Facing Legislative Walkouts, Unions Offered Hope for Critical Workers

Acrisis was averted this month when the local members of the Oregon Nurses Association reached an agreement with St. Charles Health System, giving nurses a big raise over the life of their contracts and ensuring they’re compensated when they miss meal and rest breaks. St. Charles remained Bend’s largest employer in Economic Development for Central Oregon’s 2023 rankings, though it’s interesting to note that its numbers are down from the two years prior, with 3,506 reported employ ees in 2023, 3,527 in 2022 and 3,648 in 2021. The pay that St. Charles’ nurses with a bachelor’s degree will earn is now higher than that of nurs es in the Portland area, some of whom are currently in contract negotiations of their own.

These increases will ideally ensure that nurses stay in their jobs, that health care remains stable in the region and that people who need more than emergency care will be able to get it. Had the nurses opted to strike, the region could have seen the shutdown of elective surgeries and other non-emergency services. Having only barely recovered from the most potent effects of the pandemic, including the shutdown of elective surgeries, it would have represented a setback, to be sure.

Meanwhile, some other workers who were — and are still — affected by the fallout of the pandemic are coming up right behind the nurses. Members of the Bend Education Association, who work for Bend’s second-largest employer, Bend-La Pine Schools, are in the midst of updating their contracts, which expire June 30. The union’s 1,100 members, like the nurses, want higher pay that is more on par with their colleagues in the Portland area. Those who pay rents and mortgages or buy groceries in Bend know that the days of seeing higher prices in Portland compared to Central Oregon are long gone. Portland’s median home price was $538,00 in May, according to Redfin; Bend’s was $747,500.

In addition to the financial challenges that come with lower pay in a higher-cost environment, educators have described today's classrooms as a “war zone,” where students are struggling with social skills and behavioral issues are only getting worse. Educators have been sounding the alarm over this issue over the past several years, but so far, the response from the wider community appears to be more on the performative side. Groups of “mama bears” have popped up in Crook County and nationwide, purporting to run for school board positions to assert the will and oversight of parents in regards to curriculum. But when it comes time for school boards to review and adopt curriculum, few, if any, community members show up, school board members told us.

Teachers are begging for more support, but it seems that the type that involves loud protest over unfounded fears of Critical Race Theory and LGBTQ+ issues is more palatable for people than showing up to volunteer as a hall monitor.

The longer this goes on, the more passionate and qualified educators we’ll see leaving.

In Crook County, an award-winning superintendent is walking away from her job due to the lack of tangible support for the real and challenging work that educators do. In Bend and elsewhere, educators and administrators have likely waited with bated breath over the past many weeks to see whether the Oregon Senate would once again gain the quorum that would let it pass a significant budget, buoyed by the income from the Student Success Act. The additional funds from that Act will, “Stabilize funding for our schools and allow us to continue to respond to significant equity gaps still lingering from the pandemic,” said Rep. Zach Hudson, vice chair of the House Committee on Education, in a press release.

Likewise, nurses in the state have likely been watching the progress of HB 2697 – the legislative solution to ensuring Oregon’s health care providers establish safe staffing levels. With the Oregon Senate now back at work as of late last week, bills such as that one now have a chance. Barring that, it is only under the canopy of union organization that these critical workers in our community had a chance of advocating for themselves. If these are not examples of how union membership can and does impact people’s lives, we don’t know what does.

Save The Deschutes South Canyon Natural Area

I was born in Bend in 1991 and have lived here the majority of my 32 years. I live south of town in the home my parents built the year I was born. We love the open land by the river and all the wildlife that flourishes because of it. Please protect this natural space that makes living in Bend so special. I worry for all the animals that will be displaced if this site becomes another development. We all deserve places to roam freely and be out in nature — it is a large part of why people are flocking to Bend, but soon they will no longer exist, and Bend will be forever changed. Please help preserve the beautiful Bend we all love and enjoy for future generations!

