Before Oregon home care workers unionized in 2001, they earned $8.14 an hour and had no benefits, not even workers’ comp for injuries on the job. Today, 20,000 home care workers represented by SEIU Local 503 make at least $14.65 an hour, with health, vision and dental coverage, workers’ comp, safety protections, training, and other benefits. To tell the story of the union campaign behind that transformation, University of Oregon’s Labor Education and Research Center (LERC) has produced a 28-minute documentary.
“It’s a labor success at a time when those have been in really short supply,” said LERC director Bob Bussel, the film’s executive producer.
The film, based on interviews with home care workers, was produced with a grant from the Library of Congress. It will have its premiere public showing Jan. 25, followed by a panel discussion with home care workers who led the campaign.
- When: Friday, Jan. 25, 7:30-9:30 p.m.
- Where: Salem’s Historic Grand Theater, 187 High St NE, Salem, Oregon
- Cost: Free
- RSVP: here.
[WATCH IT ONLINE: https://vimeo.com/262551351 ]
