Patti Walker helps bring projects to life as a production services assistant in our print services department and Janell Oliger supports one of our Head Start to Success classrooms as an educational assistant, but they each have another key role at Clackamas Education Service District — serving as co-presidents of the CESD Classified Association, the union representing classified staff.
The CESD Classified Association represents the interests of more than 50 types of jobs in every corner of our agency’s work, from providing hands-on help to teachers, children and families, to filling endless behind-the-scenes roles to keep buildings and teams safe, cared for and high-functioning.
Both Patti and Janell are in their sixth and final years as co-presidents of the union. As they look back on their leadership tenures, they call out several high points, including elevating awareness of the daily challenges classroom staff face, participating in successful bargaining sessions, increasing pay for bilingual employees, and creating a sense of community and safe space for discussion among all classified staff.
Patti and Janell have also steadfastly championed the interests of classified staff through the difficult past two years of the pandemic.
“It’s been a really tough couple of years for us, and we’ve been through a lot with our classified staff,” Patti explains. “We’ve gone through the pandemic, we’ve gone through layoffs.”
“Six years ago I took on this role to be a bigger and better voice for the classified staff,” Janell says. “We’ve had a lot of successes and a lot of victories, and we’ve had a lot of hurdles and pain.”
Clackamas ESD Board Chair Wade Byers praises Patti and Janell’s work, remarking “this place runs better because of what they’ve done.”
“Even though we are leaving [our union leadership roles], I am hoping that we are leaving a legacy,” Patti says. “But there is a lot of work still to be done, and there are a lot of classified staff still needing support.”
Nominations for the next leaders of the CESD Employees Association are open through the end of March.
