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About Northwest labor press. (Portland , Ore.) 1987-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 2, 2007)
Let me say this about that It’s time to repeal ...Career of Dan Faddis the ‘double majority’ (From Page 2) members still living. Fast’s activity beyond the labor movement includes 54 years of membership in the Masonic Lodge. BILL AND BEVERLY FAST were married in 1962 in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho; both had been married previously. They have two daughters, two sons, seven grand- children, eight great-grandchildren, four great-great-grandchildren and two adopted daughters who are granddaughters whose parents were unable to care for them. ONE SON, William Lloyd Fast, followed his father into the Merchant Marine, but later worked as a member of the Boilermakers Union and is now retired and liv- ing in Portland. Another son, Phil Fast, lives in Arizona. Daughter Margery Ellen Grieve lives in Portland, and daughter Frances LuAnn Prixley lives in Gresham. The adopted daughters are LaVonna Fast and Angeliquie Grass, who live in the Portland area. ★★★ DANIEL L. FADDIS of Portland, a longtime member of International Broth- erhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 48, died Nov. 25, 2006 at age 81, and his obituary was published in the Northwest Labor Press. However, his family re- cently compiled a detailed account of his career, and information from it follows. Dan Faddis was the director of training at the Metro Electrical Training Center, a facility in Portland at one time operated by IBEW Local 48, but under Faddis’s leadership was brought under the joint sponsorship of the union and the National Electrical Contractors Association (NECA). A native Portlander and a World War II veteran, he spent many years shaping the Metro Training Center into the highest-ranked in the nation for schooling apprentices and for keeping journeymen and journeywomen edu- cated about the newest developments in their trade. FADDIS GRADUATED in 1954 from the inside wiremen’s electrical ap- prenticeship program, but he had begun working as an IBEW member years be- fore. He had earlier served as treasurer and recording secretary of Local 48 and as unit manager for the electricians who worked on construction of The Dalles Dam. DAN FADDIS He was one of the first to earn an as- sociate degree in vocational teacher ed- ucation from Portland Community College and later was involved in the industrial education program at Oregon State University, where he earned a bachelor’s de- gree. He worked as an instructor in Local 48’s apprenticeship program for five years before being appointed director of training in 1964. He held the post for more than 20 years before retiring. He became known throughout the country as the “Dean of Training Directors.” FADDIS WAS INVOLVED in a multitude of activities over the years. He was an officer of the Oregon/SW Washington Apprenticeship Coordinators Group, an Oregon Building Congress Guildsman of the Year and received three Service to the IBEW Awards. He also was presented with awards from NECA and from the Fed- eral Bureau of Apprenticeship and Training. He was inducted into the Oregon Ap- prenticeship Hall of Fame by the Oregon State Department of Education. He was in- stalled in the National Hall of Fame of the United States Apprenticeship Association. Faddis also received other accolades for his contributions to apprenticeship training and to the electrical industry. ★★★ MARY S. DIETZ, of Gladstone, a charter member of Portland-based Office and Professional Employees Local 11, died Jan. 21 of heart failure at the age of 89. She had worked as a bookkeeper for Operating Engineers Local 701, Waitresses Local 305 and Egg & Poultry Workers Local 231. She often worked on the delegate registration desk at Oregon AFL-CIO conventions. She was born on Sept. 5, 1917 in North Dakota and moved with her family to Portland in 1923. They later moved to Canby where she graduated from high school. In 1940 she married Ralph R. Dietz, a member of Auto Mechanics Local 1005, and they made their home in Gladstone. He died in 1980. A FUNERAL MASS was conducted for Mrs. Dietz on Jan. 26 at St. John The Apostle Catholic Church in Oregon City. Survivors include her sister, Jean Miller, a niece, Helen Gourde; and a nephew, Rick Soderberg. Memorial contributions can be sent to St. Vincent dePaul Society. Funeral arrangements were by Holman, Hankins, Bowker & Waud. FEBRUARY 2, 2007 By KEN ALLEN While the 2007 Oregon Legislature is just beginning to pick up steam, al- ready there’s one measure introduced that I believe deserves support. It’s Senate Joint Resolution (SJR) 10, and it would eliminate most of the ‘dou- ble- majority’ requirements that plague Oregon election law. Before I speak to the merits of the measure, let’s make one point clear: SJR 10 doesn’t itself change the law. Instead, if passed, SJR 10 would call on Oregonians to once again consider the issue at the ballot box. After sev- eral years of dealing with the conse- quences of the double majority, we be- lieve that’s an opportunity most Ore- gonians would welcome. Here’s a quick history lesson. The double majority was the brainchild