
Issue # 39: May 04, 2023
Update from the President
Frankie Cocanour (2022-2024 Term)
Physical Education Center to be named after Alan Bahret!!
Tonight the Board of Education voted to rename the Physical Education building after Alan Bahret. Alen meant so much to so many of us on this campus and I am really proud that our board was able to recognize Alen’s contributions to our college.
50 Year Anniversary!
LCCEF is 50 years old! I’m proud to be part of a union that has been here in our community for so long. With everyone that we have here at the college I hope that we can remain for another 50+ years. I don’t know the names of all of the EC officers that came before me, but as I look at the older contracts and some of the notes that we have in the office it is apparent that we have a rich history of people that have dedicated their heart and souls to the betterment of our union.
LCCEF received recognition and a plaque to commemorate us for 50 years of service at the AFT-Oregon Convention.
AFT-Oregon Convention News:
AFT-Oregon’s President Elect Ariana Jacob’s is helping us to get support from our cousin locals at the board meeting. I was given the opportunity at our AFT-Oregon Convention to take the podium and speak briefly on what is happening. After the convention ended I had a few quick minutes to speak with her. Her and I then started emailing further about the situation
New AFT-Oregon President:
Elections were held for new AFT-Oregon officers.
- President: Ariana Jacob, PSUFA Local 3571 (over incumbent Jaime Rodriguez and incumbent Executive Vice President Jeff Grider)
- Executive Vice President: Ted Cooper, GEU Local 6666 (unopposed)
- Treasurer: William (Bill) Harbaugh, UAUO Local 3209 (over incumbent Melody Hansen)
- Secretary: Farallon (Fara) Broughton, CGE Local 6069 (unopposed)
- Vice President of Political Action: Hollie Oakes-Miller, PCCFFAP Local 2277 (unopposed)
- Ten (10) Vice Presidents (all unopposed)
- Emily Beatty, GTFF Local 3544
- Shannon Burruss, SWOCCCF Local 3972
- Chloë Hughes (incumbent), WOUFT Local 2278
- Madeline Frisk, PSU-AAUP Local 6802
- Errol Kaylor, GTFF Local 3544
- Melanie Landon-Hayes, WOUFT Local 2278
- Juanita Lognion (incumbent), PCCFCE Local 3922
- John MacDuffee (incumbent), PFSP Local 111
- Amy Ransom, PFSP Local 111
- Felicity Ratway, CGE Local 6069
AFT-Oregon now has a Strike Fund!!! The following was voted into AFT-Oregon’s constitution. This is a huge win for us this year! That fear we have everytime we bargain for wages. Well, this is definitely going to help alleviate our stress when we might need to strike this fall. We don’t know how they will allocate funds to members who have hardship during a strike, but we do know that there will be support. As I learn more I will share that with all of our members in an upcoming newsletter.
Here is what was passed. Please note that the $100,000 has not been explained if that is the max
“D. The Strike Fund shall be used to support locals who are on strike. Striking members in good standing at AFT-Oregon local unions will have access to strike fund benefits for members beginning on the 7th calendar-day of the strike. The threshold dollar amount for the Strike Fund is $100,000.”
Student Solidarity:
I love how many of our fellow classified professionals that have rallied around our students. I mean honestly, isn’t that why most of us work here? We are all here because we have a strong desire to contribute in our own way to the success of every student that walks through the door. You can’t just march students through to get their degrees and expect that your college will be successful, you have to give the students what they need to feel that they are cared for and that they have a strong community of professionals that want to be here for them. Every service that is offered to take care of their wellbeing is important to move them towards a successful completion of their program or graduation.
Last night at the board meeting the board heard all of the students, employees, and community members that spoke tonight and sent in their statements. The president of our college is not ready to back down on closing the clinic, so the fight is not over. The union EC is prepared for this and we are going to start working with a high level organizer and bargainer Jessica Foster our AFT-National Representative. This is our warm up to fighting for everything that matters in our contract. We will keep you posted.
In SolidarityCousin Union Locals:
As other cousin locals are supporting us, we also need to support them. Please join me in supporting the UO Student Workers by CLICKING THIS LINK and signing their petition,
Who Knew?! A Win That Is Unique To Us!
At the AFT-Oregon Convention it was brought to my attention that other unions used our Paid Leave Oregon MOA as an example with their employers and so far we are the only union within AFT Oregon that has our employer paying the employee portion of the fee. That might not feel like a huge win, but the other unions feel like it is. I just wish that the win could have been had by all of AFT-Oregon’s unions.
