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About Northwest labor press. (Portland , Ore.) 1987-current | View Entire Issue (June 6, 2008)
Obama wins Oregon Democratic primary Change to Win members across Oregon waged an aggressive grassroots effort to help push Barack Obama to victory over Democratic rival Sen. Hillary Clinton in the May 20 primary election. Obama captured 59 percent of the vote to Clinton’s 41 percent. The Change to Win labor federation endorsed Obama earlier this year, while the national AFL-CIO was neutral in the primary. That, however, didn’t stop several international unions from mak- ing endorsements and promoting their favorites. AFL-CIO affiliates supporting Obama included the Boilermakers; Plumbers and Fitters; Utility Workers Union; the International Longshore and Warehouse Union; and the American Federation of Government Employees. Oregon AFSCME Council 75 also endorsed Obama, even though its inter- national union campaigned for Clinton. Change to Win affiliates endorsing Obama were United Food and Com- mercial Workers, the Teamsters, UNITE HERE, and the Service Em- ployees International Union. b h m k According to Change to Win, it has 80,000 members in Oregon. “Change to Win members and vol- unteers pushed Sen. Barack Obama to victory in the Beaver State, bringing him the majority of pledged delegates and within reach of clinching the De- mocratic nomination for the president of the United States of America,” said Executive Director Greg Tarpinian. “Now it’s time for the Democratic Party to unite together for victory in November and bring the change work- ing families need.” Tarpinian, who will be leaving the federation July 6 to return to the New York-based Labor Research Associa- tion, said its volunteers made more than 150,000 phone calls; knocked on nearly 30,000 doors targeting areas in North/Northeast and Southeast Port- land, and Gresham; sent hundreds of thousands of direct mail pieces to De- mocratic households; helped manage get-out-the-vote staging locations in Portland and Tigard; and conducted member-to-member education efforts at worksites throughout the state. Bennett Hartman Morris & Kaplan, llp Attorneys at Law Oregon’s Full Service Union Law Firm Representing Workers Since 1960 Serious Injury and Death Cases • Construction Injuries • Automobile Accidents • Medical, Dental, and Legal Malpractice • Bicycle and Motorcycle Accidents • Pedestrian Accidents • Premises Liability (injuries on premises) • Workers’ Compensation Injuries • Social Security Claims We Work Hard for Hard-Working People! 111 SW Fifth Avenue, Suite 1650 Portland, Oregon 97204 (503) 227-4600 www.bennetthartman.com Our Legal Staff are Proud Members of UFCW Local 555 PAGE 2 UFCW Local 555 rallying for Obama Members and leadership of United Food and Commercial Workers Local 555 rallied with Oregon Congressman Earl Blumenauer May 19 on behalf of Barack Obama’s presidential campaign. The rally took place at Obama’s campaign office at SE 30th and Division in Portland the day before the Oregon primary election in which Obama won by a margin of 55-45 percent. Blumenauer is an Obama superdelegate, and UFCW was one of the first unions to endorse the Illinois senator’s campaign. Columbia Pacific Building Trades Council’s May primary endorsements get mixed results Nine of 12 candidates endorsed by the Columbia Pacific Building and Construction Trades Council in the Ore- gon primary were successful May 20. At the City of Portland, the building trades backed Mayor-elect Sam Adams, Commissioner Randy Leonard, and Nick Fish. Leonard is an incumbent and Fish was running in a special election for a seat vacated by Erik Sten. In Multnomah County, Deborah Kafoury and Judy Shiprack were the top vote-getters in their respective races. Kafoury received 87 percent of the vote and will take office in January 2009. Shiprack garnered 37 percent of the vote and will face runnerup Mike Del- man (18 percent) in November. 7LUHG %HHVRQ &KLURSUDFWLF LQ 3$,1" 0RVW,QVXUDQFH 3ODQV$FFHSWHG 3 P 528'/< ROUDLY 6 S (59,1* ERVING ORTLAND W 3 P 257/$1' : ORKERS 25.(56 F OR O VER 32 Y EARS ) 25 2 9(5 < ($56 Local 2746. In District 4, where the seat was open, Dirk Rohne defeated endorsed candidate Cary Johnson by a margin of 62-38 percent. In Columbia County, CPBCTC- backed incumbent Joe Corsiglia lost to challenger Earl Fisher 5,189 to 3,014 in the Democratic primary. Fisher had en- dorsements from United Food and Commercial Workers Local 555, Teamsters, Oregon School Employees Association. and IBEW Local 48. Fisher will take on Republican War- ren Nakkela in November. CPBCTC issued an early endorse- ment for Columbia County Commis- sioner Tony Hyde. The Republican in- cumbent will face Democrat Pat Zimmerman in November. Neither can- didate was challenged in the primary. KHOSVEULQJWKH UHOLHI\RXQHHG RI :RUNLQJ In Clackamas County, Craig Rob- erts was re-elected sheriff while Lynn Peterson and Martha Schrader were re- elected easily to the county commis- sion. All were endorsed by the CP- BCTC. Trent Tidwell, an Oregon City commissioner, lost in his bid for a seat on the newly expanded Clackamas County Board of Commissioners. He finished fourth in a seven-person race. In Clatsop County, CPBCTC- en- dorsed Commission Chairwoman Patri- cia Roberts received 41 percent of the vote to finish second behind Jim Scheller (46 percent). Because there was a third candidate in the race, the two will square off again this fall. Scheller was endorsed by AFSCME 7UHDWPHQWIRUSDLQGXHWR RYHUXVHDQGUHSHWLWLYHPRWLRQ &KLURSUDFWLFDGMXVWPHQWV 7UHDWPHQWIRUDFFLGHQWDQG VSRUWVUHODWHGLQMXULHV 5HKDELOLWDWLRQH[HUFLVHV 7KHUDSHXWLFPDVVDJH ,QWHUQDOGLDJQRVLVDQGWUHDWPHQW /DEWHVWVDQG[UD\V (International Standard Serial Number 0894-444X) Established in 1900 at Portland, Oregon as a voice of the labor movement. 4275 NE Halsey St., P.O. Box 13150, Portland, Ore. 97213 Telephone: (503) 288-3311 E-mail: Michael492@comcast.net Editor: Michael Gutwig Staff: Don McIntosh, Cheri Rice Published on a semi-monthly basis on the first and third Fridays of each month by the Oregon Labor Press Publishing Co. Inc., a non- profit corporation owned by 20 unions and councils including the Oregon AFL-CIO. Serving more than 120 union organizations in Ore- gon and SW Washington. Subscriptions $13.75 per year for union members. Group rates available to trade union organizations. PERIODICALS POSTAGE PAID AT PORTLAND, OREGON. 'U'DQ%HHVRQ&KLURSUDFWRU 6(7KLUWHHQWK$YHLQ6HOOZRRG CHANGE OF ADDRESS NOTICE: Three weeks are required for a change of address. When ordering a change, please give your old and new addresses and the name and number of your local union. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS, P.O. BOX 13150-0150, PORTLAND, OR 97213 &$// NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS JUNE 6, 2008
