Oregon state employees rally for 'fair' union contract with higher wages

Oregon State Capitol State Park was a sea of purple Thursday as hundreds of state employees rallied to demand a union contract that includes higher wages, raises and a sustainable workload.

The rally was organized by SEIU 503, the labor union for Oregon public service employees and care providers. The union is currently negotiating contracts with state managers, but says the state is offering raises that do not match the rate of inflation and creating a "crisis" in the workforce.

Wages today are worth less than they were five years ago, organizers said, and state workers are living "paycheck-to-paycheck."

SEIU 503 published research last month that found the state has almost 9,000 job vacancies. It attributes the shortage to low wages and increasingly heavy workloads.

The rally also marked the state Senate's continued walkout, which has stalled budget negotiations. SEIU 503 president Mike Powers said the walkout is proof state legislators "don't care about us, and don't care about everyday Oregonians."

Organizers said if the state does not agree to a fair contract, state workers will go on strike June 28.

Here's what state employees at the rally had to say:

Michelle Suguitan-Reed, Self-Sufficiency Programs Office

Suguitan-Reed said she has worked in the "same office, same building" for 23 years. She said her workload has increased but her wages have not kept pace.

"I work hard for Oregonians," she said. "But I'm not happy."

Suguitan-Reed said she will help lead a picket if state workers strike later this month.

Tammy Emery and Donna Stromer, Department of Benefits and Eligibility

Emery and Stomer have both worked for the state for decades, they said, but their salaries have maxed out. The 4% cost of living adjustment proposed by state managers is not enough to account for increased costs of living, they said.

State workers got a 3.1% cost of living increase last year, according to the union. The pay floor for the state's lowest-paid workers is $16.85 per hour.

Emery, who has worked for the same department for 23 years, said she has not gotten a true raise in eight years.

"It's abhorrent," she said.

Meanwhile, Stromer said her workload has "doubled," but her pay has remained stagnant.

Stromer and Emery said the quality of customer service in the department has decreased as a result. They have been asked to answer questions about new medical programs with "minimal training," Emery said, but act "as though we're experts."

"We do this job because we care about the customers we serve," Emery said. "And the level of service that we are giving right now is not because of lack of desire. It's lack of training and investment in the workers to provide that service to the community."

Austin Folnagy, Oregon Employment Department, SEIU 503 Central Table co-chair

Folnagy, who was one of the rally's organizers and speakers, said the state is in a "workforce crisis" and is being out-competed by other sectors.

"We have some people ... that quite frankly can make more money at Panera Bread or Panda Express," he said.

A 2022 Salary and Benefit Report from the State of Oregon concluded that state salaries are competitive compared to the overall job market. According to the report, average actual state employee compensation is 100.4% of the overall labor market, including major benefits. Average compensation is 96% of the overall market excluding benefits.

The report said the state it is “right at [its] compensation goal.”

But Folnagy said many state employees cannot afford to live in the communities they serve on their current wages. As co-chair of the union's bargaining table, he said, he has talked to "hundreds of members who have real difficult experiences because of how low they get paid."

He said he knows people who work on the coast but commute over the coastal range, "over those mountains... because they can't afford to live in those communities," he said.

"We have servants' hearts," he said. "We do this because we want to serve the people. But they need to be able to afford to live in the communities that they work in."

Courtney Langner, Department of Human Services

Langner, a child welfare case worker, said she responds to cases that show her the "absolute worst of humanity, day after day."

She has held kids' hands in the worst moments of their lives, she said, treated them for lice, transported them to foster homes and hospitals.

But her department is understaffed and overwhelmed, sh said. Langner said she clocks anywhere from 40-100 hours of overtime per month.

"We're exhausted," Langner said.

Langner said she and her colleagues do their jobs because they care deeply about Oregon's kids, but barely make enough to support their own families. Some use food assistance and other state benefits, she said.

"These are the people who, day after day, are taking care of Oregon's most vulnerable," she said.

This article originally appeared on Salem Statesman Journal: Oregon state employees rally to demand 'fair' union contract