Late last month, over 100 classified school employees came together in Kennewick, WA to participate in T.E.A.M. (Together Everyone Achieves More) Conference and step up as leaders in our union.

During workshops and trainings throughout the weekend, members from across Washington State shared their powerful experiences organizing and educating new members on how we WIN when we stick together, and how to tackle the challenges we face on the job. Together, members grew

The 2016 attendees of T.E.A.M. Conference.

ISSUE 14 - JULY 2016

as leaders in the labor movement, and took an active role in shaping a brighter future for working families in Washington.

For more information on T.E.A.M. Conference and future training opportunities, visit PSEClassified.org.

Congrats to Holly Rose from Crescent Chapter, who won Wild Waves Tickets on our Facebook Contest!

TOGETHER EVERYONE ACHIEVES MORE (T.E.A.M.)

Margell Caillier, a paraeducator and Methow Valley Chapter President, shares her experiences with organizing training opportunities at the local level with attendees.

– “What you do matters. To SEIU, to the labor movement, and to the kids in your schools. What you are doing is being noticed from the Washington on the west coast to the Washington on the east.” - Former international Secretary-Treasurer Eliseo Medina of the 2.1 million member Service Employees International Union, addressing union leaders at PSE TEAM Conference.

Deer Park Paraeducators Chapter President Susan Olson was interviewed by the media during Classified Week 2016, and shares her experience with other leaders.

Dear Classy, A coworker of mine said that she is a Life Member and I was wondering what that meant?

Sincerely, Wondering in Washougal

Dear Wondering,

Life Membership is the most prestigious honor that a PSE member can achieve. It is presented annually at PSE’s Convention. Here are the requirements:

“This award is for a PSE-represented employee who has been active in PSE for a minimum of ten (10) years. Additionally, they must have made outstanding contributions to the general welfare of employees through PSE. This can be a retired PSE-represented employee. This award should recognize someone who has completed most of his/her contributions to PSE (a lifetime of achievements).”

The awards committee meets in the spring and reviews nominees to receive this prestigious honor. This August, we will announce the 2016 Life Member recipients during our Saturday evening award ceremony, “An Evening to Remember.”

If you have a question you’d like answered in a future issue, drop me a line at classy@pseofwa.org.

WHALE TALES...

THE PULSENext month is Convention 2016, PSE’s biggest event. If you’re registered as a delegate, get ready to help guide our 30,000+ member union:

• Participate in cutting edge training and ongoing education.

• Have your voice heard on bylaw amendments and the election of leaders. • Help celebrate with the reciopients at our Award Ceremony, An Evening to Remember.

• Hear what’s going on in Olympia and on a national scale that affects the work of classified and higher education employees.

It’s an experience like nothing else. Keep an eye on your inbox in late July for the Know Before You Go Guide, and visit PSEClassified.org for information on getting to Kennewick, housing, meals, and the Leadership Training Expo.

Stay Together. Stronger Forever.

ACTION CORNER:What’s this COPE program that you keep hearing about?

It stands for the Committee on Political Education, and it gives us a greater united voice in Olympia and on a national scale.

When we stick together, we win! That’s why members have been signing up and contributing funds to COPE. Those funds allow us to lobby and build political support for better wages, more affordable health insurance benefits, and more adequate funding for classified jobs and services.

In the last six months, nearly 300 new PSE members have signed a COPE card. At our TEAM Conference in late June, over 50 members signed a card or upped their COPE amount.

For more information on COPE, send an email to action@pseofwa.org.

School bus drivers from Auburn gathered at PSE Headquarters in June to support their bargaining team as they headed into negotiations with the district at our State Office. PSE President Reen Doser spoke to the group of classified employees, highlighting the importance of solidarity.

“We take care of a lot of kids in this district,” said President Doser. “Today, you’re at your house. You’re with one voice. That is going to make gains for you in your contract. You’re not just supporting your bargaining team, you’re supporting each other. You’re supporting your community and the kids by the work that you do, and you are deserving.”

A video of their rally was viewed thousands of times on the PSE Facebook page, and their action resulted in a new contract being ratified less than two weeks later. Way to go, PSE Auburn Transportation!

Bryan Fisher from Evergreen Chapter signs up members for COPE at our 2016 TEAM Conference.

MAKING A SPLASH:

SEIU IS ALL ABOUT YOU! Did you know that as a PSE member, you’re also a part of our nation’s largest union, the 2.1 million member

Service Employees International Union (SEIU)?

If you’re heading to Convention this year, make sure and stop by the SEIU table to learn all about your benefits as a member, and learn more about our affiliate organization.

“I still have faith that together we can make the impossible possible and achieve our vision of a Free and Just Society: where all work is valued and all people are respected; where all families and communities thrive; where we leave a better and more equal world for generations to come.” – SEIU President Mary Kay Henry to PSE delegates at Convention 2015

MEMBER SPOTLIGHT:EASTMONT CHAPTERThere’s always a way to be involved in our union. Some members serve on a negotiating team during bargaining, and others get involved together in the community.

This year, Eastmont Chapter committed to getting involved in a big way. Every May, the Greater Wenatchee area celebrates the popular Apple Blossom Festival. The Friday night before the main festival’s parade, East Wenatchee hosts the Classy Chassis parade. The chapter received permission to participate from Eastmont School District and the Transportation Supervisor.

There was dedication and teamwork in the planning that needed to take place, and the local chapter showed strength and unity in making it happen. Members approved funds at a chapter meeting to cover the entry fee and the purchase of 1,000 magnets that advertised the school name, contact information, a school bus picture and space for student transportation information.

While Sherry Poppe, a 40-year Senior Eastmont School District Bus Driver, drove the bus through the parade route, many PSE Chapter Members of Eastmont Transportation rode in the bus or walked the parade route distributing the magnets.

It was a very hot day, but members united and proved that working and standing together both inside and outside the school makes them a stronger chapter.

“We had a GREAT time interacting with the crowd along the parade route,” said Zone 10 Director Deb Lewin.

Congratulations to PSE Eastmont chapter for your great community involvement, and showing what it means to belong and be strong together.

P.O. Box 798Auburn, WA 98071-0798

UPCOMING EVENTS

GET CONNECTED...

Independence Day Holiday July 4th PSE Offices Closed

PSE ConventionAugust 5th-7thIn Kennewick, WA

PSE DAYSeptember 3rdTacoma Rainiers Game

Labor Day HolidaySeptember 5thPSE Offices Closed

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Stay

Together

Stronger

Forever

Reen DoserState PresidentPSE/SEIU Local 1948

FROM THE PEN OF THE PRESIDENTUnions today are the last stand in the fight for working class families to be able to earn a livable wage with job protections, benefits and a retirement plan. So many jobs today are being pieced out with no guaranteed hours, paid at the minimum wage, with absolutely no benefits. We need to support the communities in which we live and fight for a raise in the minimum wage in Washington State. So many of our neighbors and friends are engaged in the Fight For $15 because it is so difficult to support their families. Some of our own members make less than $15 and can attest to the fact that they can’t make ends meet. It is our responsibility to join in this fight to raise up our members and our communities with economic justice for all.

Eduardo Enriquez, a paraeducator from Wahluke Chapter, joins his PSE and SEIU brothers and sisters at a Fight for 15 rally at SeaTac Airport during IGNITE! Conference in April.