2025 Oregon AFSCME Conference
Oregon AFSCME’s 2025 State Conference was in Bend this year. We had LaRece Rivera, Rachelle Johnson, Jen Mower, Johnathan Routledge, Lyle Clingman, Pamela Camblin, and Mary Troffaes in attendance. We voted on the new Oregon AFSCME Council 75 Officers, as well as elected a new OregonAFSCME Council Executive Board. Highlights for Local 2831 include formal recognition of Jenn Mower and her hard work increasing Local 2831 membership in preparation for our last bargaining contract. Mary Troffaes made amendments to a proposed resolution on the fly, making sure that all represented employees who work in Behavioral Health settings are included in a commitment to worker safety. Rachelle Johnson was elected to the Oregon AFSCME Executive Board and LaRece Rivera was re-elected as Council 75 Treasurer!
Click here to view the Resolutions that were passed at the 2025 Convention!
Local 2831 May Superstar
This section of the newsletter is to highlight members who are engaging in awesomeness across the county. This month we are highlighting Brittany Brown from Public Works. Brittany has done an amazing job of gathering data for the upcoming migration of the email platform we use to communicate with members. She has dedicated countless hours to pulling data from both email platforms, comparing them and brainstorming the best way to move forward mindfully with the migration. This is a huge task and Brittany has taken it on with enthusiasm and gusto! Thank you for all your time and support Brittany.
Know Your Contract! Trivia
Here we will be hosting a monthly trivia contest! Email your trivia response to [email protected] for a chance to win a gift card!
One winner will be drawn every month.
True or False: Employees are guaranteed the right to union representation during any disciplinary or “investigatory” meeting?
Presidents Corner with Jenn Mower
For the last month or so, your union has been hard at work helping folks impacted by layoff and recall. It's a complex process and we're working diligently to help members navigate these difficult decisions. I'm proud to announce that most of those impacted have found a landing area somewhere else in the county. For those that did not, we advocated for reducing barriers to re-employment within the county. Employees being terminated for budgetary purposes will have the ability to re-apply immediately for open positions and will not be required to wait one year to re-apply.
Budget shortfalls are tough but we have been here before. There is something you can do to fight back. On June 5th there will be a rally in Salem to “Fund Oregon Now”. The focus will be on demanding that lawmakers fully fund our state agencies. Collectively, we can speak up and speak out that now is the time to support Oregon workers. If you would like to attend, please sign up using the QR code below. I hope you will join us.
In solidarity,
Jenn Mower
AFSCME Local 2831 President
Reminders:
All communications including teams and email on county computers are subject to transparency laws. Additionally, the county has access to any communications you have on your work computer or through work assigned emails. When contacting the Union with specific questions or concerns, it is best to do so through personal emails, calls or texts. You can find contact information for your Union Officers on the website, here.
Or you can email us at [email protected]. Please allow 1-3 business days for return emails at this address.
General Membership Meeting in June
On June 3 we will have a General Membership meeting from 6-7 pm. It is virtual and the link can be found below. We hope to see as many of you as possible there for Union updates and time to hang out together.
June 2025 General Membership Meeting Zoom Link
Committee Corner
The Local currently has two committees that were recently formed: the Communications Committee and the Constitution Committee.
The goal of the Communications Committee is to increase member communication and engagement. We want to be reaching out to you more regularly and more frequently to keep you up to date on what is going on with your Local, State and International AFSCME family. We work to update the website, provide regular email communication and produce a monthly newsletter.
The Constitution Committee is currently working on examining the Local 2831 constitution and updating it. The current constitution was created and published in 1998 and is ready to be brought into modern times! 2025 here we come!
Both of these committees would appreciate member involvement. If you're interested in either project, please reach out to us at [email protected].
Upcoming AFSCME Trainings
Oregon AFSCME provides a number of Union related free trainings each month. The full schedule can be found here.
Topics include Stewards training, Beyond Bias training, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission training and others.
Stewards Needed
Our union currently has over 1,000 members collectively. We have 7 Stewards to represent our labor needs across the whole county. We are looking for individuals from each department and division that would like to support fellow workers by becoming a Steward. Stewards are Union representatives that employees can come to with contract questions or who may sit in as Union representation during disciplinary meetings (or investigatory meetings as they're now called by HR). This work is important and there is financial compensation for the work you perform as a Steward.
If you have questions or are interested in becoming a Steward, please reach out to Mary Troffaes, our Union 2nd Vice President by emailing [email protected] or texting her at 541-337-6066.