It also contains provisions that would help to stabilize the system. Our union is supporting all of the other components of the bill but not the third tier. Call or write your senator NOW and urge that the Third Tier provisions be removed from SB 134 and that the remaining bill be passed. The expressed goal of reorganization is to integrate services to clients. Alice Dale is the representative for SEIU Local 503, OPEU members at a stakeholders group.
Integration makes sense.
However, we have not endorsed the DHS reorganization. There are too many unanswered questions about how reorganization will affect union members and the clients we work with. Simply put, we need to pass a bill that will attach the Measure to all the current laws that cover homecare. In Ways and Means Subcommittee hearings on the DAS budget last week, DAS director Mike Greenfield indicated his intention to push for DAS to provide better support and more coordination for state agencies in the areas of IT, purchasing and supply, and managerial assistance. During these hearings, questions were raised about PEBB's decision to provide domestic partner benefits to covered employees.