Sizemore held in contempt of court
A Multnomah County judge held
anti-union ballot measure activist Bill
Sizemore in contempt of court May 27
for willfully violating a 2003 court or-
der. The court order came after a law-
suit filed in 2000 by the Oregon Educa-
tion Association and American
Federation of Teachers-Oregon.
In that suit, after a two-week trial, a
Multnomah County Circuit Court jury
found two Sizemore-led organizations
guilty of a pattern of fraud and forgery
to get initiatives on the ballot that were
intended to cause financial harm to the
unions. The judge in the case, Jerome
LaBarre, ordered $2.5 million in dam-
ages. When Sizemore tried to evade the
verdict by creating new organizations,
LaBarre issued an order that, among
other things, barred Sizemore from rais-
ing and spending money for new polit-
ical groups until the court-awarded
damages were paid.
But Sizemore didn’t pay, and in
2006, he raised and spent money for a
new initiative campaign, which didn’t
make it to the ballot. The unions asked
that he be held in contempt of court for
that.
Multnomah County Circuit Court
Judge Janice Wilson rejected Size-
more’s argument that he didn’t under-
stand the court order, and ruled that he
“chose to ignore” it.
“Mr. Sizemore is a very bright man,”
BILL SIZEMORE
Judge Wilson said. “He knew that the
words [of the court order] meant some-
thing.”
Jail, the judge declared, wouldn’t be
appropriate or necessary. But the judge
is ordering that Sizemore pay the plain-
tiffs’ attorneys fees for pursuing the
contempt of court case, which could be
tens of thousands of dollars. And Wil-
son is adding the amount Sizemore
raised — about $35,500 — to the
amount he still owes the unions. That’s
about $500,000. [An appeals court re-
duced the earlier award to $500,000.]
“This is what we have to do to get
compliance with the jury award and the
injunction,” said AFT-Oregon Execu-
tive Director Richard Schwarz. “Size-
more is very good at proposing laws for
everyone else, but when it comes to
laws that apply to him he thinks he
should be immune.”
The decision is the latest in a series
of court orders against Sizemore’s cir-
cumvention of the courts. In February,
attorneys for OEA and AFT-Oregon
filed a fourth contempt of court charge,
presenting evidence that Sizemore
fraudulently used a sham charitable or-
ganization to funnel money into his po-
litical activities — which he was barred
from doing by LaBarre’s order.
On May 27, Judge Wilson also gave
plaintiffs attorneys the right to subpoena
documents and testimony from Size-
more and his wife to gather more infor-
mation about the Nevada shell organi-
zation.
Parts of LaBarre’s order expire July
25, including a prohibition against Size-
more using funds from charitable non-
profits for political causes. Hartman
said plaintiffs will ask the court to ex-
tend the order another five years.
“There hasn’t been much compliance
so far,” Hartman said, “so we’d like to
give Bill another chance to comply.”
Meanwhile, the original case is still
on appeal before the Oregon Supreme
Court, which heard from both sides last
September but has yet to make a deci-
sion.
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Michael Douglas Anderson, a re-
tired business representative of Sheet
Metal Workers Lo-
cal 16, died May 23
at his home in Van-
couver, Washing-
ton. He was 58.
Anderson joined
Local 16 as an ap-
prentice in October
1968. He worked
for the local as an
organizer from 1995 to 1998 — leav-
ing that job to become a business rep-
resentative for the union. He retired in
April 2005.
Anderson was born in Eugene, Ore-
gon, on March 25, 1950. He attended
high school there before moving to
Vancouver, where he graduated from
Evergreen High School.
He met Janet L. Woodcock through
her brother Jim. The Woodcocks all
went to Madison High School in Port-
land. They were married on April 4,
1968.
According to his daughter,
Michelle, Michael Anderson “was a
Jack of all trades, who loved racing,
guns, and family.”
Anderson was preceded in death by
his father William G. Anderson.
He is survived by his wife; mother,
Doris L. Anderson; a son, Bill; a
daughter, Michelle Rivera and son-in-
law Ben Rivera; four grandchildren;
and brothers Gary and Fred Anderson.
A memorial service was held May
31 at the Sheet Metal Worker Local 16
Union Hall in Portland Oregon.
Donations in Anderson’s name may
be sent to the American Heart Associa-
tion or the American Diabetes Associa-
tion.
Lung cancer claimed Michael
Wayne Howard, a long-time mem-
ber/activist of Service Employees In-
ternational Union Local 49, who died
April 26 at age 51.
Howard worked as a lead janitor for
American Building Maintenance at the
Wells Fargo Center in downtown Port-
land for 30 years. He was active in Lo-
cal 49, serving as a chief steward, ser-
geant-at-arms, as a member of the
bargaining team
for the citywide
master janitorial
agreement, and as
a volunteer mem-
ber organizer.
Howard was a
familiar face at
rallies, marches,
and picket lines to
support fellow
union members.
He was a mentor
to new stewards,
helped hundreds
of nonunion jani-
tors join the union, and spent countless
hours knocking on doors and making
phone calls to help get pro-union can-
didates elected.
In 2003, he was the first recipient of
the Emory F. Via Workers Education
Award for outstanding achievement in
activating co-workers and promoting
social justice. The award was presented
at the Oregon AFL-CIO convention in
September 2003.
Howard was born May 28, 1956, in
Baton Rouge, Louisiana. His family
moved to Portland when he was a
child. He attended King and Sabin ele-
mentary schools, and graduated from
Benson High School in 1974.
He met his wife, Lena Lewis, in
1981, and they were together for over
26 years. They married in 2007.
Howard is survived by his wife;
two sons, Michael Howard, Jr., and An-
dre Avent; nine grandchildren; his fa-
ther, the Rev. Felton Howard; three
brothers; three sisters; and many nieces
and nephews.
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