Longtime OSEA Field Representative, labor champion and style icon passed away on Sept. 16.
Shawna started working at OSEA in December of 1992, giving 33 years of her life to the advancement of classified school employees in Oregon. She was a champion for workers who cared about every member of our union and fought for every employee she represented.
Shawna’s passion for the labor movement was in her blood – her father worked for United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 555. She started her career organizing with SEIU Local 49 in Portland and the AFL-CIO in Arkansas and North Carolina.
Chapter leaders describe her as patient, kind, deeply knowledgeable and willing to meet challenges head-on. Former Lake Oswego Chapter 12 President Nicolle Landau worked with Shawna as her field representative for five years. “She touched the lives of hundreds of our members, leaving behind a legacy of dedication and strength,” said Landau. “One
of the biggest challenges Lake Oswego faced during her time with us was the closing of three elementary schools. Shawna guided chapter leaders and helped employees through difficult transitions with steady support, compassion and clear direction.”
Shawna knew her chapters’ contracts backwards and forwards, and often found a way to keep classified in their jobs when it seemed hopeless. Zone II Director and North Clackamas Chapter 71 President April Biancone marveled at her ability to turn a termination meeting on its head. “I would be like, ‘how did you walk out of that unscathed, without a termination?’ But she also had a knack for talking with employees about difficult situations, because sometimes it’s not a good fit,” said Biancone. “She had a really good way of gauging an employee’s willingness and ability to continue in a position if they were allowed to keep their employment. She always went that extra mile, talking it out with people and helping them figure out the best path forward.”
State Vice President and Centennial Chapter 113 President Kris Dowell was a new leader when Shawna was assigned to her chapter. Shawna’s support during those early years gave her a solid foundation to build up internal leaders and organizers, and approach the district on the chapter’s terms. “She was such a hero for me,” Dowell said. “She came in and saved the day, but she also affirmed that I was on the right track. Her ability to support leaders authentically as individuals, but still connect them to OSEA and its strengths, was huge... She was such a force to be reckoned with.”
Through more than three decades with OSEA, Shawna became a mentor for other staff, helping dozens of field representatives get their feet under them over the years. Organizing Lead Elissa Edge, who worked with Shawna for more than 20 years, saw Shawna as a kind of anchor for staff and members. “She was someone people looked up to and respected,” Edge said. “She’s been here forever, she’s smart and she’s been around the block. Whenever we were dealing with a difficult issue, people wanted to know where Shawna stood.”
Shawna’s passion and skill as a labor representative supported thousands of members over her years with OSEA, but she will also be remembered for her love of Hawaiian vacations and her dazzling sense of fashion and style. She was always dressed to the nines and anyone who speaks of her remembers her glamorous presence and her ability to light up a room.
“I’ll never see a pair of red heels and not think of her,” Dowell said.
“You always knew she was there, but not in a way that overshadowed anyone else,” Biancone said. “She was larger than life.” ■