OREGON AFSCME

e-lert #21 ¥ June 6, 2009

Edited by Don Loving, Council 75 Public Affairs Director

A big victory for Local 2505 ... there's still all sorts of revenue talk at the capitol ... the fight over Corrections training at the Department of Public Safety Standards and Training is far from over ... Council 75-represented child care providers just might be on the verge of some good (or at least better) news ... and an "off-duty AFSCME member" plays heroine in Portland.

All this and the proverbial "more" ... it's the e-lert — starting now ...

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WE WIN! — We are happy to report on what may well be our biggest victory to date of the 2009 legislative session. We've reported earlier about the situation surrounding the Oregon Liquor Control Commission, where our Local 2505 represents some 200 employees. Budget writers were poised to institute a cutback on the agency that would have closed the Salem OLCC field office. As we reported earlier, it made no sense to make cutbacks to the OLCC from any perspective as it's one agency that makes money for the state General Fund. It was also a curious public relations move to close the state capitol's liquor enforcement office.

The proposal drew a lot of attention. Local 2505 members Jacki Berrios, Steve Berrios and Chris Nolte each took a full vacation day and came to the capitol to lobby lawmakers personally. The Salem Statesman Journal picked up on the story and ran a feature highlighting the Berrios', who are married and live in Keizer with their two middle-schoolers. Both have enough seniority to bump under the contract — except Jacki would have had to take a position in Newport and Steve in Medford.

Those concerns are over now. Yesterday (June 4) the OLCC budget passed through committee with all potential cuts restored in full. The Salem office and its eight positions will remain, and the previously announced — and much needed — six additional warehouse positions in the agency's Milwaukie headquarters are also intact.

How?

You may see a variety of reports in the media, but here's what really happened. Responding to pressure generated by legislators — pressure orchestrated by Council 75 Political Coordinator Mary Botkin and our OLCC members — on June 3 the OLCC Commission met in special session and voted to extend a 50-cent per bottle surcharge on distilled spirits that had been scheduled to sunset. Maintaining that extra margin was more than enough to cancel out the proposed budget cutbacks. Such a move was one of the "solutions" the union pitched to lawmakers during our meetings in previous weeks.

"I wish every fight had a happy ending like this," said Botkin. "But because of the nature of this agency and its ability to produce revenue, this was a fight that should have never occurred. Kudos to our Local 2505 members who stepped up — Jacki, Steve and Chris in particular, who took vacation days to come down here — and in this case, all's well that ends well. Unless something goes screwy before adjournment, this is one agency budget that we can say is fine. I'm afraid they won't all be that way, but in this instance, with an agency that makes money, it's the final result that we should have received all along."

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TAX INCREASES IN TROUBLE? — Are there enough votes to pass the proposed corporate minimum tax increase and the income tax increase for wealthy Oregonians? Yes, no, maybe. All three answers were being bandied about the capitol this week.

With a 36-24 majority in the Oregon House, the Democrats have exactly enough votes to meet the Oregon Constitution's three-fifths supermajority requirement for raising taxes. But state Rep. Mike Schaufler (D-Happy Valley) is balking at the Legislature raising those taxes. Schaufler says he would quickly vote "Aye" if the issue was referred to voters, but isn't in favor of legislators making that decision themselves.

Of course, Schaufler's opinion would be moot if one Republican would vote for the measures. House Minority Leader Rep. Bruce Hanna (R-Roseburg) said he doesn't think that will happen. However, House Majority Leader Rep. Mary Nolan (D-Portland) told various media she's confident she has at least 36 votes for the proposals, implying she has enough votes with or without Schaufler.

State Sen. Ginny Burdick (D-Portland), Chair of the Senate Finance and Revenue Committee, was critical of Schaufler — indirectly, at least — in telling the Eugene Register-Guard that she does not support a voter referral on the tax measures. "It's [the Legislature's] job to solve the problem," said Burdick.

"I believe the votes are there," said Oregon AFSCME Political Coordinator Ralph Groener, "though it will be interesting to see how this plays out."

Groener, who handles most revenue issues for AFSCME, babysat the two bills this week as they passed the House Revenue Committee and were sent — on a party-line vote — to the Joint Ways and Means Committee. That the bills went there rather than the House floor raised some eyebrows, though Nolan said lawmakers in Ways and Means simply need to examine the new revenue generated and attach that revenue to specific programs.

Assuming this all sorts out in the end, here are some details on the two bills:

á The income tax measure would generate $488 million by adding new tax rates for joint filers with taxable income above $250,000 and single filers who make $125,000 a year in taxable income. The Legislative Revenue Office estimates the increase would affect 3 percent of Oregonians who file income taxes each year.

