, Staffing Levels for No-Strike Workers
Working under locked down conditions at a correctional facility or the Oregon State Hospital is dangerous work. For almost a decade workers who protect the public had been barred from talking about safety on the job during contract negotiations.

Member leaders like Roy Carter, Dan Ferguson, John Cocks and Elray Sampson at the Oregon Youth Authority along with Randy Davis, Dan Smith and Jim Walker from the State Hospital made countless trips to the Capitol lobbying legislators to bring safety back to bargaining.

Now that SB 400 has been signed into law, our members will be able to force management to deal with inconsistent, out of date safety policies and staffing levels affecting on-the-job safety.