From: [Name redacted]
Sent: Thursday, June 11, 2020 3:43 PM
To: Chamberlain Stacy ; Woolery Tim - AFSCME

I can’t find the names of all our Council 75 board members, please do forward this to anyone involved in generating the email titled, “Oregon AFSCME Board Statement”, as this is a message to them.

I have a few questions – I would like to request a copy of the minutes where this top was discussed. I would like copies of emails where your dues paying members requested you to make such a statement.

The Oregon Department of Corrections is considered a Law Enforcement agency. Police arrest people, courts sentence them and we confine them for that sentence. I find it hard to believe that you would want to hurt any of our members but that is what has happened. I’m not sure who of you, or beyond you, around you, etc. is responsible for this email but as our leadership members at different levels I can tell you it is our responsibility to fix what has been done. Did no one stop to think that we are one with our brothers and sisters in law enforcement?? You are supporting a movement that directly opposes them, which is US too!!

I pulled my dues when I found out that AFSCME was one of the largest contributors to Kate Browns election, because I felt like you guys didn’t care about us or even know us if you were giving OUR money to a politician that turned around and attacked our PERS. You paid her with our money and then had to spend our money defending all the things she has done.

Norway came along and I started to be concerned that my fellow staff members were being asked to drink coffee and paint with the people we are no longer allowed to call inmates, I was not at ease with my tax dollars going toward the payment of staff to play games with Adults in Custody; we are paid to supervise not socialize with them. How many people do you know that the tax payers pay $75 an hour to play corn hole with inmates, keep in mind inmates are criminals and teachers who have curriculum and a job description that includes games get paid far less??? So, I gave you back my money in hopes of making a difference. So far, I felt that plan had been going well. I have started communication with members, sending out information, trying to pull us together, recruiting on my own, telling people the good things the union will do for us if we stick together and let our voice be heard.

Fast forward – to the Board Statement. I am going to be radically honest with you folks . . . what were you thinking???? Did you forget BLM wants to defund law enforcement? Did you fail to realize that the BLM movement and civil rights movements of today are criminal in their actions right now against law enforcement? HOW MANY MEMBERS EXPRESSED THAT YOU WERE NOT DOING YOUR PART??? HOW MANY MEMBERS EXPRESSED THAT THIS EMAIL NEEDED TO BE SENT OUT? We work to prevent racism EVERYDAY IN PRISON!!! We are more aware of racism and do more through our work to minimize it in our setting than you can imagine!! So why would you send out such a poorly constructed email, using terms you had no business using in a letter to your members. Did we ask you to do this?? Did we tell you that you were acting racist? Did you ask your members if we had an issue that warranted an email like this?

I’m disgusted that money pays for anything that would tell our members that “We are a family, and our union will fight against acts of white supremacy whether they exist in our workplaces, in our union, or in our community. We will do more than merely add our union’s name to a list or to the statements of others - we will act and we will fight to dismantle white supremacy.” That isn’t even true!! You aren’t going to do anything about anything about white supremacy. That phrase alone is so offensive to the group of people that you sent that email to that just the nature of it made them all feel like you were talking about them. Do you not realize the pressure, scrutiny and judgment we are under as members of the law enforcement community?? That is who this movement is against, law enforcement is at the top of their list?? What are you going to do to fight systemic racism in our country??? And when did you start representing them and not us??? What are you going to do - Send out emails? No one wants to hear you preach to us about white supremacy or BLM. We want you to be preaching right now that LAW ENFORCEMENT should not be defunded, that not all members of law enforcement are bad, that we will strive to be professional members of law enforcement because ALL LIVE MATTER. Inmate Lives Matter. Correctional Officers Lives Matter. Correctional Employees and Managers Lives Matter.

Our security local has lost 33 members since June 2nd or 3rd I believe. Security plus has lost 1. We are all outraged by Mr. Floyds death. We are equally displeased by your overly zealous email. I would like to know what the follow up will be and if you all still believe this email was the right thing to do.

The issue is racism right??? What exactly do you call this . . . “We know our black members and staff are hurting and the Oregon AFSCME Black Caucus will be hosting a virtual meeting for black members and staff to come together.” First off, all that is racist!! We should not have a Black Caucus, nor a white one. We should have an Oregon AFSCME caucus that is color blind, not partial and now doing more for people based on race. WE ARE ALL HURTING RIGHT NOW. Seriously did you all think this through at all??? Reverse discrimination does not fix, cure or help racism or discrimination. I can’t tell you how many people feel betrayed by our union – at whatever level or whatever people were behind this email. I can tell you we need it fixed. If it is not fixed, we will lose more members. Like I said, I have built a great communication base. We will not tolerate our union supporting a group or movement that is anti-law enforcement right now. Did it ever occur to any of you to just do your job??? To just represent what we bring you, we all know that more than fills up your time. This was an error and I don’t want our members to continue to point it out to you through loss of membership.

I need to know now – who did this and how and when will it be fixed. If you do not reply or let me know when it will be fixed then I will assume you do not care about our concerns, feelings, safety or supporting law enforcement. I’m sorry but you guys were on the wrong side on this one and now we are paying for it.

I see you brought up George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor . . . victims of police . . . . why to a group of Correctional Professionals did you not bring up the names of the people that have been killed in the riots, the law enforcement officers beaten, ran over and murdered in the streets?? ALL LIVES MATTER.