of anti-taxes, anti-union, pretty much anti-everything Bill Sizemore. (This occurred several years before a jury found Sizemore liable of election-re- lated fraud and racketeering in a civil lawsuit.) The double-majority law says that any property tax increase must both be approved by a 50 percent ma- jority of those voting and that at least 50 percent of those registered to vote must cast a ballot. In other words, if there’s only a 49 percent turnout, there’s no need to even count the ballots. It doesn’t mat- ter if 99 percent of those who took the time to vote said “Yes.” In essence, every single person in the 51 percent who didn’t vote is counted as a “No,” and that’s not right. Sizemore and other proponents KEN ALLEN love to compare the double majority to the concept of a “quorum.” If a quo- rum of a city council isn’t seated, they argue, that body can’t conduct busi- ness. That argument may even sound OK at first blush, but then you have to consider where we live. Because in 2007, if there’s any state in the country where the “quorum con- cept” doesn’t hold water, it’s vote-by- mail Oregon. Here, a full 100 percent quorum is reached in every election, because every registered voter receives a ballot and has over two weeks to re- turn it. You don’t have to worry about the difficulty of getting out to a polling place if you’re handicapped or dis- abled, you don’t need to worry about bad weather or having the flu on Elec- tion Day and so on. Every voter is “in the room” once he or she receives their ballot. Change to Win responds to Bush’s State of Union speech (Following is a statement by Change to Win Chair Anna Burger regarding President Bush’s State of the Union Ad- dress on Jan. 23.) In today’s rapidly changing global economy, fewer and fewer workers be- lieve they can achieve the American Dream, and they worry even more for their children. But during tonight’s state of the union, they didn’t hear President Bush address their state of concern on issues like stagnant wages and retirement security. The president acknowledged sky- rocketing health care costs, another reason the Dream is slipping away for so many working families. But our health care system is broken. The pres- ident’s plan to penalize the shrinking number of Americans fortunate enough to have insurance won’t con- tain costs or expand coverage. We need fundamental reform so every man, woman and child has access to the quality, affordable health care they NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS need. We are encouraged by the presi- dent’s renewed call for Congress to pass meaningful immigration reform. The seven major unions in Change to Win support a realistic and compre- hensive solution that provides a path- way to citizenship for the estimated 11 million hardworking, taxpaying immi- grants in this country. However, we see the recent Immi- gration and Custom Enforcement (ICE) raids at meatpacking facilities across the country counter to the presi- dent’s words. And at a time when Americans are engaged in a serious di- alogue about our broken immigration system, the Bush Administration’s own trade policies would do nothing to stem the flow of illegal immigra- tion. We urge President Bush and the new Congress to get serious about restoring the American Dream. That means forging real solutions on health care, immigration, retirement and jobs. Open Forum Once that ballot is in your hand, it’s your responsibility to participate. In- deed, as mentioned, the biggest argu- ment against the double majority is the fact that people who don’t vote are in essence counted as “No” votes. That includes people who have moved, peo- ple who have died or others who, for whatever reason, aren’t off each county’s election rolls. The double majority has a history now, and it’s not a good one. We’ve seen proposed levies for countless fire districts, libraries, water districts and others easily pass a majority of those who voted only to be vetoed by those who didn’t. The double majority is a slap in the face at the fundamental tenets of democracy, and again, Ore- gon’s unique vote-by-mail system erases its proponents biggest sound bite. Please note SJR 10 doesn’t change everything. If you’re concerned about jurisdictions trying to “sneak” levies and such in off-cycle elections, that part of the law wouldn’t change. Prop- erty tax elections would still have to be held on regular primary and general election dates. Nationally, Oregon has always been seen as a leader, a place where we’re willing to take chances and try new ideas. Vote-by-mail was one such idea, and it’s been a good one — several states are now in the process of copy- ing our law. The double majority has not been a good idea — and it’s OK for us to col- lectively admit that. At the very least, the concept deserves another round of statewide debate, and that’s what SJR 10 would do. I encourage you to contact your state legislators and urge them to make SJR 10 a priority this session. We need to open the door for a full examination of this important topic once again. (Editor’s Note: Ken Allen is the ex- ecutive director of Oregon Council 75 of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, which represents over 27,000 workers in Oregon.) PAGE 11
