SEIU Local 503 (Oregon)
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| SEIU Local 503 | |
 | |
| Basic facts | |
| Location: | Salem, Oregon |
| Type: | 501(c)(5) |
| Top official: | Heather Conroy, Executive Director |
| Year founded: | 1966 |
| Website: | Official website |
As of 2016, the SEIU Local 503 (SEIU) was a nonprofit, 501(c)(5), labor union based in Salem, Oregon. The union represented over 55,000 employees working for state, local government and nonprofit agencies and care facilities.
The SEIU—Service Employees International Union—in September 2015, after months of negotiations, had agreed upon a new contract deal with all seven public universities in Oregon. The newly approved contract was expected to impact 4,100 members of the SEIU who work at the universities.[1]
Mission
According to SEIU, the organization's mission was as follows:[2]
| “ |
We seek a just and vibrant society where everyone is treated with dignity and respect, and where all workers have jobs that provide for themselves and their families.[3] |
” |
Background
The SEIU Local 503 (SEIU) represented roughly 55,000 workers in various sectors, including state and local government, non-profit agencies, and care facilities for the elderly and children as well as the sick. According to the SEIU, the union sought to protect "important services, create good jobs and achieve a better standard of living—including improved healthcare and retirement security—for all working people."Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; invalid names, e.g. too many
As of 2016, the union was governed by a general council, to which members could be elected. The general council was made up of over 380 representatives, which met biennially to discuss budgets, adopt new policies and to set future goals. In off years, the SEIU was governed by the board of directors.[2]
The union also had a nonpartisan political group, Citizen Action for Political Education (CAPE), which was composed of 30 elected members. CAPE's task was to advise the board on political candidate endorsements and contributions. CAPE, according to their website, made these recommendations based on survey responses, interviews and voting records.[2]
Part of the SEIU was composed of 12 sub-locals, including the following:[2]
- Local 001: Retirees
- Local 083: Oregon State University
- Local 085: University of Oregon
- Local 089: Portland State University
- Local 109: Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife
- Local 125: Department of Administrative Services
- Local 200: Department of Human Services
- Local 219: DHS/OHA Public Health
- Local 629: Department of Forestry
- Local 730: Oregon Department of Transportation
- Local 733: Parks and Recreation
- Local 735: DMV
In 2014, SEIU Local 503 leadership sought to merge with the Portland-based SEIU Local 49. Members of Local 503 opposed the merger, because, according The Oregonian, Local 503 members saw the mergers as a threat to local control over the Union:
| “ |
The prospect of joining forces in one union local didn't attract much controversy. Instead, opponents charged that the real goal of the leadership was to rewrite Local 503 bylaws to shift more power to the international union's headquarters in D.C.[3] |
” |
The merger was rejected by a 118-75 vote by Local 503's general council.[4]
In September 2015, SEIU Local 503 negotiated a new contract with the seven public universities in Oregon, which gave construction employees, accounting and payroll staff, custodians, food service workers, and other support staff a 2.25 percent cost-of-living increase in each of the first two years of the four-year deal. The union retained the right to strike in years 3 and 4 and are allowed to renegotiate during that time for further changes to wages and benefits. The deal impacts roughly 4,500 members of the union.[1]
Political activity
Ballot measure activity
Oregon Business Tax Increase, Measure 97 (2016)
In 2016, the SEIU Local 503 was advocating for the passage of Oregon's Business Tax Increase measure, which proposed to increase certain corporate taxes by establishing a 2.5 percent tax on corporate gross sales that exceed $25 million. The measure appeared on the ballot on November 8, 2016, and was defeated. SEIU Local 503 was one of the top donors.[5][6]
Overview of ballot measure support and opposition
The following table details SEIU Local 503's ballot measure stances available on Ballotpedia:
| Ballot measure support and opposition for SEIU Local 503 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Ballot measure | Year | Position | Status |
| Oregon Business Tax Increase, Measure 97 (2016) | 2016 | Supported | |
| Oregon Tax Increase Vote, Measures 66 and 67 (January 2010) | 2010 | Supported the upholding of the tax hike[7][8] | The measures were upheld |
| Oregon Minimum Criminal Sentence Increase, Measure 73 (2010) | 2010 | Opposed[9] | 
|
| Oregon Lottery Funds for Natural Resources Amendment, Measure 76 (2010) | 2010 | Supported[10] |
|
| Oregon Criminal Sentence, Measure 57 (2008) | 2008 | Supported[11] |
|
| Oregon Ballot Measure 47, Revision of Campaign Finance Laws (2006) | 2006 | Opposed[12] |
|
| Oregon Ballot Measure 46, Regulation of Campaign Contributions (2006) | 2006 | Opposed[13] | 
|
| Oregon Ballot Measure 48, State Government Spending Limits (2006) | 2006 | Opposed[14] |
|
Leadership
As of Noember 2015, the following were members of the SEIU board of directors:[15]
- Rob Sisk, President
- Mike Scott, Vice President
- Rebecca Sandoval, Secretary-Treasurer
- Linda Burgin, Immediate Past President
- Maggie Neel, Sector 1 OUS Director
- Judith (Judy) Cochran, Sector 1 OUS Assistant Director
- Rhonda Morgan, Sector 2 Human Services Director
- Steve Demarest, Sector 2 Human Services Assistant Director
- Craig Johnston, Sector 3 ODOT Director
- Keary DeBeck, Sector 4 Specials Director
- Sandra Kalin, Sector 4 Specials Assistant Director
- Janet Ferris, Sector 5 Institutions Director
- Rolando Ramirez, Sector 5 Institutions Assistant Director
- Sara Campos, Sector 6 Local Government Director
- Lawrence Arnbrister, Sector 6 Local Government Assistant Director
- Shaun Notdurft, Sector 7 Private NonProfit Director
- Benjamin Gerritz, Sector 7 PNP Assistant Director
- Phyllis Wills, Sector 8 Client-Home Provider Director
- SL Grace, Sector 9 Nursing Home Director
- Kimberly Cole, Sector 10 Child Care Director
- Portia Moye, Sector 10 Child Care Assistant Director
- Michael Jones, Sector 11 Adult Foster Care Director
- Paul Groh, Sector 11 Adult Foster Care Assistant Director
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms SEIU Local 503. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 KEZI-ABC, "SEIU Local 503 Strikes Tentative Deal with Universities," September 11, 2015
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 SEIU, "About SEIU," accessed November 23, 2015
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ The Oregonian, "Leadership of Oregon's SEIU Local 503 suffers big defeat at hands of members," February 2, 2014
- ↑ Statesman Journal, "Ballot measure would raise corporate taxes," December 31, 2015
- ↑ Oregon Secretary of State, "Account summary: A Better Oregon VI," accessed June 21, 2016
- ↑ Follow The Money, "Measure 66, Top Supporting Donors," September 12, 2016
- ↑ Follow The Money, "Measure 67, Top Supporting Donors," September 12, 2016
- ↑ Follow The Money, "Measure 73, Top Opposing Donors," September 12, 2016
- ↑ Follow The Money, "Measure 76, Top Supporting Donors," September 12, 2016
- ↑ Follow the Money, "Measure 57, Top Supporting Donors," accessed September 12, 2016
- ↑ Follow the Money, "Measure 47, Top Opposing Donors as OREGON PUBLIC EMPLOYEES LOCAL 503," accessed September 12, 2016
- ↑ Follow the Money, "Measure 46, Top Opposing Donors," accessed September 12, 2016
- ↑ Follow the Money, "Measure 48, Top Opposing Donors," accessed September 12, 2016
- ↑ SEIU, "Board of Directors," accessed November 23, 2015
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