...Former AFL-CIO leader Nesbitt appointed to governor’s staff
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reined in anti-union ballot measure ac-
tivist Bill Sizemore. Then, as Oregon
AFL-CIO president, he helped unite
and focus Oregon’s labor movement,
turning it into a permanently mobilized
political force.
So he was tremendously disheart-
ened to see labor’s unity unravel as
SEIU led a group of unions out of the
national AFL-CIO in July 2005.
“We were going to have to go
through a period of rebuilding,” Nesbitt
said, recalling the dilemma he faced as
the split spread to the state level. “I had
already done it once.”
As the Oregon AFL-CIO met in its
September convention, it was unclear
Plumbers and Fitters Local 290
helps foster children’s party
A $1,000 donation by Plumbers and
Fitters Local 290 to child welfare em-
ployees at the Oregon Department of
Human Services in East Multnomah
County helped foster kids enjoy a holi-
day party this year.
“They step up and help us every
year. We adore those guys,” said Debo-
rah Bruun, a social service specialist
who helps organize the annual event.
Local 290’s contribution accounted
for nearly half of the money raised this
year.
The State of Oregon used to fund the
party, which includes pizza, games,
craftmaking and gifts at the festively-
decorated Multnomah County office in
Northeast Portland. Some 200-plus kids
and foster parents attend each year.
But budget cuts in the late ’90s dried
up the money-source for the party. State
employees thought the event was so vi-
tal for the children that they began rais-
ing money on their own time.
Bruun cold-called Local 290 about
six years ago, and the union has been
contributing ever since.
Last year the union sponsored a
“fishing room with candy cane fishing
poles that caught stuffed animals,”
Bruun said.
Bruun said this year employees were
scrambling to raise enough money for
the party. She and her daughter met
with Local 290’s Executive Board, who
approved a $1,000 contribution.
“I don’t know what we would have
done without their support,” Bruun said.
“There might not have been a party this
year.”
The party was held Dec. 13 (after
this issue went to press).
whether national union leadership
would allow Change to Win locals to re-
main affiliated with local AFL-CIO
bodies. Nesbitt decided the time had
come for him to step aside, and pro-
posed former Fire Fighters Union Pres-
ident Tom Chamberlain as a successor.
After resigning, Nesbitt stayed con-
nected with the labor movement, work-
ing as a consultant for the Working
Families Party of Oregon, a new labor-
led third party that qualified for ballot
status this year. He maintains an associ-
ate membership in SEIU.
In July, he began working as a polit-
ical adviser on Kulongoski’s re-election
campaign.
Unions were the backbone of the
campaign. Now, Kulongoski’s choice of
Nesbitt and Terhune suggests the gov-
ernor will work closely with organized
labor in his second term.
With Democrats in control of the
Legislature and governor’s office, Nes-
bitt is optimistic about progress on is-
sues dear to labor, including a fairer tax
system, health care cost savings, and
greater ease for employees to form
unions.
“A progressive and growing union
movement is important, but it’s still not
enough. We need to make government
work for working people,” he said.
Nesbitt says he sees working for the
governor as a continuation of his politi-
cal work in the union movement.
“I never saw unions as a special in-
terest. Unions are a defender of the gen-
eral interest.”
Nesbitt’s new post means giving up
several commitments, including the
Working Families Party, as well as his
regular column in the Northwest Labor
Press, which he’s written since 2004.
Nesbitt serves on the Oregon State
Board of Higher Education, and said he
will decide soon whether it’s feasible to
remain on the Board.
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DECEMBER 15, 2006
NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS
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