Pinkertons hired by Hasbro to retrieve Magic cards from Youtuber’s home:
How many of us remember the history that the Pinkerton’s have with union? You know, using lethal force to bust unions in the days gone by? Many of us thought that the Pinkerton’s were long gone and no longer used by corporations. Apparently that is not the case.
Last month the Pinkertons were sent to a Youtuber’s house to get cards that the company accidentally sent out and that the Youtuber bought legally.
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“Wizards of the Coast attempted to contact Cannon to retrieve the cards, but after failing to do so, sent the Pinkerton agency to do the job. The agent banged on Cannon’s front door early in the morning, demanded entrance, and threatened him and his wife with fines and jail time if they did not comply. Cannon reports they made his wife cry and attempted to force their way inside the house. They confiscated the March of the Machine: The Aftermath, which apparently had been sold to another collector by mistake and then purchased by Cannon, two weeks before they should have hit the market.”
Child Labor:
As all of you know I am always going to champion stopping people from violating child labor laws. It seems that there are states in our country where their legislators don’t have the same values. These are the 10 states that have rolled back child labor laws. These states are Arkansas, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin. I am hearing that this is done as a way for employers to evade paying higher wages to experienced skilled workers and instead they can hire younger workers at lower wages. Many of the jobs that the children are hired into are dangerous. Beyond the danger, think back as to why child labor laws were put into place. In the 1800’s and early 1900’s wages were so low that father’s, mother’s, and children had to work to just survive. Employers were allowed to hire all of them into the workplace that had subpar safety practices at minimum in order to make the wealthy elite wealthier. Many of our Great and twice Great Grandparents fought for children to not have to work. They fought for higher wages so that their whole family didn’t need to work to eke out a scant living. We need to do everything we can to make sure that we don’t return to those times. I don’t want my Granddaughter to live in a world where she has to send her whole family to work so that she can make the elite wealthier and eke out a living for her family in dangerous conditions.
Youotube video discussing this subject
Vacation:
I will be out on vacation from Tuesday May 9th – Tuesday May 23rd. During that time I will be hanging out with my very energetic 2 year old Granddaughter Amelia and I am not sure if she and I will be able to be counted on to write for the newsletter. I’m pretty sure we will be busy playing blocks, taking walks, and watching cars drive by from the living room window, a few of her favorite activities.Miche Dreiling our AFT-Oregon representative will find interesting things to share with all of you along with informing all of you as to what is happening with bargaining while I am gone.
During this time if you have a labor issue please contact our VP of Labor – Buck Potter. If you have a grievance please contact our Grievance Officer – Dawn Rupp. If you can’t reach them you can reach out to Colin Vurek – VP of Organizing.
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Announcements and Reminders
DON’T FORGET TO WEAR RED ON WEDNESDAYS!

We have a Membership Drive scheduled for the week of May 8-12, 2023. CAT members and myself will be coming to departments for brief chats.
Newsletter Feedback
We want to hear from you! Please take a few minutes to give us your feedback on our Weekly Newsletter. Newsletter Feedback Survey Goggle Form
The next two General Membership meetings will be held on Thursday, May 18, 2023 at 12:00 pm and 5:00 pm. And Thursday, June 15, 2023 at 12:00 pm and 5:00 pm.
Vice President of Labor Relations
Buck Potter (2022-2023 Term)
Happy May the Fourth Colleagues!
AFT – Oregon Convention
I was honored to be at the AFT – Oregon Convention this past weekend in Sunriver, Oregon. The AFT – Oregon Delegates put forth many progressive Constitutional amendments and Resolutions, some of which included: A dedicated Strike Fund for AFT Locals to utilize, Utilizing AFT – Oregon Employees for ongoing Lobbying Work, and eliminating the outsourcing of Lobby Work, working towards AFT Offices being more geographically located within the State and continued work on making AFT Oregon more fiscally sound.
Labor Issues
We do have few labor issues going on, currently. If you are having issues with Management Bullying or Workplace Disagreements with Managers, please reach out concerning it.
