Unions invite politicians to learn A B C s of labor
SALEM — Oregon’s labor lobby-
ists ramped up their level of organiza-
tion with a kind of “Unions 101” semi-
nar March 7, in which they educated
elected representatives and their staffs
about why unions matter — and what
matters to unions.
The event was sponsored by the
United Labor Lobby, a group of union
lobbyists which meets weekly for
lunch when the Oregon Legislature is
in session. The seminar, taught by Bob
Bussel, director of the Labor Educa-
tion and Research Center of the Uni-
versity of Oregon, drew as many as
100 legislators, candidates and their
staff assistants to the Salem Conven-
nity; it means they’re better able send
their kids to college.
Union contracts don’t just help
members; they help non-union work-
ers as well, because they help raise
standards for the industry.
And despite myths to the contrary,
union political efforts aren’t just about
narrow union-member-only interests;
unions are a political bulwark for all
working people and for healthy com-
munities, he said.
Bussel took a look at the bills the
Oregon AFL-CIO tallied to rate legis-
lators last year. Just 12 percent were
specific to unions; 40 percent per-
tained to all workers, and 48 percent
tion Center.
Bussel told them union workers
tend to have better pay, benefits and
working conditions, and that’s not just
good for union members, it’s good for
the community. It means union work-
ers have higher morale, do better work
and gain experience because they stick
around longer with their employer.
They don’t have to leave town to get a
better job; they are able to buy their
own home and put down roots in the
community. They’re able to support a
family, and have the free time to be in-
volved in their kids’ lives, to volunteer
in the community. Extra pay means
more money to spend in the commu-
pertained to all Oregonians.
What does labor want? Bussel
shared a story about a famous quote
from Samuel Gompers, founder in
1886 of the American Federation of
Labor (AFL), in which he said, “What
does labor want? More!” Was Gom-
pers acknowledging that unions are
greedy? No, Bussel said — his quote
was totally taken out of context. Here’s
what he really said: “We want more
schoolhouses and less jails, more
books and less arsenals, more learning
and less vice, more constant work and
less crime, more leisure and less greed,
more justice and less revenge.”
In Oregon, labor’s agenda — as
presented by Oregon AFL-CIO Politi-
cal Director Duke Shepard — starts
with its top priority — expanding the
right of workers to unionize. Also on
the list is getting union rights for
farmworkers; ensuring adequate fund-
ing for unemployment benefits; ex-
panding access to health care, includ-
ing the state prescription drug
purchasing pool; regulating payday
lenders, which prey on the poorest
workers with high interest rates; and
working to get a fairer system of taxa-
tion in Oregon — one which would
bring in enough revenue to fund the
services the public wants.
But unions’ influence is on the
wane, as its numbers are down from a
peak 33 percent of the U.S. workforce
in the 1950s to 12.5 percent today.
In the 2004 election, the Oregon
AFL-CIO worked to reach the
227,000 Oregonians who were voting
members of union households, and
89.9 percent of them voted in that
year’s election. But labor can’t afford
to go it alone — less than one in six
workers in Oregon belongs to a union
(15.7 percent).
That means — union lobbyists say
— that politicians who agree with la-
bor’s agenda had better figure out a
way to help unions rebound — by
changing a law that union organizers
say has been stacked against unions
since 1947.
That law is known as the Taft-Hart-
ley Act, which puts restrictions on
unions which curbs their ability to or-
ganize workers. It was passed by a Re-
publican-controlled Congress over De-
mocratic President Harry Truman’s
veto.
Union conference set March 25
to promote manufacturing jobs
TANGENT, Ore. — Gov. Ted Ku-
longoski and national AFL-CIO Indus-
trial Unions Council Executive Direc-
tor Bob Baugh will be the featured
speakers at a union conference Satur-
day, March 25, to promote manufactur-
ing jobs.
Kulongoski announced in January a
manufacturing workforce strategy that
will refocus attention on training pro-
grams and education at the workplace
so that employees are better prepared to
compete in the changing world of man-
ufacturing.
At the conference, representatives of
industrial unions will learn ways to help
their employers tap resources to im-
prove skill training and apprenticeship
programs. Participants also will learn
how to detect early warning signs that a
company is at risk of a buyout, layoff or
closure, and the resources available to
minimize the impact.
The conference will be held at the
IBEW Local 280 Training Center,
33309 Hwy. 99 East, in Tangent. Regis-
tration is free and opens at 8 a.m.
For more information, or to register,
call Denny Scott at 503-228-0235, or
Verle Steele at 503-585-6320 in Salem
or 503-224-3169 in Portland.
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PAGE 8
NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS
MARCH 17, 2006