Unionists rub elbows with lawmakers at legislative forum
By DON McINTOSH
Associate Editor
A chance to chat up Oregon law-
makers and coordinate labor’s lobby-
ing efforts drew over 100 union mem-
bers to a Feb. 3 legislative conference
in Portland. Oregon House Speaker
Jeff Merkley and a half-dozen other
legislators attended the four-hour ses-
sion, as did Labor Commissioner Dan
Gardner, who labor leaders regard as a
rock-solid ally. Political consultant
Steve Novick, who is mulling a 2008
run against Republican U.S. Senator
Gordon Smith, also addressed atten-
dees, earning an enthusiastic recep-
tion.
The conference is a biennial event
organized by the Oregon AFL-CIO
and the Labor Education and Research
Center of the University of Oregon.
This year, participants were notably
optimistic, thanks to the leadership
change in Salem: Democrats control
both houses and the governor’s office,
giving unions their best chance in
years of winning substantive improve-
ments to Oregon labor laws.
Gardner shared an anecdote that il-
lustrated just how different the politi-
cal climate is in Salem this time
around. Two years ago, the labor com-
missioner watched as Republican
Karen Minnis, who was then speaker
of the House, squashed an incredibly
minor bill he had introduced. His
agency, the Bureau of Labor and In-
dustries, accepts legal service when
servers can’t locate farm labor contrac-
tors who operate migrant worker
camps. Gardner wanted to expand that
to all migrant worker camps, not just
those where the residents are employ-
ees of the owner. The bill passed the
Senate and the House committee, only
to have Minnis tell her caucus, “It’s
Dan Gardner’s bill. I want you all to
vote no.” Merkley, who was then
House Minority leader, paid Minnis a
call to argue for the bill on its merits,
and related back to Gardner her re-
sponse: “What makes you think it has
anything to do with the merits of the
bill?”
Such ugly partisan pettiness is out
of fashion now that the Democrats are
in charge again, Gardner said. Democ-
rats will need Republican votes to pass
revenue increases, so while they intend
to use their majority to pass legisla-
tion, revenge isn’t on the agenda.
Instead, the agenda is filled with
pro-active proposals.
Gardner’s office, for example, is
supporting bills to:
• Require overtime pay after 8
hours in one day, instead of after 40
hours in one week. [The bill has an ex-
ception for work weeks that contain
four 10-hour shifts.]
• Require state contractors to sub-
mit a personnel plan showing how
many Oregonians they or their subcon-
tractors intend to employ to accom-
House Representative Greg MacPherson (right) hears from Kevin Card,
legislative director for the Oregon Council of National Association of Letter
Carriers at a Feb. 3 union legislative conference in Portland. Card, it so
happens, is also the person who delivers mail to MacPherson’s Lake Oswego
address.
plish the work [This is meant to avoid
repeat of a recent case where Oregon’s
food stamp hotline was answered by a
call center in India.]
• Allow nursing mothers to take a
30-minute unpaid work break to pump
breast milk while on the job.
The Oregon AFL-CIO, meanwhile,
is pushing a set of bills to make it eas-
ier for nonunion workers to unionize.
House Speaker Merkley, a member
of the AFL-CIO community affiliate
Working America, told attendees he
personally would introduce what is the
capstone of the “freedom to organize”
package: a bill called the Worker Free-
dom Act. The Worker Freedom Act
would make it illegal for Oregon em-
Born to be
Wild?
Cruise on into the Credit
Union and enter the
drawing for the 2007
Dyna Low Rider FXDL
sponsored by Unions for
Kids.
The bike will be on display at
the Credit Union through
March 31st!
PO Box 16877
9955 SE Washington St
Portland, Oregon 97292
www.ibewuwfcu.com
Tickets are $10 each.
Only a total of 3500
tickets will be sold.
Tickets will also be on
sale at our 53rd Annual
Meeting on March 20th.
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ployers to require their employees to
attend anti-union meetings. Such
meetings are a staple of consultant-led
“union-avoidance” campaigns but are
perfectly legal under federal labor law.
Other bills in the package include:
• “Card-check” elections for public
employees — state and local govern-
ment workers would automatically get
union representation once over half of
a unit signed union authorization
cards.
• A ban on using tax dollars to fight
unionizing campaigns — public agen-
cies, as well as private employers that
get state contracts or grants, would not
be allowed to pay consultants or attor-
neys in order to prevent unionization.
• Support for the Employee Free
Choice Act — the Legislature would
go on record in a non-binding resolu-
tion of support for a bill in the U.S.
Congress that would add teeth to
workers’ rights protections in Amer-
ica’s basic labor law.
To stay informed about labor’s ac-
tivities at the Oregon Legislature, sign
up for the Oregon AFL-CIO’s Weekly
Update by sending an e-mail request
to afl-cio@oraflcio.org .
Bruc Holte of ILWU
appointed to Port
of Portland Board
Bruce Holte, a 19-year member of
International Longshore and Ware-
house Union Local 8, has been ap-
pointed to the Port of Portland by Gov.
Ted Kulongoski.
Holte, 47, of Canby, served two
terms as president of Local 8.
He also serves on the Canby Plan-
ning Commission.
The appointment is pending Senate
confirmation. If confirmed, Holte will
join two other union members on the
Port Commission. They are Grant
Zadow of Electrical Workers Local 48
and Ken Allen, executive director of
Oregon AFSCME Council 75.
Zadow’s terms expires in September.
Southgate Mobile & RV Park
7911 SE 82nd Ave.
Portland, Oregon
Spaces Available up to 35’
503-771-5262
Glaziers, Carpenters, Laborers, Electricians, Sheetmetal Workers, Floorcoverers, Bricklayers, Cement Masons, Roofers, Asbestos Workers, Family, Millwrights, Painters, Elevators, Plasterers
FEBRUARY 16, 2007
NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS
PAGE 3