AFT Vice President
Merlene Martin is the president of the Oregon School Employees Association (OSEA), currently the fifth largest local within the AFT.

The OSEA, whose members voted to affiliate with the AFT in February 2008, represents more than 20,000 school support and other employees working in Oregon school districts, community colleges, education service districts, Head Start agencies, libraries and park and recreation districts.

Martin has been an OSEA member for 19 years, working as a paraprofessional at Lincoln Middle School in Cottage Grove, Ore. During that time, she served on her chapter's executive board and bargaining team. She also served for one year as OSEA vice president and for seven years on the OSEA board as the Zone IV director. She has been the OSEA president for the past seven years and was recently re-elected to another two-year term.

Martin was the 2008 recipient of the AFT's Albert Shanker PSRP Pioneer Award. She was also awarded life membership to both OSEA and the American Association of Classified School Employees.

July 14, 2008