á The formula in the corporate minimum tax increase measure would bring in $260 million. It would replace the current $10 corporate minimum tax that's been on the books since the 1930s.

Groener adds there is still some discussion ongoing about raising beer and wine taxes, an issue that's been stalled all session.

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LOOKING FOR $$$ — On a related note, in an effort to show the public "real faces" behind proposed state budget cuts, a coalition of groups known as "Keep Oregon Working" held a capitol news conference on June 2 that included Amanda Rasmussen, a corrections officer at Coffee Creek Correctional Facility in Wilsonville, President of Local 405 at Coffee Creek and the Chair of the Oregon AFSCME Corrections Coordinating Council.

Rasmussen was one of five speakers at the event. Also on hand was a representative of Oregon's community colleges, a laid-off high school math teacher, a child care provider and a Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) recipient. As such, Rasmussen's comments and emphasis were somewhat different than the other speakers, as she outlined concerns that Oregonians should have about public safety in the current budget proposal.

Rasmussen, a sergeant at Coffee Creek, expressed some of the difficulties the Department of Corrections will have in supervising inmates under the current budget. A key issue is a proposal to eliminate certified, independent training at the Department of Public Safety Standards and Training (DPSST) for incoming Corrections employees. (More on that below as well.)

"When I go to work, I need to know the people surrounding me have the same training I have so that we are all safe at our jobs," said Rasmussen. "Standardized training is also important in helping keep the inmates safe while they are incarcerated, which is a legal obligation most people aren't aware of."

The Co-Chairs of the Joint Ways and Means Committee, the Oregon Legislature's chief budget-writing panel, have released a budget proposal that includes a target of $800 million in new revenue. That still leaves a gap of some $1.6 billion noted Cathy Kaufmann of Children First for Oregon, who moderated the press conference. The coalition is calling on lawmakers to, at the very least, up the targeted revenue increase another $200 million to a $1 billion total.

"This cut is bad for working families, it's bad for kids and it's also bad for the economy," Kaufmann said. "We're going to see more and more of them in the child welfare system. That department is going to see increased pressure, higher workloads. As a result, the safety of kids is going to be at risk."

One idea being bandied about for potential savings is delaying the implementation of Ballot Measure 57. Measure 57, approved by voters in November, mandates minimum sentences for certain property crimes and ID theft at a cost of $75 million to the state. Botkin, the union's longtime lead public safety lobbyist, says AFSCME could support delaying Measure 57 "under the right circumstances," but is waiting to see how everything shakes out.

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NEW TWIST, SAME ISSUE — The Oregon Department of Corrections has a new plan in the continuing battle over training. AFSCME has been fighting a DOC proposal all session long to move training away from DPSST for new hires, replaced by in-house, mostly online computer training.

Now the Department wants to do different training for minimum, medium and (we assume) maximum facilities, which would make it all but impossible for Corrections members to transfer between institutions. And effective July 1 they also want to eliminate the current portability between state and local facilities, further hindering the career path of Corrections professionals.

Botkin has made it clear throughout the 2009 legislative session that AFSCME opposes the elimination of independent, certified and consistent DPSST training for Corrections employees.

"While this discussion impacts new hires immediately, make no mistake, current members too will be impacted," she says. "In-house training will vary institution by institution and depending upon the trainer. When you go to work and start your shift, you need to know the people on your left and right all have the same basic knowledge and expertise that you have — they are the ones covering your back if there is a problem."

There has been criticism in the past that the DPSST training isn't completely on target. But Botkin says you don't throw the baby out with the bathwater.

"While DPSST may have its own deficiencies and problems, they are still the only basic training that every pubic safety officer in Oregon receives," said Botkin. "If this current proposal goes through, DOC staff will be the only officers in the state without this certified training. If there are deficiencies in the current DPSST curriculum for Corrections training, then we believe the solution is to fix the curriculum — not to leave it up to the DOC Dome Building managers to decide what, if and when you get training."

Rasmussen spent two full days earlier this week at the capitol going door-to-door at legislators' offices with Botkin to discuss the issue. Once again, Botkin pleads with Corrections members to contact their legislators and tell them to keep DOC training at the DPSST. She notes that Snake River Correctional Institution members who live in Idaho — and there are a lot of those — should contact Rep. Cliff Bentz (R-Ontario) and Sen. Ted Ferrioli (R-John Day), who are the institution's home legislators.

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CHILD CARE UPDATE — The Human Services Subcommittee of Ways and Means met Thursday to discuss the child care portion of the budget. Council 75 Political Coordinator Janice O'Malley says that although they agreed to the budget notes of the child care budget, the entire DHS budget has not passed and will not pass through the sub-committee and on to the full Ways and Means committee until next Thursday, June 11.

