From the Salem Statesman Journal, February 28 2009

Angry union workers at the Oregon State Hospital staged a march on the superintendent’s office Thursday, protesting a proposal by Gov. Ted Kulongoski that state employees take 24 unpaid furlough days and a wage freeze during the next two years.

Oregon State Hospital employees represented by the SEIU and AFSCME unions march to the superintendent's office to state their concerns about the governor's contract proposal including pay freezes and furloughs.

The confrontation was part of a statewide labor action organized by union officials Thursday to protest Kulongoski’s contract offer, said Ed Hershey, a spokesman for Local 503 of Service Employees International Union.

State workers across Oregon were urged to gather and confront the highest-ranking manager at their work site, he said.

Members of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Council 75 also took part. Both unions represent different groups of employees at the state hospital.

People shouted “Let’s go!” as the crowd piled up the steps of the state hospital’s administration building and into Orr’s office. Orr emerged from his office, calm but visibly surprised by the group.

“This current contract proposal is insulting,” Dan Smith, a hospital psychologist and an SEIU board member, told Orr. “Will you pass that message along for us?”

“I’ll convey the sentiment you just conveyed to me,” Orr responded. “Yes, I will. Message received.”

Workers at the state hospital are concerned that the furlough days will lead to unsafe conditions, because there needs to be a minimum amount of staff there at all times. The hospital has been understaffed for years.

“It’s an entirely different situation than people who work downtown,” said AFSCME spokesman Don Loving. “These are 24-7 secure facilities. People at the state prisons are facing the same problem with these unpaid leave days.”
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The encounter was peaceful and afterward, Orr and employees shook hands as they filed out of the room. Some remained behind to ask more questions.

The march began with an informational session scheduled in a cafeteria on the hospital’s north campus. The workers were briefed by union officials on a contract proposal by Kulongoski that all union workers take 24 unpaid days off during the 2009-11 budget.

The governor proposed that 14 of those furlough days be taken on state holidays. Workers would still take the holidays off, but would not be paid for them. Only Veterans Day and New Year’s Day would remain as paid holidays.

Kulongoski also has proposed a total wage freeze for state employees, taking both cost-of-living increases and step increases off the table for the coming biennium.

The state is facing an estimated $3 billion budget shortfall during the next two years beginning July 1, and the contract concessions are part of cuts being made throughout state government to address the budget crisis.

Hisses and boos punctuated Smith’s presentation as he laid out the governor’s proposal to more than 100 workers who had gathered in the cafeteria at noon.

Union officials told the assembled group that SEIU and AFSCME will be sharing information as they pursue separate contract talks with the state, denying state negotiators the opportunity to play one union off the other. SEIU represents about 23,000 state workers, and AFSCME represents about 8,000 employees.
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There already are signs of that happening, said Dr. Lorraine Skatch, one of the hospital’s psychiatrists and president of the AFSCME local representing physicians there.

Part of the state’s proposal to SEIU is that its workers take two additional furlough days during the current budget period, which ends June 30. But the state did not make that demand of workers represented by AFSCME.

“Everyone here at Oregon State Hospital needs to work together to get the best for us,” Skatch said. “How are we going to tell doctors, ‘Come work for the state. You’ll have nine holidays. You’ll only get paid for two of them, but you will get the time off.’”

Smith declared that members needed to tell legislators and Orr of their displeasure at the governor’s contract proposal. Another hospital employee and SEIU board member, Randy Davis, responded that the group should take immediate action.

“Do you want to go tell him now?” Davis said in a booming voice. The assembled workers cheered in response. “Do you want to? Do you? Then let’s go tell them this is not a fair contract.”

With that, the agitated group stood up and started walking to the superintendent office, which is on the south campus across Center Street. Traffic stood still as they walked across and up to Orr’s office.

After meeting with Orr, the workers filed out and headed back to work.

“I can’t afford this,” said Sandy Brinlee, a timekeeper and office specialist at the hospital. She said she brings home $1,600 per month, and her husband has been laid off for three months from his construction job. “This will devastate my family.”

Davis said he doesn’t see how the furlough will work at the state hospital.

“We’re responsible every day to take care of the patients here,” he said. “If you furlough me, you have to get someone to fill in for me at time-and-a-half. It doesn’t make sense.”

