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Ken welcomes our new Exec. Director Michael Seville |
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On Saturday, April 2, member leaders from across our organization met in Salem to vote to select a new Executive Director.
Michael Seville, who is leaving IFPTE Local 21 in San Francisco, has served in many staff and supervisory capacities including most recently, Director of Research and Policy over the past 11 years. He also served in the past as Senior Representative in that organization, where he had significant bargaining experience with various employers, including the City of San Francisco. Mr. Seville believes that the bedrock foundation for a union is a strong, democratically elected governing body.
Mr. Seville will transition with Mr. Allen for a month and a half this summer before Mr. Allen retires. During which time, members across the state will have opportunities to meet face to face with Mr. Seville.
Mr. Seville said, “I am honored to have been selected to serve the members of Oregon AFSCME as the Executive Director. I am excited to get to work helping to improve the working lives of the members of this organization, who work hard every day to provide services to their fellow Oregonians.”
The vote by the Executive Board was the final step in a year-long process to replace Executive Director Ken Allen, who is retiring at the end of July.
Oregon AFSCME Council President, Jeff Klatke, who works as an Accountant for the Housing Authority, Home Forward said, “This is a member-run organization and the democratic process is incredibly important to our organization. For such an important decision, we as an Executive Board have been working for half a year to develop and execute a process that our entire Executive Board could support as inclusionary of the diverse membership interests of our members across Oregon. Having sought out input from member leaders, key staff, and community partners, we are confident that our decision will help us continue to build a strong organization that is dedicated to serving the interests of all of our members across the state.”
“Michael has excellent qualifications to serve as the Executive Director,” said Mr. Allen. “Beyond his managerial and bargaining experience, Mr. Seville has diverse experience in Communications and Research, as well as experience having served as in-house Counsel at his previous union. Having such a breadth of experience made him uniquely qualified to support all aspects of this organization’s operations. I am proud of the member leaders of this organization for their conscientious and diligent work in selecting a new Executive Director who is extremely-well suited to lead our staff in helping tens of thousands of working Oregonians achieve a more just workplace.”
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