...Union member vote drove shift in balance of power
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Barker, a retired president of the Port-
land Police Association; Paul Holvey, a
representative with the Pacific North-
west Regional Council of Carpenters;
Larry Galizio of the American Federa-
tion of Teachers; and Mike Schaufler, a
former member of the Laborers Union.
With Democrats now in charge of
the House (31-29 in unofficial results),
several of the “labor” lawmakers are in
prime positions to become committee
chairs. Rosenbaum told the Northwest
Labor Press she was interested in chair-
ing the Revenue Committee. Witt said
Trade and Economic Development
would be his choice, given the fact that
his district (District 31 in Columbia and
Clatsop counties) is experiencing bil-
lions of dollars in building investments,
much of it on ethanol plants.
On statewide ballot measures, 85
percent of those backed by the Oregon
AFL-CIO passed. The state labor fed-
eration helped defeat Measure 40
(electing judges by district); Measure
41 (Bill Sizemore’s insurance and credit
scores); Measure 45 (term limits);
Measure 46 (campaign finance consti-
tutional amendment) and Measure 48
(state spending limits based on popula-
tion growth plus inflation). Labor
helped pass Measure 44, expansion of
the Oregon Prescription Drug Program
to allow all Oregonians with no medical
insurance to get lower-cost prescription
drugs.
The AFL’s only loss was Measure
47, which limits how
much money people,
groups and candidates
can give to political
candidates. It passed
with more than 53
percent of the vote.
In Washington
State, labor-backed
Democrats extended
their majorities in
Jeff Barker
both the State Senate
(32-17 unofficially)
and State House (57-41 unofficially).
Among the winners were Deb Wallace,
Bill Fromhold and Jim Moeller repre-
senting Clark County in the House.
In Congressional races, all of the la-
bor-endorsed U.S. representatives in
Oregon and Southwest Washington
won re-election easily, including Ore-
gon Democrats Earl Blumenauer,
David Wu, Darlene Hooley and Peter
DeFazio; and Washington Democrat
Brian Baird. In Oregon’s Second Dis-
trict, long-shot challenger Carol Voisin
lost to Republican incumbent Greg
Walden. Walden was endorsed by the
Oregon State Building and Construc-
tion Trades Council.
For the next two years, Democrats
will control the U.S. House. The mar-
gin at press time was 230-196, with
nine still undecided at press time.
Of the four Oregon Democrats, only
Peter DeFazio was in office when the
Democrats last held a majority in the
House. Given his seniority, DeFazio is
Larry Galizio
Diane Rosenbaum
expected to head the surface transporta-
tion subcommittee, where he’s likely to
be even more effective in procuring
funds for investment in Oregon’s trans-
portation infrastructure.
In the U.S. Senate, Democrats will
lead by a much narrower 51-49 margin.
Helping to create that majority was the
re-election of labor-backed Washington
U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell, who eas-
ily defeated well-financed Republican
challenger Mike McGavick.
Union voters drove home the victory
for most of the labor-endorsed politi-
cians. According to exit polling and a
national election night survey, union
households accounted for roughly 1 out
of 4 voters nationwide, and three-quar-
ters of those union votes went to labor-
backed candidates for the U.S. House
and U.S. Senate.
The Oregon AFL-CIO was recog-
nized by the national labor federa-
tion as a leader in statewide voter out-
reach, with 900 active volunteers con-
tacting more than 76 percent of its
Brad Witt
affiliated union members either at work,
at home, through newsletters or through
worksite fliers.
“The key to victory was rank-and-
file volunteers contacting fellow mem-
bers comparing candidates and spread-
ing the message one-on-one about our
issues — good jobs, health care, high-
quality schools, and safe pensions,” said
Oregon AFL-CIO President Tom
Chamberlain, “Now we can get on with
our legislative agenda.”
National AFL-CIO President John
Sweeney said just electing a new Con-
gress won’t be enough to turn the coun-
try around for workers. “Now we’re de-
termined to work together to move an
agenda, on Capitol Hill and in our
states, to change America and renew
economic opportunity for all,” he said.
The national AFL-CIO will call on
the 100th Congress to accomplish five
items in their first days in office:
• Raise the federal minimum wage
to $7.25 an hour.
• Restore workers’ freedom to form
IBEW & United Workers F.C.U. is proud to partner
with Albertina Kerr’s Holiday Giving Program to help
strengthen the holiday spirit of giving.
Throughout the month of
November the Credit Union
will be accepting non-
perishable food items in our
branch.
PO Box 16877
9955 SE Washington St
Portland, OR 97292
www.ibewuwfcu.com
800-356-6507 or 503-253-8193
NOVEMBER 17, 2006
NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS
Paul Holvey
Mike Caudle
unions: Pass the Employee Free Choice
Act and reverse the National Labor Re-
lations Board’s ruling that allows em-
ployers to deny workers’ union rights
by classifying them as supervisors.
• Overturn the ban prohibiting
Medicare from negotiating with drug
companies for more affordable pre-
scription drugs.
• Stop sending jobs overseas: Re-
ward companies that create jobs at
home instead of giving tax dollars to
companies that export jobs.
• Reverse the cuts in student loans
made by the Republican Congress.
DeFazio told the Labor Press much
of that labor agenda has a decent chance
of passage now.
“There should be some beer being
poured in the house of labor,” DeFazio
said, “whereas I think a lot of corks
stayed in the bottles in corporate offices
on election night.”
The minimum wage increase is ex-
pected to come first when the new Con-
gress takes office in January, and De-
Fazio said backers may be able to get
enough Republican support to reach a
veto-proof majority.
The federal minimum wage has
been frozen at $5.15 an hour for so long
— nine years — that 22 states now have
minimum wage laws superceding the
federal minimum; and on election
night, voters in six more states raised
their minimum wages: Arizona (to
$6.75), Colorado ($6.85), Missouri
($6.50), Montana and Nevada ($6.15
each) and Ohio ($6.85).
As for the Employee Free Choice
Act — originally drafted by the late
Sen. Paul Wellstone (D-Minn.) — labor
is in for the fight of its life. The bill
would rewrite the nation’s labor law,
making it harder for employers to
squash unionization.
The bill’s prime House sponsor is
Rep. George Miller (D-Calif.), who will
chair the House Education and Work-
force Committee. Its prime Senate
sponsor is veteran Edward M. Kennedy
(D-Mass.), who will chair the Health,
Education, Labor and Pensions Com-
mittee. Both will undoubtedly pass their
bills out of committee. And passage in
the House is likely. Even in the current
Congress, the labor movement was able
to get 215 of the 435 House members
to co-sponsor the bill.
The Senate is the hurdle for the Em-
ployee Free Choice Act. That’s because
the GOP would still have enough votes,
49, to filibuster the legislation.
Even if it passed the Senate, the bill
would face certain veto at the hands of
President Bush.
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