“It’s an entirely different situation than people who work downtown,” said AFSCME spokesman Don Loving. “These are 24-7 secure facilities. People at the state prisons are facing the same problem with these unpaid leave days.”

The encounter was peaceful and afterward, Orr and employees shook hands as they filed out of the room. Some remained behind to ask more questions.

The march began with an informational session scheduled in a cafeteria on the hospital’s north campus. The workers were briefed by union officials on a contract proposal by Kulongoski that all union workers take 24 unpaid days off during the 2009-11 budget.

The governor proposed that 14 of those furlough days be taken on state holidays. Workers would still take the holidays off, but would not be paid for them. Only Veterans Day and New Year’s Day would remain as paid holidays.

Kulongoski also has proposed a total wage freeze for state employees, taking both cost-of-living increases and step increases off the table for the coming biennium.

The state is facing an estimated $3 billion budget shortfall during the next two years beginning July 1, and the contract concessions are part of cuts being made throughout state government to address the budget crisis.

Hisses and boos punctuated Smith’s presentation as he laid out the governor’s proposal to more than 100 workers who had gathered in the cafeteria at noon.

Union officials told the assembled group that SEIU and AFSCME will be sharing information as they pursue separate contract talks with the state, denying state negotiators the opportunity to play one union off the other. SEIU represents about 23,000 state workers, and AFSCME represents about 8,000 employees.

There already are signs of that happening, said Dr. Lorraine Skatch, one of the hospital’s psychiatrists and president of the AFSCME local representing physicians there.

Part of the state’s proposal to SEIU is that its workers take two additional furlough days during the current budget period, which ends June 30. But the state did not make that demand of workers represented by AFSCME.

“Everyone here at Oregon State Hospital needs to work together to get the best for us,” Skatch said. “How are we going to tell doctors, ‘Come work for the state. You’ll have nine holidays. You’ll only get paid for two of them, but you will get the time off.’”

Smith declared that members needed to tell legislators and Orr of their displeasure at the governor’s contract proposal. Another hospital employee and SEIU board member, Randy Davis, responded that the group should take immediate action.

“Do you want to go tell him now?” Davis said in a booming voice. The assembled workers cheered in response. “Do you want to? Do you? Then let’s go tell them this is not a fair contract.”

With that, the agitated group stood up and started walking to the superintendent office, which is on the south campus across Center Street. Traffic stood still as they walked across and up to Orr’s office.

After meeting with Orr, the workers filed out and headed back to work.

“I can’t afford this,” said Sandy Brinlee, a timekeeper and office specialist at the hospital. She said she brings home $1,600 per month, and her husband has been laid off for three months from his construction job. “This will devastate my family.”

Davis said he doesn’t see how the furlough will work at the state hospital.

“We’re responsible every day to take care of the patients here,” he said. “If you furlough me, you have to get someone to fill in for me at time-and-a-half. It doesn’t make sense.”

From the Portland Mercury, February 25 2009

Elden Rosenthal

“After the hearing last month, I got a call from an editorial writer at the Oregonian, and she was very antagonistic towards me,” said Rosenthal, at this morning’s closing arguments hearing in the secret list case. “She asked me what my problem was, she said that Officer Myers is the face of community policing in Portland, and I said that one of the most efficient police forces in history was Hitler’s.”

“But I told her, we’re a long ways from the gestapo,” Rosenthal continued. “We have a bill of rights, which says that we don’t go over that fence. And this is a fence issue.”

“We are over that fence and out in the front yard,” Rosenthal said, referring to the list. “The bill of rights is supposed to protect the house, but we’re endangering the house. The principal at stake is not wanting to collect secret police lists. Secret police lists have never come to any good, wherever they are used. There’s just too much opportunity for abuse.”

The Oregonian ran an editorial supporting the secret list on January 8, accusing Rosenthal of “working off an old model, in which a secret list of names inevitably breeds abuses. The reality is that this list epitomizes community policing,” it said.

Judge Dale Koch now plans to make a constitutional ruling on the list program on March 11.

“I’m speechless when someone makes a comparison between this program and the Nazis,” said Myers, when the Mercury asked him about the comparison, after the hearing. “It seems inappropriate to me.”

Myers said the intent of the program is to limit people’s exposure to the criminal justice system by getting them drug treatment.

“Any kind of comparison to Hitler or the Nazis doesn’t seem appropriate,” he said.