First Week of May Labor History
This week in Labor Union History:
- May 1 – Women weavers form union, Fall River, Massachusetts – 1875
- May 2nd – Nazis Occupy headquarters, seize funds, imprison leaders of two of Germany’s largest trade union federations – 1933
- May 4 – Haymarket Riot, Chicago – 1886
- Work Progress Administration Formed – 1937
All of these come from the Labor History 2023 Calendar created by AFT – Oregon and Oregon AFL – CIO
“An educated, informed and enlightened democracy is one of the surest ways of promoting the health of a democracy.” –Nelson Mandela–
Vice President of Organizing
Colin Vurek (2023-2024 Term)
BARGAINING CONTINUES MAY 16, 2023 AT 11:00AM!
Members are welcomed to observe via Zoom with your microphones and cameras OFF, please. I will be running a Slack Chat to allow observers to chat with me and I can pass ideas to the team at the table. I will actually be at the table also but bouncing into the chat to answer questions you may have. Email me your private email address to: colinlccef@ gmail.com so I can add you to the Slack chat. There is also a link below for anyone to RSVP on a Google form. You will find the link for the bargaining meeting below:
Join Zoom Meeting https://lanecc.zoom.us/j/96183623044
Meeting ID: 961 8362 3044
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Dial by your location
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Feel free to use the image below as your Zoom background.

IF YOU’D LIKE TO RSVP TO BE SURE I GET YOU IN OUR BARGAINING CHAT PLEASE USE THE FORM BELOW:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1pnbX7ov68WrXYsvZOoPfq6peq0rF76C7knwiItj7dB8/edit?ts=6418c7e6
We have a Membership Drive scheduled for the week of May 8-12, 2023. CAT members and myself will be coming to departments for brief chats.
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THE NEW T-SHIRTS HAVE ARRIVED. WE HAVE PLENTY OF EVERY SIZE. Please email me at colinlccef@gmail.com to get yours!
I also have window clings and stickers for you to flaunt your support for your union! See below!

DON’T FORGET TO WEAR RED ON WEDNESDAYS!
UNION STRONG!
Grievance Officer
Dawn Rupp (2023-2024 Term)
Hoping for sunny weather! I need a break from doom and gloom.
Quote(s) for the week:
“When you change your thoughts, remember to also change your world.”—Norman Vincent Peale
“Nature has given us all the pieces required to achieve exceptional wellness and health, but has left it to us to put these pieces together.”—Diane McLaren
Treasurer
Linda Reling (2022-2023 Term)
My heart goes out to the Health Clinic staff. I deeply appreciate their care and value their place in our community’s college. They were my only source of medical care when I was a student and were there when I needed them.
Records Officer
Tracy Weimer (2022-2024 Term)
Health Clinic – Mission
The mission of the LCC Health Clinic is to provide affordable, accessible, efficient, evidence-based health care to the students of Lane Community College. The Health Clinic staff provides high quality care in a collaborative partnership with the patient, with respect for diverse beliefs and needs, assisting the patient to make informed decisions about disease prevention and management of health conditions. The clinic provides education to individuals and groups to enable them to be better consumers of health care and stewards of their own health. The clinic also provides a public health perspective to LCC and responds to public health situations affecting the college community.
LCC Cottage Grove Clinic April 5, 2023 – Newsroom one month ago
Communications Officer
Marleena Pearson (2022-2023 Term)
It was great to be back in person with fellow AFT leaders. We gained a lot of support for the Health Clinic news, and saw a lot of locals are facing the same struggles with wages and workload.
New AFT-Oregon leadership takes office in July, and the creation of a strike fund is huge for our state! Hopefully great things will come for the AFL-CIO and AFT National Conventions this summer.
Membership Officer
Skye Nguyen (2022-2023 Term)
Hello! We are working through bargaining and about to do a membership drive next week. If you are interested in joining us to boost membership for bargaining just let Colin or I know! I challenge you to talk to a coworker who is not part of the union to think about joining. They may just need an invite to join our mission!
If there are any questions about membership or someone has interest in joining, they can reach out to me (membership@lccef.org) or fill out the online membership form!
Your Benefit Info of the Week
Did you know that members get some really useful benefits? This week we are highlighting travel benefits. Save potentially hundreds on tours around the different regions of the world. Get out and take some time for yourself! Not in a vacation mood? Don’t forget to take some personal time, our health is the most important thing we have so we should give it a break!
Find out what other benefits you are qualified for as union members by going to AFT.org.
Resources you may need!
- How to update your physical address on Expresslane.
