Thousands of Workers, One Message

Actions Call on Governor to Negotiate a Fair Contract

More than 400 members who work on the Capitol Mall poured out of their offices at noon June 30 and marched to the Governor's office to demand a fair contract.

They were joined by thousands of workers across the state who took part in such actions as informational picketing, delegations to take our message to managers and generating phone calls to the Governor.

SEIU 503 President Linda Burgin said at the Salem rally, "The Legislature has done its job, Governor, now it's time for you to do yours!"



Bargaining team member Theresa Arndt read our message to the Governor — "We have been willing to step up and be a part of the solution from the start of negotiations, but we expect equity: a fair contract that protects step increases and calls for no more furlough days than are actually necessary."   

Theresa and a group of members later presented a placard with that message to the Governor’s chief of staff, Chip Terhune.



And Executive Director Leslie Frane led members in a new chant: "$65 million is enough — Cutting more is way too rough!"



The actions came on the heels of the legislature passing a budget that creates a road map for a contract settlement.  

The budget contains a note clarifying the sources of $130 million in savings still needed to balance the State’s books.  In that note, the legislature declared that no more than half — $65 million — should come from state workers’ compensation.

The State's latest proposal would cut our workers’ pay by almost twice that amount — taking almost all the necessary savings from the state workforce — while our current proposal would save about $35 million.


Noting that, our bargaining team has issued a direct challenge to the Governor— if he commits to the $65 million figure — "and not a penny more" — we will do the same and the contract can be settled almost immediately.



At the bargaining table, we continued to make some headway Monday and Tuesday, including getting a signed extension of our current contract through July 31.  In addition, the State made two changes to its furlough proposal, reducing its proposal for the maximum number of furlough days from 24 to 22 days and accepting our request that agencies using full-office closures for their furloughs designate the day after Thanksgiving as an office closure day.

Negotiations resume July 6-7.

View photos of statewide actions

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