EXTRA – Judge ponders whether Portland police violate Constitution with secret list, Oregonian 2 25 2009

OUR COMMENT – Mr. Rosenthal has asked the Portland Mercury to retract it’s headline of this story. They have refused, writing their reporting is accurate. If the Mercury retracts, this post will be removed.

From the Curry County Coastal Pilot, February 25 2009

Curry County Clinical Director of Mental Health and the Drug and Alcohol Program, Teri Bell, has resigned and is leaving Curry County to return to Reno, Nev., in April.

“I didn’t want to retire,” Bell said. She explained that, because of stringent budget cuts, her position had become untenable. “It’s not because the job is harder. It’s more a matter of survival,” she said.

As she talked, it became apparent that her strong desire is to help people overcome addictions and disabilities. She said she had earned awards for her work in drug and alcohol and domestic violence treatment in Reno when she applied for a job as county prevention coordinator for Curry County.

She said she had served in treatment long enough. “I wanted to try prevention,” she said.

When she was hired and came to Curry County in January 1999, the full-time prevention position was funded by a grant. “But, the situation changed in mid-2000,” Bell said.

At that time the private nonprofit organization that had been providing the drug and alcohol and domestic violence treatment program for Curry County, left the county, and Bell was asked to assume responsibility for that program as well.

Bell became clinical director for prevention and treatment programs for alcohol and drug, domestic violence, gambling, disabilities, and mental health for the county in addition to the prevention programs.

In 2002 the major state funding cuts began. “When I started, we had 38 employees for treatment and prevention programs. There are now 20 employees, with only eight in mental health,” Bell said.

For the last seven years, while serving as clinical director for prevention and treatment, in all of those programs, the funding has been drying up.

“It’s just an impossible situation,” Bell said. She said that during nights and weekends there is only one person to serve in a crisis situation.

“There’s no place to put someone who is suicidal. You can’t get a bed, and there’s no transportation. There are more budget cuts coming and there’s nothing left to cut. It’s so bleak it’s time for me to get out and do something else” Bell added.

In addition to her job in social services, trying to help people in trouble, Bell has also been volunteering at His Haven of Hope once a week, working with early recovery and other issues, as well as helping at the Chetco Activity Center.

She is retuning to Reno where she has a home.

“I don’t plan on retiring from service work,” she said. “I have a little Social Security and my home in Reno was paid off last year. There’s a big veterans’ clinic there and I can volunteer to help veterans returning from Iraq with post-traumatic stress syndrome, and I’ll be able to help in other places that can’t afford to pay.”

“I need a challenge, and unfortunately, when funding stops social services are cut. That’s short sighted, but that’s the way it is. In a survival mode there’s no chance for creativity or change You can’t do program development or get to more effective services when there’s no funding.”

Curry County Director of Human Services Joe Adair said, “It’s true. Our services are becoming more limited. She’s at retirement age and no doubt tired of fighting the good fight.”

Adair explained that with budget cuts over the years and decrease in state hospital beds it often requires searching across the state to find room for those with mental health and addiction issues who need treatment.

“With all of the cuts, we can no longer serve people without funds other than those in the Oregon Health Plan with mental health approval. “It’s a struggle,” he emphasized.

Bell said she looks forward to working in a volunteer situation where she can say, “Gee, I’d like to develop this program,” and feel there’s a chance to go for it.

Bell has a masters’ degree in education and certification in mental health services in Nevada and Oregon, plus years of other training and experience that she wants to continue to use to help those in need.

Her original training in health and education was obtained during her seven years in the U.S. Air Force when she transferred from her job as a Russian linguist. “I got bored with my spy job, just sitting and listening to Russian broadcasts,” she said. When she discovered an opening in a night school program for drug and alcohol treatment and she applied for a transfer to the training program.

Returning to her home in Nevada will be a bit like coming round full circle for Bell, as she plans to use skills learned in the Air Force to help service personnel overcome disabilities and addictions.

Press release from the Oregon Partnership, February 23 2009

OREGON PARTNERSHIP SUPPORTS LONG OVERDUE INCREASE IN MINUSCULE BEER TAX

Oregon Partnership, a non-profit group dedicated to combating alcohol and drug abuse, has thrown its support behind an increase in the Oregon beer tax, which hasn’t been raised in 32 years.

“Now is the time,” says Kaleen Deatherage, Vice President of Oregon Partnership, who will be testifying this morning before a hearing of the Oregon House Revenue Committee in Salem.

