Hello All,
I realize everyone in this email has some base level knowledge and interest in what is currently occurring at OYA facilities and its possible future impact on the safety of our membership. As a result, I wanted to cue everyone in on our plan to address agency concerns moving forward, which was discussed at our recent meeting of board members this Tuesday.
1. We are issuing the formal notice pending editing, to all of OYA leadership with Ken and Randy CC’d on the email, as an initial step in forcing management’s hand on the issue.
2. A similar letter will be mailed to our membership, along with member to member contact at our worksites about how our union plans on addressing the concerns, through the immediate discontinuation of member contact with facilities in accord with their rights specified by OYA policy and Article 30 of our contract.
3. We will put out a combative workplace flyer about violence and Hazard at OYA facilities which can be sent as an attachment to all of our board members, and can be distributed at all of our OYA worksites. I will also be sure to drop some by some major sites like Multnomah, Marion and others as needed.
4. We are in the process of arranging meetings between Local 191’s leadership and SEIU Leadership to attempt to engage in joint actions around worksite concerns, and management’s inability to address issues that are important to staff throughout the agency. We should be able to scheduling a meeting next week and are just awaiting a reply from their rep.
5. Our next LMC is Oct. 7th and we plan to continue moving in an organizing direction at LMCs which means we are utilizing a process that involves issues combined with specific proposals and required timelines to reach the proposed solutions for our concerns. As was specified at our recent Eboard meeting we will be requesting a process for the creation of safety policies at the facilities during our meeting on the casino games 7th.
If there is anything that anyone would like to add or alter about our plan to address issues pertaining to the safety of our members in local 191, just reply all and we can make adjustments as we move along.
In Solidarity,
Joseph West
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Subject: Facility safety issues
Well, again, another assault/riot situation at an OYA facility over the weekend. This time at EOYCF. Youth and facility staff safety continues to be a concern particularly following the administrations Legislative E Board presentation. This in turn places our members at risk of harm. The local (191) has raised several concerns and feel OYA cabinet cant respond appropriately. We have now brought the issue to the attention of Ken Allen and the Council 75 team for advice on a plan of action. We will meettomorrow at AFSCME central in Salem to develop and action plan. This might include: work site actions, contacting legislators, letter writing , press releases, etc. bring your thoughts.
JPPO safety historically has been an after thought of Juvenile corrections management and over the years the union has fought hard around field safety concerns and we have done well. It is now time for the council to assist us with the facility concerns that impact our members.
Officers please plan to be involved in this discussion on Tuesday 09-23 at 1pm.
Thanks
In Camaraderie
Greg
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This e-mail acknowledges OYA management’s receipt of the AFSCME Step 2 Grievance filed on behalf of Mr. Greg Van Vlack. Management will respond to this Grievance on or before July 22nd per the AFSCME Collective Bargaining Agreement, Article 52 (Grievance and Arbitration), Section 3.
Thank you,
Belinda Teague
Human Resources Administrator
Oregon Youth Authority
Office: (503) 373-7617
FAX: (503) 373-7623
I just wanted to let you know that the retro COLA was processed in the personnel system last night so everyone should receive retroactive payments on July 1. How it will look is you will receive 1 payment for each month for Dec – May and then your June paid July 1 payment so a total of 7 deposits should be reflected on the 1st.
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On July 15, 2014 at 6 pm your officers will host a pizza outing / union meeting. It will be at the Pietros Pizza in Salem Oregon after our first day of all staff. We look forward to your attendance and participation in this important meeting.
Please also be reminded that we have a really good up and running website that we place information on regularly.
As always all of your officers are easy to reach and we have a communication forum on the website.
We also have a travelling Labor Management meeting every other month and will be in your areas throughout the year with our business agent Joseph West. We have already been to Multnomah and Lane and are going to central in June. Look for us soon.
In camaraderie ,
Greg, Amy, Joe, Andrew, Miguel and Jeremy.
191 Officers
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May 12, 2014
To: AFSCME Local 191 Members
Dear Sisters and Brothers:
On May 9, 2014 your bargaining team of Miguel Herrera, Andrew Hampton and Greg Van Vlack met with AFSCME Council 75 staff (attorney, Research Analyst and field representative) to prepare for selective salary increase arbitration for JPPA’s and JPPO’s. Our position was that we were eager and ready to fight for wage increases based on the following: internal equity, class comparison, change in job duties and the agency’s ability to pay. As the morning progressed we were advised by the Research Analyst and the staff attorney that class comparisons were not in our favor as we do not have Peace Officer status. We were also told that Internal Equity would not be a solidly backed case and thirdly that the changes in job duties would be better addressed through a Desk Audit/Market Analysis/Hay Study. DAS also has argued that the agency does not have the ability to pay. After lengthy discussion we were advised by Council 75 that we likely had a 50-50 chance of winning arbitration and we were also told that the arbitrators decision could negatively impact future efforts towards re-class. These were not high enough percentages to move forward.
After a brief caucus your team reached a tough decision to make a final counter offer to the last best offer on the 2013/2015 contract. We proposed 24 hours of “grief time” compensation to be used when we have trauma, such as death, on a caseload or in the office space and we asked for a Hay Study/Desk Audit during the final year of the contract. These have been tentatively agreed on by DAS and the team.
In addition, what was bargained for successfully around COLA’s and medical care will continue. We also are satisfied that during the course of the current contract we have been able to advocate to preserve field positions as well as see JPPA’s promoted into JPPO positions.
