Union members in Oregon Legislature get key posts
SALEM — It will be a new Oregon
Legislature when the Capitol opens for
business Jan. 8. Democrats control the
House, Senate and governor’s office
for the first time in over a decade. That
means, for a handful of “labor legisla-
tors,” all Democrats, that they’ll chair
committees for the first time in their
legislative careers, and have a much
better chance of passing legislation.
Up to now, there hasn’t been a for-
mal “labor caucus” in Oregon, just in-
formal lists of union-friendly lawmak-
ers.
State Rep. Diane Rosenbaum
hopes that will change this year.
Rosenbaum, a retired central office
technician for Qwest and a 30-year
member of Communications Workers
of America Local 7901, is president of
the labor caucus of the National Con-
ference of State Legislators. She wants
to formalize a group of legislators who
would sign a pledge and meet periodi-
cally to discuss bills and plan strategy.
If it follows the national model,
Rosenbaum said Oregon’s labor cau-
cus wouldn’t be limited to union mem-
bers, but would be open to any law-
maker who supports a “pro-working
families agenda.”
Rosenbaum will be speaker pro-
tem of the House this legislative ses-
sion, which means she’ll control the
agenda of the House when Speaker
Jeff Merkley is away. And she’ll chair
the House Elections, Ethics and Rules
Committee. Rosenbaum expects the
committee will look at reforms limit-
ing gifts and paid travel legislators
could accept; electoral reforms like
limiting pay-per-voter “bounty” for
registering new voters; and fusion vot-
ing, which is sought by the recently
formed Working Families Party of
Oregon.
Rosenbaum’s other committee as-
signments include the House Revenue
Committee, which deals with taxes,
and the House Business and Labor
Committee.
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Chairing the Business and Labor
Committee is Rep. Mike Schaufler, a
former member of the Laborers
Union. Schaufler will also serve on the
Joint Committee on Emergency Pre-
paredness and Ocean Policy, and will
be vice chair of the House Veteran Af-
fairs Committee.
State Rep. Brad Witt, who served
14 years as secretary-treasurer of the
Oregon AFL-CIO, will chair the
House Workforce and Economic De-
velopment Committee. He will also be
a member of the Revenue Committee.
When not in session, Witt is a staff
representative at United Food and
Commercial Workers Local 555.
State Rep. Paul Holvey, a commu-
nity relations representative for the Pa-
cific Northwest Regional Council of
Carpenters, will chair the House Con-
sumer Protection Committee. He’ll
also serve on Workforce and Eco-
nomic Development and will be vice
chair of Business and Labor.
State Rep. Jeff Barker, a retired
lieutenant of the Portland Police Bu-
reau and former president of the Port-
land Police Association, will chair the
Veterans Affairs Committee. He will
also be vice chair of the House Judi-
ciary Committee, and a member of the
Joint Ways and Means Subcommittee
on Public Safety.
State Rep. Larry Galizio, a teacher
at Portland Community College and
member of the American Federation of
Teachers-Oregon Local 2277, will
chair the Joint Ways and Means Sub-
committee on Education, which will
work on the education part of the state
budget. He will also serve on Con-
sumer Protection, Joint Ways and
Means, and the Joint Ways and Means
Subcommittee on General Govern-
ment.
As a part-time professor at Portland
State, State Rep. Mitch Greenlick is a
member of American Federation of
Teachers-Oregon. Greenlick, who last
year sponsored an unsuccessful at-
tempt to qualify a ballot measure de-
claring the right of every Oregonian to
health care, will now chair the House
Health Care Committee and its Sub-
committee on Health Care Access. He
will also serve on the House Education
Committee and its Subcommittee on
Higher Education.
The Oregon Senate has just one
union member — Laurie Monnes
Anderson, who belongs to the Oregon
Nurses Association. She will continue
to chair the Senate Health Policy &
Public Affairs Committee, and will
serve on the Senate’s Special Commit-
tee on Health Care Reform, and the
Business, Transportation & Workforce
Development, Health & Human Ser-
vices, and Rules Committees.
AFL-CIO legislative conference
set Saturday, Jan. 27, in Portland
A legislative conference for union
members will be held Saturday, Jan.
27, at Sheet Metal Workers Local 16’s
Training Center, 2379 NE 178th Ave.,
Portland.
The conference, held traditionally
at the start of the legislative session,
will give union members and leaders
an opportunity to meet with state law-
makers and other elected officials to
hear and share views on the state of
Oregon.
Workshops will be geared toward
affordable health care, energy policy,
workforce and organizing.
Additionally, union members new
to the legislative process will have an
opportunity to learn lobbying skills and
techniques.
The conference, sponsored by the
Labor Education and Research Center
of the University of Oregon, begins at
8:30 a.m. and ends at 3:30 p.m. Cost is
$25 for persons affiliated with the Ore-
gon AFL-CIO, and $35 for non-affili-
ates. Lunch will be provided.
For more information, call 503-725-
3295, or from Eugene call 541-346-
5054.
Seaside site of next
AFL-CIO convention
The 50th convention of the Oregon
AFL-CIO will be held Oct. 8-10 at the
Seaside Civic and Convention Center
on the Oregon Coast.
The date and location was an-
nounced at the quarterly meeting of the
state labor federation held Dec. 14.
More information and convention
packets will be provided as the date
nears.
Gradine Storms
Since 2000, Roger G. Worthington, P.C. has donated over $2,500,000
towards medical research into finding a cure for mesothelioma.
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Offices in Los Angeles, Orange County and Dallas, Texas.
Lawyers licensed in California, Oregon and Texas.
PAGE 4
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JANUARY 5, 2007