The measure sponsored by Rep. Ben Cannon (D-Portland) would increase the less-than-a-penny tax on a 12-ounce can or bottle of beer to 15 cents.

The increase would raise approximately $320 million in the next two years to be used for alcohol prevention, treatment and recovery services as well as about $100-million for the general fund.

“All told, substance abuse costs Oregon taxpayers $5.93 billion – that’s BILLION – in 2006,” says Deatherage. “Because of this, we have less to invest in critical areas like education, healthcare, and infrastructure.”

Deatherage asks why one of the smallest beer taxes in the nation has remained so sacred, and hasn’t been raised since 1977.

Oregon Partnership maintains it is realistic and efficient to fund prevention and addiction services with revenues from the sale of the product that creates the problem. And jobs will be created in those areas.

Evidence at other states shows that an increase in the beer tax would not change the overall amount of beer consumed, except for two groups – price-sensitive adolescents and teens and heavy drinkers. There is no evidence that jobs will be lost among local brewers.

“Heavy drinkers created the greatest social and economic costs of alcohol abuse – a price now shouldered by every taxpayer in our state,” says Deatherage. “An increase in the cost recovery fee on beer would decrease that price.”

OUR COMMENT – Hear hear.

On Tuesday, March 31 2009 at 6 PM the hour-long BBC documentary video “Hearing Voices” will be screened at the Multnomah County Central Library in Portland, at 801 S.W. 10th Avenue.

The 1995 documentary interviews a number of voice hearers and presents many different points of view on this little-understood phenomenon. The video will be followed by a community discussion.

Tuesday, March 31 2009 6:00 – 7:45 PM
Multnomah County Central Library – public meeting room
801 S.W. 10th Avenue @ Yamhill

A small percentage of people hear voices no one else hears and have other unusual sensory experiences. Sometimes these voices and sensations can be painful and terrifying, but sometimes they are creative and even spiritual. Throughout history the mysterious meaning of hearing voices has defied any final explanation.

What is it like to hear voices and have unusual sensory experiences? How do people learn to live with their voices? Are voices always part of pathology and disorder, or are they related to sensitivity and creativity or have other meaning? How are Hearing Voices Groups in England and Europe providing ways for voice-hearers to gain greater control of their lives?

This event is sponsored by Portland Hearing Voices, a new community learning partnership dedicated to education around hearing voices, unusual sensory experiences, and mental diversity. The discussion will be led by Will Hall, a voice hearer diagnosed with schizophrenia and the program director of Portland Hearing Voices.

This event is free and open to the public, on public transit, and wheelchair accessible. Because of chemical sensitivities, please do not wear scented body products.

For information, contact Jess Jinkies, Outreach Director for Portland Hearing Voices
portlandhearingvoices@gmail.com or at 413-210-2803

ALIEN BOY is a documentary film by Portland filmmaker Brian Lindstrom, and produced by the Mental Health Association of Portland. The film is about the life and death of James Chasse.

Visit our ALIEN BOY web site and make a donation to help finish this community-based film project.

Rep. Mitch Greenlick

Friday night I opened a very thoughtful e-mail on the condition of education funding and asking for increased funding for K-12 education.

It was late in the evening and I found myself responding much more fully than I usually do at that time of night after a difficult week. After writing that e-mail response I decided I would share it more widely through this message. I wrote:

“I certainly agree with you. The problem is that the citizens of Oregon (including the citizens of our rich district) have refused to vote sufficient funds to keep services in our state at a reasonable level. When measure 5 passed (the 1.5% property tax limitation) the funding of schools was passed to the state, without providing any source of funding to pay for those schools. After that the citizens passed measure 11 (minimum sentences for crimes) which doubled our prison budget. We now spend more on prisons than we spend on higher education.

Oregon ranks 45th in the country on per capita local and state taxes, largely because most states have a property tax, an income tax, and a sales tax, shared among the local areas and the state. We have only two of those sources. And each time we vote to increase taxes, even on a temporary basis, the measure is referred to the voters and rejected. If I remember correctly the last time we proposed a modest sales tax it was rejected 80-20.