The bargaining team believes that a Desk Audit/Hay Study will put us in better position for next year to attain selectives and we plan to ask for a range higher then the 29 and 24 that we did this time for JPPO’s and JPPA’s respectively .
We also have concerns that DAS did not bargain fairly with us and this is being addressed. You will hear that they made us a counter offer two weeks ago and then rescinded it.
In conclusion, please be prepared to be actively involved and assisting officers with the Desk Audit/Hay Study. During the past 16 months we put in countless unpaid hours to try to move forward with this. If we are united and have a lot of help from you members maybe we can be successful. No one knows your
position description and job duties better then you. You will be contacted by AFSCME staff during the summer as we begin the process. This was not an easy decision. Support and commitment from all of you as we attempt a new strategy will be greatly welcomed and appreciated. We wish we could have done more. Please contact any of us with questions, concerns (constructive) and ideas.
In Camaraderie:
Greg, Miguel, Andrew.
If you want to attend send e-mail to Annette for registration form or Van Vlack.
From: Oregon AFSCME Secretary [mailto:secretary@
To: Annette Skillman
Subject: AFSCME Conservative Caucus Meeting Portland Office April 24 from 5:30 - 8:30 pm & membership application
Good evening Local Leaders:
We would like all of you to invite your members and local leadership to attend the Conservative Caucus Meet and Greet at the Portland office on the evening of April 24 from 5:30-8:30 pm. We do have a few legislators that will be attending. Attached is the flyer for the event. I have also attached the C75 Conservative Caucus membership form (it is free to join). Very good information on their web page.
The Conservative Caucus was created in 2012 to recognize the need for conservative beliefs and core values to be represented by mobilizing and empowering members of Council 75. We strive to create a Council where all members and their ideas are respected, encouraged and also to express themselves without fear of ridicule. \
Annette Skillman
AFSCME Council 75 Secretary
AFSCME Local 191 recently had a meeting with members of the Oregon Youth Association’s leadership. At the meeting we discussed issues including the effectiveness of co-management agreements that are currently in place with participating counties across the state, the receipt of consistent packets of information for staff, along with creating a standard for material needed in the packets. The parties also discussed OYA leaderships’’ willingness to directly address conflicts with County leadership, the addition of one supervisory position to assist with communication between leadership and officers working in the field, along and the addition of a union member to cabinet supervisors meetings to enhance the affectivity of communication between labor and management.
At our upcoming Labor management meeting in May, it is our desire to have constructive dialogue surrounding the above mentioned issues. As a result, our organization expects OYA Leadership to be prepared to have an educated discussion regarding our desire to have the issues actively addressed in the near future.
Sincerely,
Joseph West AFSCME Local 191
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In Camaraderie,
Greg
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Members please find below a letter your officers sent to Phil Cox and Cabinet in preparation for a meeting for this Friday, March 14,2014. It is recognized that not all relations between counties and OYA are strained but it is also recognized that where there are poor relations it can impact us all. Your union is preparing already for what can potentially be a 2015 legislative session that is disruptive to Oregon Juvenile Corrections as we know it.
In Camaraderie
Greg
Phil we (AFSCME 191) called for the 3-14-14 meeting with you and AFSCME officers as we feel that relations with at least three if not more counties have not improved or are eroding further. These include Multnomah, Lane and Marion. To a lesser extent other counties can be included. It is felt that going into the 2015 legislative session could be challenging and this is evidenced by comments we have heard from you and other administrators.
We have asked for the meeting not to challenge or attack management but to report our concerns as we move to the YRS model which I like to call the umbrella of FEM, PYD, ORRA,etc. As you know we (AFSCME 191) have backed the agencies direction to this point.
Unfortunately we continue to see challenges and based on the agencies history we decided to refer to past documents that include the Transition Team Report of 2008, The AG’s Boyle report and the 2010 Juvenile Justice Symposium.
We believe it is AFSCME 191’s responsibility to report concerns . What is more important is we believe that it is OYA administrations role/duty to respond to these concerns and protect its employees from harm or harassment in the work place as well as it is the administration s role to ensure we have the right tool for the right job so that we can adhere ethically, legally and responsibly to statutes and law.
This meeting needs to be more then discussion and process. We will be asking for direct results that could include reviewing / abolishing co-managed agreements, reviewing program contracts, abolishing placement committees ,censuring certain juvenile departments and their administrations if necessary and having conversations with county commissioners and legislators.
We (AFSCME 191) have exhausted efforts at local levels to include supervisors . We made a commitment to agency leadership not to address the counties ourselves so are respectfully asking for your leadership towards this.
Here are examples of comments we have heard from Juvenile Department Staff, treatment providers or Judges:
“OYA is a Black Hole”
“OYA does not do a good Job”
“That person should not have been hired”
“county commissioners support takeover”
“OYA des not care”
“…no confidence he will change”
“oya just makes it worse”
“counties tell programs they have the final say and that JPPOs have none”
“judges dismissive of OYA workers. “
Phil these are just a few documented comments.
We also want to address the following from the 2008 Transition Report: At the meeting we will cite examples and will also refer to some statutes.
Page 3, Paragraph 3
Page 7, Recommendation 6
Page 10, Observation C
Page 10, Observation D
Page 10, Observation E
Page 12, Observation B
Page 14, Observation A
Page 19, Observation D
Page 20, Observation E
Phil, this is from a list solicited statewide. There are more areas we want to address in Transition Report but this is a start.
Our goal for this meeting is for you as leaders to give a clear response to us that will assure us a safe and protective work place and that we are assured we can perform our duties as guided by the position description, collective bargaining agreement, policy and procedure and state law.