- Complete this form for a Membership card or a new membership card! If you are a new member, one may have already been requested, contact the LCCEF Membership Officer for info.
- Submit an Important Life Event for you or another member may have coming up.
Chief Labor Delegate
Mark Jordan (2022-2023 Term)
COPE Officer
Fiora Starchild-Wolf (2022-2023 Term)
My “Political Education” for this week is going to be two-fold, both based on the theme that “the Personal is Political”.
VOTE!!!!!!
YOU HAVE YOUR BALLOTS AND THEY WILL DETERMINE OUR BOARD!!!
The May 16th Lane County Special Election will feature FIVE open positions on our LCC Board! We are now bargaining for our full contract! Who sits on our Board will make a difference. Also, in general, for years now, having labor friendly Board members has been helpful in a number of ways.
Two of the positions are held by incumbents: Lisa Fragala and Steve Mital. Steve has no opponent, but Lisa Fragala does have one.
Ballots are going out in the mail today!
So, as long as your registration is current, you should receive one within a few days. If you are already registered, but have a change to make–like your address, for example–this can be done right up until Election Day.
You can contact Lane County Elections at:
Lane County Elections
275 W 10th Ave
Eugene, OR 97401
(541) 682-4234
Office Hours
Monday – Friday
9 a.m. – Noon
1 – 4 p.m.
Election Day
7 a.m. – 8 p.m.
LCCEF Endorsements:
Zone 1: Denise Diamond
Zone 2: Zach Mulholland
Zone 5: Steve Mital
Zone 6 At Large: Bob Baldwin
Zone 7 At Large: Lisa Fragala
For more information about our endorsement process and decisions, please return to previous newsletters, or feel free to reach out to me at fiora.lccef@gmail.com, or starchildf@lanecc.edu
In addition to our own Board, all county school districts are having their Board elections. These are important, as of course the k-12 districts feed into Lane as our students.
So, be sure to watch for endorsements in other areas, and VOTE!!!
SHOW UP AT THE BOARD MEETING!!! (and speak out to them!)
From what I’ve been hearing and understanding, the decision to close the Health Clinic was not made by any “collaborative” process through our college’s established Shared Governance system. Rather, it seems that the Cabinet–made up of Administration only–came to their decision on their own. No attempt that we are aware of was made to reach out to either unions, and none to Lane’s student government–who were blindsided by this decision. We have it on record that President Bulger told LCCEF the direct opposite–that they were not considering any closures–just a few days before the announcement.
The students themselves were not given a chance to weigh in on this vital service that is FOR them!
Many students use the Lane Health Clinic as their only real access to health care. Additionally, in the past, before it was taken away from us, the Health Clinic was also available to employees–and we were not required to take paid leave if we used it during work hours.
We want to have a voice in major decisions of this nature!
How do we do that? SHOW UP!
This will be presented to the Board at next week’s meeting on Wednesday, May 3, for a vote.
THIS is where that first piece—electing Labor Friendly Board members–comes in, and in this case, may help us.
We’ve done that pretty well so far! Let’s be sure to let them know what we think about this.
Your voice is needed! Please show up at the Board meeting tomorrow, wearing red, to show support for keeping the clinic, or at least returning to a collaborative process in decision making around this.
And please consider signing up to speak to the Board for 3 minutes at the beginning of the meeting! Your voice does matter!
You do not have to be “polished”. You do not have to quote statistics. It’s ok if you are nervous. You just have to tell the members of the Board–who have shown a willingness to listen to us in the past–how you feel about students losing their access to health care, and about how both unions, including your LCCEF President who works in the Health Clinic, as well as our students–who need this service–require and expect a voice at the table when such decisions are being made.
Officer At Large
Katie Neall
We have a new Officer at Large!!! This is so EXCITING!!! Please everyone welcome Katie Neall. She reached out to me and expressed interest in this role with the EC. She sounds like she has some great ideas for this position and on wanting to assist other 1039 employees. Thank you Katie for joining our executive council!
“,,,Find out where joy resides, and give it a voice far beyond singing. For to miss the joy is to miss all.”
― Robert Louis Steveson

Stay connected to LCCEF
Website: https://lccef.org/
Subscribe to Calendar: LCCEF Union Google Calendar
Email address: lccef@lanecc.edu
Resources you may need!
Submit an Important Life Event for you or another member may have coming up.
How to update your physical address on Expresslane.