Oregon AFSCME welcomes 65 new members as the residential treatment employees of Janus Youth Programs in greater Portland have voted to join our union. The vote count was 26-12.
Janus Youth is a private, non-profit that operates a series of facilities scattered about Portland. The clients range from age 13 to 21, with those 18 and older housed separately from the younger kids.
“Our new members are primarily case managers and skills trainers,” said Council 75 Organizer Doug Lantz, the lead AFSCME staffer on the organizing campaign. “They work with the youth in treatment programs, teaching them a wide range of topics from basic life skills to job searching.”
Lantz said a group of Janus workers contacted AFSCME about six months ago expressing a desire to join the union. He says economics was a key issue, but not the only factor.
“A lot of these workers have college degrees and this is the field they want to work in, making a difference in young peoples’ lives,” said Lantz. “But at Janus, many are barely above minimum wage. So that is big factor, as they want to create new standards that will allow them to be able to afford to stay at Janus.
“There are also some health and safety issues, the latter particularly for those working the overnight shifts,” he continued. “And they’d like to see just better overall accountability for and from management. So it won’t be too hard to draw up a list of bargaining priorities, they know what they want.”
Christopher Zimmerly-Beck is a direct care worker in Janus’ Imani House. He’s looking for AFSCME to help move his agency forward.
“I’m excited about the vote,” said Zimmerly-Beck. “In many ways, our work conditions are our clients’ home. I’m excited that we took this collective action. We liked AFSCME because it’s a democratic and dynamic organization, and they have experience representing other human services providers.”
“I’m very happy,” added Lori Torres, a case manager at the Imani House. “Everyone here worked very hard on the organizing campaign, and the vote shows that a majority of our colleagues are on board with the union.
“AFSCME is going to be a key participant in our journey to make Janus a better place.”
The Janus workers will join Local 1790, newly established for Basic Rights Oregon employees. First contract negotiations will begin soon.
|