Hello Comrades and Laborers!
This is CG, your nominee for Chief Steward, with the inaugural blog post for our website. Over the next several weeks you’ll be able to visit our blog and read more about what our campaign and platform is about. Eventually, you’ll be able to read things from each of our candidates and through that, hopefully get to know us a little better. Additionally, we’ll feature other folx from across OHSU including stewards, former member leaders, and other nominees that are part of our Community Coalition. With all that in mind, please be sure to check back often to read new blog posts. When we have new posts, we’ll do our best to put the word out via social media and let you know in emails too. If you would like to share your voice and talk about what you want from 328, please don’t hesitate to reach out. You can reach us at memberscan@revive328.org.
With logistics out of the way, I’d like to get into the meat of what I’m actually here to talk with you about.
Community.
I first reached out to 328 for the same reason so many other people often reach out to 328. I was in trouble at work and I needed some support. The support that I received was helpful; and it was not the support that I wanted or needed. Communication wasn't as good as it could have been. The follow-through left something to be desired and it constantly felt like I was a second thought to someone else or some other bigger priority. As a result, I decided to get more involved with our Union and what I learned is that a lot of the time the stewards and member leaders that are doing the work to support our members are overworked and under-supported. It wasn’t a surprise that I was treated that way, and it was clear to me that it wasn’t sustainable. It showed me I was not alone in feeling this way, and it became clear that it was not a sustainable system for me as a member - or for the stewards trying so hard to carry the work.
Eventually, I joined our Executive Board and at that point I was fortunate enough to have a small group of people take me under their wing. They provided support and education as I learned more about our Union and how it functions. Later that summer there was a small group of about a half dozen of us that decided to get nachos together one evening. That evening was the first time that I distinctly remember feeling like I was part of a community within 328. I've spent the last 2 years as a member leader doing my damn best to ensure that every member I talk to every person I support every grievance I work every investigatory meaning I attend I want to ensure that all of our members know that they are a part of the same 328 community that I became a part of that night when I got nachos.
One of the things that I've heard from members is that they don't know how to support our Union. So often people think that the only thing that you can do to support your union is serve as a steward and take representation cases and pick fights with the employer but that's not the case. There's a place for everyone in every movement and we want to build a community that ensures every single one of our members will be able to find a place for them in our movement. to quote my friend and running mate Allison Milian “ our Union is having a crisis of access.” What she means is that no one knows how to get involved and no one knows how to come in and help. No one knows what's going on with our Union because we haven't taken the time to make sure that our community that we represent and support knows what's going on. So many of our campaign’s goals and priorities are contingent upon democratizing the functionality of our Union. Brianna, our Treasurer nominee, wants to get in touch with some of the financial wizards that work within 328 for the Employer to build a finance committee that is direct and transparent so our members always know what is happening with their dues. Our nominee for Secretary, Trisha, wants to create a digital infrastructure so our members can learn about our union from anywhere (learn more about our campaign platform). I want to do the same with our stewards and have regular monthly events, regardless of if someone is in person or remote. Our goal is to ensure our members understand that 328 has a spot for them and we want them to join us and be a part of it.
I'm going to close our first blog post with this: over the last 9 months we've seen a radical shift in our federal government toward a more fascist and oligarchical approach toward the liberties of our citizens. We have seen people lose jobs en masse, we have seen people being deported without due process, and most recently we've seen attempts to declare martial law in at least two major US cities. There are senior citizens that are struggling to keep their healthcare and people being forced to carry babies to term without regard for the long term effects. Recently we’ve heard rumblings that our queer siblings will lose the right to get married. These aren’t scary stories from some fictional story or a city on the other side of the world. It’s happening to us, right here in Portland, and across the country. And every single time we've seen this, the response has always been protested. The response has always been mutual aid. The response has always been working class people standing up for their communities. The antidote to fascism is and always has been community.
OHSU has made it abundantly clear that their priorities are not to take care of our members but to take care of the elite and ensure that their pockets are well lined. The only viable response we have is building a community that is well connected and well-equipped to push back against an employer that does not care about the well-being of its staff.
The cost of being in the community is inconvenience; so please, inconvenience us. We’re excited to have you join us.
Solidarity is a Verb,
cgb