"We've made considerable ground in this budget, but we still have a lot of work to do before June 11," said O'Malley.

Here's the skinny on what's currently under discussion:

á TANF Eligibility — In the Co-Chairs budget, eligibility for employment-related day care child care was only granted to those families leaving TANF (Temporary Assistance to Needy Families). This would have resulted in a loss of child care for 3,500 families. The subcommittee agreed to grant a one-year delay in implementation until July 2010. By doing this, the hope is that the economy will improve by next year so that the Co-Chairs' proposal can be scrapped altogether.

á Subsidy Rates — The Co-Chairs recommended a decrease from the 75th percentile of the 2006 market rate to the 65th percentile. The subcommittee agreed to reduce rates to the 70th percentile, which is at least more palatable. However, there is a lot of support in House Leadership to make sure that our already low-waged providers maintain their current rates.

á Co-pays — The Co-Chairs increased parent co-pays to an average of 6 percent. The subcommittee agreed to leaving the co-pays where they were.

"This is a huge step for our child care providers, who have really mobilized around these issues," said O'Malley, who offered special thanks to Local 132 (Child Care Providers Together) President Guadalupe Alvarado. O'Malley still encourages members to contact their legislators about the subsidy rates. You can go to the Local 132 CCPT website for more information.

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PERS NEWS — We have two tidbits relating to PERS this week, one in the capitol and one outside the marble walls.

At the Legislature, the Senate Rules Committee held a work session this week on SB 897, the measure that would require PERS to give potential retirees an accurate estimate of their retirement benefit. That may sound scarily simple — and it used to happen — but doesn't always happen now. In fact, SB 897 is a response to the Kay Bell legal case, where PERS member Bell retired based on what PERS told her she'd receive, only to have the agency come back a year later and say they'd made a mistake and try to cut her monthly benefit check by over $1,000. The committee should move SB 897 soon.

Meanwhile, up I-5 in Portland this (June 5) morning, PERS Coalition attorney Greg Hartman reargued the White case before Multnomah County Circuit Court Judge Henry Kantor. Hartman said it is clear from both the briefs and the arguments that the parties have fundamentally different understandings of the meaning of the fiduciary duty of the PERS Board.

"We believe that this duty runs solely to members, while PERS argues that they should only be concerned about the long term stability of the system," said Hartman. "Hopefully Judge Kantor will provide guidance on that issue."

Hartman also argued that the $61 million transfer from the PERS contingency fund to the City of Eugene petitioners should be set aside as PERS failed to follow their own settlement agreement. The White case itself is a challenge to the City of Eugene settlement agreement, which the unions contend was an agreement made without their participation. City of Eugene was also historically known as the Lipscomb case. You can always go back to our "PERS Update" archives on the Council 75 website if you need a refresher on all of the PERS litigation.

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Some other odds & ends bring this e-lert to a close ...

Ÿ State Central Table Bargaining — The state informed SEIU that it was going to declare impasse in its negotiations with them. AFSCME's state negotiations are tracking somewhat behind SEIU's time-wise; we are just about to enter mediation. There's more on the Central Table Update tab on the Council website.

Ÿ Capitol "Tourists" — There was a familiar face in the state capitol yesterday, but he wasn't wearing his AFSCME hat, either figuratively or literally. Council 75 Organizer Rodney McCambridge was in town helping to chaperone a contingent of 15 or so Clackamas County Future Farmers of America (FFA) students to a series of meetings with legislators. Their issue? The state budget, of course. They want the Student Leadership Development Center back in the state education budget; staff and administration for the Oregon FFA, as well as six other career technical student organizations, are housed in the Student Leadership Development Center. Oregon AFSCME Political Coordinator Joe Baessler gave the FFAers a quick "Lobbying 101" tutorial before they scattered to lawmakers' offices.

Ÿ Good Samaritan — We end this e-lert with special kudos to Keri Carter, a member of AFSCME Local 3135 (Housing Authority of Portland) and a district coordinator for the Council 75 "Next Wave" program. On May 22 in Portland at about 11:15 p.m., Carter happened upon a stranger who had fallen and severely cut his head. She reacted immediately, called 911 and described the victim's condition, name, age and included the fact that he showed signs of a concussion and pale clammy skin and had recently been discharged from the hospital. Carter then borrowed a sweatshirt from another passerby to wrap the victim's head and applied pressure to the two large cuts on the back of his head. She also kept him talking and awake until the paramedics arrived. An eyewitness deemed it "a very impressive and selfless act on her part," and we thought you'd like to hear about it.

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