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InSource Oregon is a campaign to educate OSEA members, district boards, and communities about the crippling effects of outsourcing public school services.
“InSource Oregon takes us to another level as a union,” said OSEA President Merlene Martin. “After all the hard work we’ve done, I really anticipate seeing how this campaign will affect our education districts.”
Privatization Training
The campaign includes a training course sponsored by OSEA and the Labor Education and Research Center (LERC) of the University of Oregon. The course teaches attendees how to meet the challenges of contracting out. The course also provides an overview of contracting out in Oregon. Course instructors assist attendees in brainstorming ways to communicate effectively, mobilize members, influence the district board, and analyze an outsourcing contract.
All Costs Considered: A Report on Contracting Out of School Support Services in Oregon.
During the campaign, OSEA distributed “All Costs Considered: A Report on the Contracting Out of School Support Services in Oregon" to all school superintendents, school board chairs, and OSEA Chapter Presidents. OSEA commissioned and published the report, which was researched and written by Bob Bussel, Ph.D., and Gordon Lafer, Ph.D., from LERC.
The purpose of the training and the report: to proactively educate leaders about outsourcing BEFORE decisions are made.
The Privatization Threat
Over the last several years, as the concept of outsourcing jobs began to gain momentum in Oregon, large corporations have worked to convince district boards that contracting out food service, transportation, and/or custodial services would solve all of their problems.
With glossy brochures, complex contracts, and enticing promises of cost savings to the district, these companies sell many school boards on the possibilities of outsourcing.
And, in many cases, school employees and OSEA aren’t told about what a board is considering until a letter has been sent from the district’s attorney notifying all district personnel of the board’s intent to contract out a service.
Being Proactive Rather Than Reactive
“In the past, we focused on reacting to threats of contracting out by building campaigns to stop or reverse a board’s decision,” said Musial. “We’ve had mixed success doing this, because it is very difficult to stop a board once they decide to head down the road towards contracting out. That is why the InSource Oregon campaign is so important.”
In some of the campaigns to stop outsourcing, there have been board members who chose to ignore employees’ persuasive arguments and community concerns. They charged ahead with the proposals to contract out, only to find out later the hidden costs and pitfalls inherent in many contracts.
With InSource Oregon, OSEA will educate by using examples to show the need for talking with employees, creating accurate cost estimates, studying contracts, and exploring alternate options to contracting out.
“Our campaign message is simple. Don’t outsource, InSource Oregon jobs!” said Martin. “Our success will depend on our members delivering the message and convincing decision makers that insourcing jobs is the best for Oregon students, educational institutions, and the community.”
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