...Labor’s
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1638 NE Broadway, Portland
JUNE 6, 2008
Dembrow’s district, the union turnout
was 6.2 percentage points higher.
Union activists also celebrated the
wins of other endorsed candidates on
election night.
• State Sen. Kurt Schrader will be
the Democratic nominee for Congress
in Oregon’s 5th District and will face
Republican businessman Mike Erick-
son in November. Incumbent Democ-
rat Darlene Hooley is retiring.
• Democratic congressional incum-
bents David Wu, Earl Blumenauer and
Peter DeFazio each won their primary
races by wide margins.
• Nick Kahl, who had numerous la-
bor endorsements, including the Ore-
Carpenters, Electricians, Laborers, Glaziers, Sheetmetal Workers, Floorcoverers, Bricklayers, Cement Masons, Roofers, Asbestos Workers, Millwrights, Painters, Elevators, Plasterers,
Broadway Floral
It was all smiles for first-time candidate and union leader Michael Dembrow
(right), winner of the May primary in Oregon House District 45. Above, he
celebrates with Melissa Unger of Service Employees International Union.
gon AFL-CIO, won by 300 votes in
East Multnomah County’s House Dis-
trict 49, the seat currently held by for-
mer Republican House Speaker Karen
Minnis. Kahl will face Republican
John Nelsen in November.
• Democratic State Sen. Kate
Brown, who was supported by SEIU
Locals 503 and 49, the Oregon Edu-
cation Association, and the Oregon
State Building and Construction
Trades Council (in a three-way co-en-
dorsement) in her race for secretary of
state, won her party’s nomination and
will face Republican Rick Dancer.
Two other labor-friendly Democrats
— State Senators Rick Metsger and
Political newcomer John Kroger (left) won the Democratic primary for
attorney general with the help of organized labor. No candidate from another
party filed to run, so Kroger will be sworn in next January. Joining Kroger
at the Benson Hotel on election night is his brother, Bill.
Vickie Walker — also sought the post,
all with some labor support. Metsger
and Walker are both in mid-term, so
they’ll be back on the Senate floor
when the 2009 Legislature convenes in
January.
• Union Carpenter and organizer Ed
Glad had strong union backing in his
bid for the Republican nomination in
Oregon House District 24 in Yamhill
County. His campaign received en-
dorsements and contributions from the
Carpenters, AFSCME, SEIU, the
American Federation of Teachers,
Oregon Nurses Association, Oregon
Education Association, and United
Food and Commercial Workers Local
555. Glad got 1,703 votes, 24 percent
of the total, in a three way race. He
outpolled former U.S. Congressman
and one-time Oregon Republican
Party chief Jim Bunn, but lost to soft-
ware developer and restaurant owner
Jim Weidner.
Carpenters, Electricians, Laborers, Glaziers, Sheetmetal Workers, Floorcoverers, Bricklayers, Cement Masons, Roofers, Asbestos Workers, Millwrights, Painters, Elevators, Plasterers, Family
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Carpenters, Electricians, Laborers, Glaziers, Sheetmetal Workers, Floorcoverers, Bricklayers, Cement Masons, Roofers, Asbestos Workers, Millwrights, Painters, Elevators,
(From Page 1)
31,250 doors, and sent over 300,000
pieces of mail, according to a tally dis-
tributed by SEIU on election night.
Early union endorsements also
helped legitimize candidates — like
Kroger, who was relatively unknown.
And union political action commit-
tees (PACs) wrote some big checks,
especially in the race for attorney gen-
eral. Union committees contributed
close to $380,000 to Kroger’s cam-
paign, over half of the total Kroger
raised. Almost all of that came from
SEIU ($312,500) and the Oregon Edu-
cation Association ($50,000); The In-
ternational Brotherhood of Electrical
Workers gave $10,000, and five other
unions gave lesser amounts.
Unions were the source of most of
the $51,000 in cash and $65,000 in in-
kind contributions Dembrow raised in
House District 45.
And union-run and union-sup-
ported PACs also contributed at least
$143,000 to the Merkley campaign,
according to filings with the Federal
Elections Commission.
Merkley spokesperson Matt Canter
said labor support was a pivotal factor
in Merkley’s primary win. “The men
and women of the union movement
did tremendous outreach,” Canter said,
“and talked to members about what
Jeff did in the Legislature.”
“It was absolutely critical that we
deliver that win for him,” said Orr, the
Oregon AFL-CIO spokesperson. “Jeff
Merkley has been the most pro-union
speaker of the House in decades, and
passed a sweeping slate of pro-worker
legislation. The bottom line is if peo-
ple are going to stand with us, we’ve
got to stand with them.”
Turnout by members of AFL-CIO
unions and Working America was 62.2
percent — 5.1 percentage points
higher than the general public. And in
Carpenters, Electricians, Laborers, Glaziers, Sheetmetal Workers, Floorcoverers, Bricklayers, Cement Masons, Roofers, Asbestos Workers, Millwrights, Painters, Elevators, Plasterers, Family
NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS
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