The people YOU REPRESENT, people you work with needed a much different message than the one you sent. Let’s start with the fact that we deserve credit for being ahead of the racism movement!!!!!!! I can’t stress this enough. Why didn’t you praise us for that?? We have worked tirelessly for our entire careers to remain impartial towards the most violent and criminal group of people in the state of Oregon, to ignore race, religion, gender preference, violent tendencies, sexually predatory behavior and a list so long I can’t type it here. Did you look at our report card in that area?? We are exceeding the expectations of the entire nation. We did employ the Norway programs remember???? Did you praise anyone for how well we treat people since we do and we didn’t have to have the inmates’ riot to be treated so well??? I’m sick that this point is missed on people I work with. Our department and staff are so proactive it hurts sometimes and you want to preach to us about white supremacy??? It’s like a gut check in the worst possible way. I want you all to think about that tonight when you go to bed. In a prison that doesn’t have the systemic issues that the world is rioting about, instead of praising us for that, you told us you didn’t want to put your name on a list of something I can’t even remember. Disappointed. Disgusted. Hurt. Confused. Emotionally Triggered. You name it and you guys just stepped in it. So, let’s start by praising us for being ahead of the game!!

Secondly – we have a really low rate of excessive force. I bet we have a low rate of force in general compared to the nation. Most of us know what it’s like to be eye to eye with the most evil person you’ve ever had stare you down, he calls you ever name he can think of, threatens three generations of your family and tells you he’s going to kill you, beat you, have his way with you . . . and yet you remained calm. I bet that other officers not doing that across the nation, and doing worse, really disgust you like it does us. That was common group to build off of for our membership.

Let me end with this . . . You could have said, “We know that seeing fellow law enforcement officers murder a man in the street is probably hurting you and that the aftermath has brought negative attention to all law enforcement that has probably impacted you and your families.” On this one I struggle to refrain from using words and temperament that is unkind. Our children watch our staff leave the house every day with a badge on. Then they see on the news that those people with badges are being hated, beaten, ran over, called bad people, again a list to sad and too long. Did any of you consider what wearing a badge does to our families right now??? Or did you just want to jump on a bandwagon because it felt warm and fuzzy.

You want to represent your members and make our money worthwhile then work for us, not against us. This isn’t acceptable. OUR LIVES MATTER. Right now, some of us are afraid of wearing a badge or being associated with a career we are proud of – but hey nice job on the black lives matters email. Thanks for really looking out for what affects US and what worries and threatens us.

Dear [Name redacted],

It is evident that the wording or interpretation of the recent brief statement from the Council 75 Executive Board has troubled some of our members. While there are some within our membership that feel the letter was offensive, others feel it was not strong enough. Regardless, the purpose of the letter was to denounce racism and white supremacy when and where it exists. Furthermore, the Board statement was meant to condemn the systemic failures that have contributed to Black Americans being three times more likely to be killed by police than White or Latino Americans.

The Council 75 Executive Board decided to send that statement in order to take a righteous stand against racism and to publicly express our union’s values which are to fight for a society in which all are treated equal.

And we are not alone. Law enforcement agencies and police unions across the country have put out similar statements denouncing the murder of George Floyd.

While it may be easier to think of the killing of George Floyd as a heinous act committed by a bad cop, it is not. Mr. Floyd’s killing was only one in a long pattern of police brutality and indifference against Black people that is being seen across the country with a lack of accountability or reform in the system which is why this latest act has boiled over now. Everyone knows this is not all law enforcement, but when officers feel safe to act inhumanely, to intentionally or directly cause the death of another human while restrained, and even while knowingly on camera as happened with Mr. Floyd, there are obviously inherent and heinous problems in the system that need to be exposed and reformed. Actions like this that go unchecked, unchallenged or when perpetrators are not held accountable for their actions or worse when peers come to the defense of their illegal actions all of those things end up hurting the reputation and trust of all public safety professionals in the community.

Conversation on police reforms have already begun and as a union that represents law enforcement and corrections we know that we (our public safety members and Council 75 staff) need to be part of these conversations. It’s important we help protect legitimate due process rights and maintain safe working environments while pursuing meaningful and judicious improvements in the systems internal to policing and society to ensure all are treated with dignity and equality. Reforms are necessary not only to ensure accountability for law enforcement officers who are guilty of any form of police brutality, but to also ensure that our members, all people in the community and inmates are safe.

Some members have expressed some concerns about the Black Caucus meeting for Black members and staff only, that this is a time that we should be coming together. These meetings are much like a women’s caucus or veterans group - there is a safety in sharing one’s hopes, fears and pain with someone who has had a similar life experience, where you do not have to explain how you feel or justify it because the other person knows what it feels like. These spaces are intended for this purpose.

We want to thank you for the jobs you do every day to serve the community. We appreciate your dedicated service. I know as members who take your role as public safety officers seriously, seeing a video of a police officer disregard humanity and protocols by murdering a black man who was restrained and non-combative was horrendous. Thank you for being a part of these conversations. We need your voice.

In Solidarity,

Stacy Chamberlain
Executive Director, Oregon AFSCME


--Staff Reports

Post Date: 2020-06-15 08:25:29

Last Update: 2020-06-15 22:17:20