OPEA

The coffee was hot 35 years ago when eight state Department of Transportation employees sat down for their morning break. Mixed between sips and idle conversation, someone brought up the idea of state employees banding together to improve working conditions. By the time the break was over, each of these eight workers walked away with an idea for a new organization …a vibrant association that would protect the interests of state employees and help state workers make Oklahoma a better place in which to live.

Acting on that common dream, these same eight state employees formed the Oklahoma Public Employees Association in 1975.

From the beginning it was tough. OPEA elected its first president Gaines Stout, a DOT engineer. Under his leadership, the Association adopted By-laws and put in place a plan of action to recruit more state employees to join the new association. Within a short period of time, 500 state employees signed up to join the effort, but it did not come without cost.

State employees were blacklisted and harassed if they joined OPEA. Fearful and uncertain about just what OPEA was, workers initially shied away, frightened that if they attended a meeting or admitted to being a member of the Association, they would be fired.

Those were the dark days, the lean times, when OPEA's entire set of membership records were easily stored in a plastic dishwashing tub.

OPEA's original membership files and database!

When Pat Hall came on board in March, 1980, the Association's finances were shaky and OPEA had no clear objective or direction. The road to success was mined with pitfalls and potential failure. After all, Oklahoma was not known as being a state where labor organizations flourished.

OPEA's first Executive Director Pat Hall, left, and original founding member Art Jackson

With strong and forward thinking guidance from OPEA staff and leaders who volunteered countless hours, that all changed. The membership started to grow, OPEA became a lobbying entity at the Capitol, and the Association began to assist state employees who had problems in the workplace. The Association's newsletter, The Advocate, was born and quickly became OPEA's main communication tool.

Today, OPEA uses an elaborate computer system to keep track of the current 10,000-plus members. We average 100 new members each month. During recruitment drives, we have seen our numbers swell in the hundreds.

OPEA has made rapid progress for being a young organization. The employees and staff are housed in two office buildings owned by the Association. Their activities include lobbying at the Capitol, promoting and protecting state employee's gains, and providing grievance assistance and legal representation if needed to handle employee grievances and problems.

OPEA has gone high tech with the development of a website, e-mail community network and electronic news letters to keep members informed.

Statewide, OPEA is recognized as the only voice for state employees at the Capitol, with state agency administrators and in local communities.

If you’re already a member, you know the value of a strong and unified voice.  If you’re not a member, take a moment to join online today. 

As OPEA commemorates its 35^th Anniversary this year, it’s hardly a time for celebration.  Throughout Oklahoma, state employees are facing a new year filled with threats of furloughs, reductions-in-force and voluntary buyouts.  As those pioneers realized in 1975, strength in numbers is the only way to survive; and membership in OPEA is an affordable way to protect your job and benefits.  Join this Call to Action and help make 2010 the year for state employees by becoming an OPEA member today.

For a look at OPEA's history and challenges for the future, watch exclusive interviews with Pat Hall, Dixie Jackson and Sterling Zearley by clicking here.