SEIU 503 members applaud healthy worksites Executive Order

Salem, Ore. -- SEIU 503 members commended Gov. Brown on her passage of Executive Order No. 17-01 as a way to improve health outcomes for workers who are covered by the Public Employee Benefits Board (PEBB), including state and higher education campuses.

Comprehensive and coordinated worksite wellness efforts have been shown to increase employee health and well-being. Executive Order No. 17-01 promotes supportive workplace structures, systems, and policies that support employee health and wellness. By improving health and well-being of PEBB-covered employees, PEBB employees will be better able to serve Oregonians and accomplish their missions by improving productivity and slowing the rapid increase of healthcare costs.

Cary Fardal, Labor Chair of the PEBB Member Advisory Committee (PMAC), stated, “Healthier state employees lead to a healthier state. While state workers have been steadily improving their health metrics for the last five years, unhealthy work environments have continually posed a challenge to many workers. By passing an order to build workplace environments that are supportive of healthy lifestyles, Gov. Brown has helped fill this gap.”

Shaun Parkman, SEIU 503’s representative to the Public Employees’ Benefits Board, added, “I want to commend Gov. Kate Brown for her leadership in prioritizing workers’ health, by ensuring our workplaces are contributing to healthy lifestyles. Executive Order No. 17-01 is an important piece in the larger picture of PEBB's triple aim of better care, better health, lower costs.”