Currently we spend 92% of the budget on three things; education, public safety (including prisons), and services for the aged, poor, and disabled. We are now faced with a significant budget shortage. Our biennial budget (general funds and lottery funds) is about $17 billion. The severe economic downturn has caused major downward revisions in revenue estimates. (Remember when the revenue exceeds the forecast we send the money back to taxpayers in the kicker, rather than being able to save the surplus for a time like this.) We are told we need to cut about $800 million out of the remainder of this biennium’s budget. That is the five months left of the 24 month budget period. And we are told we need to reduce next biennium’s budget by at least $2.5 billion. We hope the federal stimulus package will provide some relief, but that is not certain.

Assuming the budget is about $4 billion for each six month period, we need to cut $800 million out of that last $4 billion. Imagine if education is excluded from these cuts and we can’t shut down the prisons because of measure 11 and for other reasons. To balance the budget we would probably need to stop providing medical care under the Medicaid program (removing a couple of billion of federal dollars from Oregon), stop providing care for people in nursing homes, stop providing foster care, and other impossible things. And most of this we could not do even if we wanted to do so. Consequently schools are going to take their share of the hit. And we could do that same exercise for the 2009-2011 budget, which looks even bleaker.

Every day I visit with constituents who have very important messages to give me. “Don’t cut funding to Head Start.” “Don’t reduce services to frail elderly.” “Fully fund mental health services.” “Increase mandatory sentences for sex offenders.” “Provide free tuition at our universities for returning veterans.” “Provide more support for poor college students.” “Increase requirements for high school graduation.” And on and on and on. And then over and over, “don’t increase our tax burden during a recession” or “you can’t tax your way out of a recession.”

We are going to balance our budget, as our constitution requires us to do. And we are going to do it in a way that doesn’t destroy the state. And perhaps we will even look for a way to increase revenue. But we are going to need to have our constituents behind us. And we are all going to have to find ways to mitigate the destruction to our families during this most difficult time.”

This update is provided by Disability Rights Oregon for February 13 2009

Oregon State Hospital Advisory Board Bill Stumbles

On Tuesday, the Senate Health Care and Veterans Affairs Committee held a hearing on Senate Bill 25. This bill would create an advisory board for Oregon State Hospital. The original bill called for a board made up of advocates, health care professionals, consumers, community members and a family member.

At the hearing, the bill was amended to remove an advocate, a health care professional, and a community member and replace them with representatives of Oregon State Hospital doctors, nurses and line staff. Consumers and advocates were disappointed that the board seemed to change from an external oversight body to one with representatives of special interest groups.

Although Senate Bill 25 was passed by the committee in amended form, it must return for another hearing because it will cost money to implement. Advocates hope to have another chance to make their case for the board to have greater independence.

House Committee Hears General Assistance Bill

On Wednesday, the House Human Services Committee held its first hearing on House Bill 2051. This bill would restore the General Assistance Program that was defunded in the wake of 2003 budget cuts.

The General Assistance Program would support Oregon residents who have disabilities and are pursuing Supplemental Security Income or Social Security
Disability benefits by providing monthly cash assistance, medical assistance and case management services. The program would begin January 1, 2010.

Many witnesses provided stark testimony about individuals with disabilities who are unable to work and who have no money for food, shelter or health care while they wait for months and years for the cumbersome Social Security Administration to process their applications.

Committee members acknowledged the severe needs of this population but also the difficult challenges to enacting House Bill 2051 due to budget constraints.

Ways and Means Committee Hears Impact of Cuts on Human Services

On Tuesday, advocates for human services describes the impact of budget cuts on services for children and families, seniors and people with disabilities, those with mental health and addictions needs, individuals with developmental disabilities and those who depend on the state for health insurance. Committee Co-Chair Margaret Carter said that decisions about which programs and individuals would be cut had not yet been made. She thanked the witnesses for describing the real life value of human services and the impact of cutting them.

Mental Health Caucus Holds Second Meeting

Representative Ron Maurer convened Thursday’s meeting of the Mental Health Caucus. The featured speaker was John Mullin from the Oregon Law Center. John explained that his organization provides civil legal services to poor Oregonians and advocates on their behalf at the Capitol. Also speaking was Jim Russell from the Mid-Valley Behavioral Care Network. Jim provided information underscoring the need to integrate health services with mental health services. He noted that people with serious mental illness die, on average, 25 years sooner than the general population.

The next Mental Health Caucus meeting is on February 26 at noon in Room 343 at the Capitol. You can also participate by phone: 503 378-3313.

Capitol information and bill schedules can be found at www.leg.state.or.us