Seamus McVey
Seaside City Councilor
MY background
I have been working to make Seaside a more livable city for several years. Whether as an advocate for the houseless or fighting for the rights of all the citizens of this beautiful community.
I grew up in a military family, participated in Boy Scouts where I earned the rank of Eagle Scout when I was 16, and went on to join the U.S. Army at 18. When I got out of the Army I spent several years working in private security. I spent some years homeless traveling around the country. Overcoming barriers I never thought I would encounter has taught me a lot about myself, and about how the system works for people who are not ensconced in it. In 2005 I began working in addictions, and then in 2018 I started a mental health and addiction recovery program right here in Seaside, and have had the pleasure of being able to step back and watch it grow to be in multiple states. Using the wide range of experiences life has given me has enabled me to seek out creative solutions to problems and teach others to do the same.
Currently, I serve on the Clatsop County Human Services Advisory Council, and as the City Council Liason for the Transportation Advisory Committee in Seaside.
What can I do for you?
What can we do to make things better in Seaside?
What do you think Seaside is doing right?
I'm here to represent you. Without your input, I cannot do that job. So let me know what you think, good or bad.
If you have ideas, let's explore them to see if they can work.
Beginning March 11th, and continuing on the 2nd Tuesday of each month, I will host a Coffee With a Councilor at Controversial Coffee at 10 am. This is the time to come talk with me about the things that are important to you.
What's happening in Seaside
"Seaside Nurses are doing our part in making sure Providence provides a fair contract to all ONA bargaining units. This strike is state-wide and Seaside Nurses stand in solidarity with every Providence hospital in Oregon.
Oregon law requires a 10-day notification of intent to strike which ONA issued after bargaining stalled. After giving this notice, we were told by Providence they wouldn’t bargain in anticipation of the strike (as if their attorneys are somehow going to be the ones caring for patients and needed the time to stock med cabinets). They told us we aren’t welcome back to work or even on the property until the entire union dissolves the strike. Now that the state-wide strike has actually begun we are reminded daily that it is our right to cross the picket line.
Unfortunately; Providence seems more concerned with press releases than actual proposals to settle our contracts. It's been over 20 days since Providence made any proposals to our bargaining teams. During this time, Providence has spent millions of dollars -- subsidized by state tax money -- on strikebreaker nurses and radio advertisements attacking nurses and providers on strike.
We are Nurses, more than that we are Seaside’s nurses. We love our community and we believe Providence’s practice and policies are not in our communities best interest. An example is staffing levels based on acuity, not patient count. Meaning if Nurse A has 2 very sick patients, Providence should not be allowed to send Nurse B home and hand Nurse A 3 more very sick patients merely because it’s cheaper that way. That only serves to diminish the level of care a Nurse can provide to any one patient, increase burnout, decrease retention and increase the chance of human error.
Speaking of the Nurse B that went home in this hypothetical. If Nurse B now wants to make a full paycheck, they can now expect to use 12 hours of their PTO. The paid time off that anyone else would get to use for staying home sick, taking care of a sick child or loved one or Heaven forbid, maybe use it to take a vacation.
All this to not even mention the healthcare package we’ve now been switched to, an insurance that is out of network for Providence itself.
We’re nurses. We became nurses because we love our patients. We love our community and want the best for them.
We will happily and proudly care for our patients, but I ask you this; who cares for us, who watches for our best interest. When Providence refuses to take us seriously and decides to play games with us instead of setting up dates to bargain and give us fair proposals, this is how we end up making the tough decision to walk away from the bedside and onto the strike line.
As the company motto states, “Know me, care for me, ease my way”. We stand in solidarity to remind Providence of the meaning behind these words.
Thank you,
Alex Edwards, Medsurg RN
on behalf of Providence Seaside Nurses with ONA."
This week, I had the opportunity to meet with the nurses at Providence Seaside to learn more about what is going on with their strike. The question of why they are striking is important. My takeaway from our talk is that they are passionate about serving this community, and want to be able to do it in the best way possible for them. They said that they are ready to get to the negotiation table as soon as possible, to ensure best practices for their patients. Below is a statement from the nurses, in their own words so that nothing is lost in my relaying them.
If you know of an event that you would like me to attend and/or bring attention to, please let me know about it. You can send me an email at the address listed at the bottom of the page, or through the contact page on this site. -Seamus McVey
My Approach