I am proud to issue this report as President of Oregon AFSCME for June 2018
The Oregon AFSCME constitution revised at our 2017 convention has been approved by AFSCME International. The
new constitution has been posted for viewing as well as all of the amendments that were adopted at our convention.
As you are likely already aware, on June 27, the last day of their 2017-2018 term, the Supreme Court issued their decision regarding Janus v AFSCME taking away fair-share status the public sector nation-wide. This was the expected outcome of this case and Oregon AFSCME was prepared for that decision.
Our membership has increased over the last two years from 83% to 88% and it continues to increase even after the court’s decision.
We have received more membership cards in the days since the decision than we have received requests to drop membership.
We will continue to build our membership and grow our strength regardless of what a court decides. The vast majority of our members and co-workers know that having a strong union in their workplace is the best way to improve their wages, benefits, and
working conditions and build a more equitable economy and society for all working families.
On July 11 there will be a conference call for all Oregon AFSCME members regarding the recent Janus v AFSCME Supreme Court decision and our responses to it. If we have an accurate phone number for you in our membership database, you will receive an automated phone call from Oregon AFSCME at 7 p.m. on July 11 adding you to the conference call. To make sure that we have a current phone number for you, please call 503 – 239 -9858 to update your contact information with us.
Candidate interviews are being scheduled in July and August to prepare for the August 24 Political Action Committee meeting and the
August 25 Board meeting when endorsements will be made for the November elections.
If you would like to participate in these candidate interviews, contact the Regional District vice president in your area; they can connect you to the interviews near you. The more members we have participate in these candidate interviews, the more these candidates get to know our members, the work that we do, and the issues that are most important to us all. Please participate in these candidate interviews in your district.
Here are some important events coming up:
- July 11 conference call regarding Janus v AFSCME.
- AFSCME International Convention, July 16 – 20, Boston, MA.
- Look for updates regarding the convention on our Facebook page.
- August 3 – 5, 2018:
- U of O Union summer school
- in Eugene. This annual weekend of education is a fantastic way to develop the leaders we need to remain a strong union.
- August 25, 2018 is our next Board meeting ; it begins at 11 a.m. at our Salem office.
I plan to send a president’s report like this every month to local presidents and members of the Oregon AFSCME board.
If you are a local president, please share this information with the members of your local.
You can find archived copies of these reports online.
If you ever have any questions or wish to send me a comment, you can reach me at president@OregonAFSCME.org.
Thank you for being active in your union.
Jeff Klatke,
President of Oregon AFSCME
