JoAnn spent most of her 24+ year city career in exempt classifications, where she was not eligible for union membership but was also not management.  She will tell you that it was the worst of both worlds.  That experience gives her a deep gratitude for the power of collective bargaining and solidarity which she enjoys today.  She considers the opportunity to be a union member a privilege and is committed to helping preserve, for future generations, the hard-won contractual accomplishments of those who blazed the trail.  She currently serves as the Local's Political Action Committee Chair and is a delegate to the Northwest Oregon Labor Council. Prior to serving as our Communications Editor, JoAnn was our Local's Recording Secretary.  She will step back into that role for the 2025-2027 term, after which she will plans to retire from Local leadership.

Besides her roles in Local 189, JoAnn is Regional District 1 Vice President for Oregon AFSCME Council 75, where her committee assignments include the Political Action Committee, Training Committee, Scholarship Committee and Convention Committee.  

She is a member in good standing of the National Coalition of Labor Union Women and an unrelenting proponent of gender justice, fiercely determined to see the Equal Rights Amendment to the Constitution finally become law during her lifetime.