—Chelsea Ziegelmeyer

MORE WOLVES WON’T SOLVE ANYTHING. RE: RESTORING WOLVES, GUEST OPINION, 6/15

Oregon Wild’s Danielle Moser recently advocated for healthy populations of wolves throughout Oregon. Her rationale? Wolves used to be here. She ignored how much Oregon has changed in the 80 years since wolves were eradicated. She argued that “Oregonians wish to see a thriving wolf population.” Whatever that means, some may, others do not.

The wolf is my totem animal. Every encounter in Alaska, Canada, and Yellowstone has been special. There are definitely places for wolves, but throughout Oregon? Probably not.

Ms. Moser argued that the conflicts with livestock can be resolved by education. Really? More importantly, she ignored the inevitable impacts on our deer, elk, wild sheep and pronghorn, which are already hard-pressed by habitat degradation and loss, drought, climate change, and hunting pressure. Oregon’s mule deer may be on the brink of extinction. Wolves could push them over.

HAVE SOMETHING TO SAY? Send your thoughts to editor@bendsource.com.

Letters must be received by noon Friday for inclusion in the following week’s paper. Please limit letters to 250 words. Submission does not guarantee publication. Opinions printed here do not constitute an editorial endorsement of said opinions.

Letter of the week receives $5 to Palate!

Last fall in the Ochocos, a friend showed me where, stampeded by a pack of wolves, elk had demolished 200 yards of fencing. Nearby wolf scat contained shreds of an elk calf’s velveted hide. Wolves aren’t evil, but they must eat.

Those inclined to recreate in the fields and forests with the family dog might want to weigh carefully the desirability of having packs of wolves policing the edges of your community. Around Anchorage, Alaska, wolf-dog interactions often prove fatal for Fido. In the long run, having packs in every corner of Oregon will not be doing the Wolf Nation any favors.

—Mike Macy

The Cost Of Speed

Driving around Central Oregon reminds me of how wealthy we Central Oregonians have become. Not only are many of us lucky enough to live in ever more expensive homes, but even our neighbors who help build and maintain these homes gladly join us to showcase their wealth in the speeds we drive.

You can see proof of this by simply driving any highway in Oregon. These days, fewer and fewer drivers obey the speed limit. On major highways, drivers regularly exceed speed limits set at 55 to 65 miles per hour by roaring along at 70 or more miles per hour. With Oregon gas prices now averaging around $4.40 a gallon, these speeds underline a bit of financial extravagance that echoes these rollicking good times. Beyond simple economics, driving at these speeds also raises the issue of safety. Twenty-seven percent of traffic deaths in the US are speed related.

Fox News recently reported that the average driver is paying an extra 30 cents a gallon for gas for every extra 5-mph driven over the speed of 55 mph. That means that many of our neighbors roaring around at 70 mph in cars that average 24.5 miles per gallon think nothing of paying California prices for fuel here in Central Oregon. Those speeding along in pickup trucks that average 13 miles a gallon seem quite happy to pay significantly more.

For those of us who cannot afford a Tesla, yet grumble about inflation and the high cost of everything from housing to gas, there is an answer: By simply obeying the speed limit and accelerating and braking smoothly, you can improve your car’s average fuel economy by 15 to 30 percent. Although you may reach your destination a few minutes later than your neighbors, you can happily spend that extra cash on a latte — instead of on an ICU bed in the St. Charles — if you are lucky enough to survive a high-speed crash.

—Jon Stewart

Letter of the Week:

This week, another letter-writer had some strong words about kids and e-bikes racing through town, which they wrote at about the same hour that a 15-year-old died after being hit by a van in Bend. (It doesn’t appear they were aware of the tragedy.) I could not bring myself to print that other letter, but Jon, yours is probably close enough. While the driver of that van was not reported to be at fault, each of us who drives a vehicle is in charge of thousands of pounds of steel that have the power to do serious damage. We should all be a lot more respectful of that power and its potential. Thanks for your letter. Come on by for your gift card to Palate.

—Nicole Vulcan