APRIL 1, 2011:NWLP
3/29/11
10:10 AM
Page 12
Oregon AFSCME recommits to message of solidarity
EUGENE — At Oregon AFSCME
Council 75’s convention March 11-13,
delegates voted to create a new media
fund and to build up the union’s politi-
cal fund. They also elected new officers,
and heard reports from Wisconsin and
from AFSCME’s national leadership.
The biennial convention drew 200-plus
delegates, alternates and guests to the
Hilton Eugene Hotel and Conference
Center.
Oregon AFSCME is the statewide
council of the 1.5-million-member
American Federation of State County
and Municipal Employees, and repre-
sents over 27,000 members employed
in state and local government agencies,
hospitals and non-profit organizations.
About 150 local unions are affiliated
from nearly every Oregon county, from
4,000-member Local 328 at Oregon
Health & Science University in Port-
land to three-member Local 1329 at the
City of Prineville Railway.
On March 11, convention-goers
were joined by hundreds of others to
rally 600-strong in solidarity with pub-
lic workers in Wisconsin who are fight-
ing an effort to strip them of their rights
to collective bargaining. Deb Kidney,
formerly of AFSCME Local 189 and
now a trainer for national AFSCME,
told rally-goers about the 10 days she
spent in Wisconsin helping the fight-
back. Kidney was posted to Green Bay,
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where she helped organize a phone
campaign to pressure Republican legis-
lators not to vote for the bill. Later, at a
mass rally in Wisconsin Feb. 21, she
was pressed into service as a security
detail for musicians, including Tom
Morello of Rage Against the Machine.
“Oh my God it was cold,” Kidney
told the Labor Press. “There were five
musicians. They’d sing like two songs
and their fingers would freeze up. But
it was the most inspiring thing. You
can’t be part of that and not be moved.”
AFSCME International Secretary-
Treasurer Lee Saunders told delegates
on Saturday that union members in
Wisconsin, Ohio and elsewhere can feel
the support of members in Oregon.
Oregon AFSCME members have
paid $3 per month into a dedicated Bal-
lot Measure Fund to do battle with anti-
union initiatives. Delegates lowered that
to $2.50 and diverted 50 cents to media
and political efforts: 30 cents will go to
the Council’s Political Action Fund, to
be used on local elections, and 20 cents
will go to a new Media Fund, giving
Oregon AFSCME the ability to pur-
chase advertising to promote members
and the work they do.
Delegates also voted to cap the Ore-
gon AFSCME Strike Fund at $1 mil-
lion. Whenever the Strike Fund reaches
that amount, the 20 cents per month that
funds it will go toward the Media Fund.
Instantaneous solidarity: On Day Two of its biennial convention, Oregon
AFSCME drafted delegates for an impromptu phone bank to aid fellow
public employee union members in Wisconsin. Public employees there face an
all-out assault on their collective bargaining rights. Oregon AFSCME
convention delegates (like Matt Hilton and Michael Stewart of OHSU Local
328, above) were given lists of Wisconsin voters, and used their cell phones to
call them from the convention floor, urging them to contact their Wisconsin
state legislators to oppose the attacks.
“We get a lot of queries from mem-
bers as to why we don’t do more to tell
our story,” Oregon AFSCME Public Af-
fairs Director Don Loving explained.
Now, Loving said, the union will be
able to augment “earned” media with
NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS
paid ads in print, radio, television, and
on billboards.
Delegates also elected the statewide
officers of Oregon AFSCME. Gary
Gillespie, a City of Eugene library aide,
won election to a sixth two-year term as
president, defeating corrections worker
Tina Turner-Morfitt. Michael Hanna, a
database administrator at Multnomah
County (and president of Local 88), was
elected as first vice president, defeating
incumbent Cj Mann of Local 3267
(Lane County Housing and Community
Services Agency). Incumbent Bryan
Branstetter of Local 3361 (Eastern Ore-
gon Correctional Institution) ran unop-
posed for second vice president, and
Marcie Jo Carlton of Local 328
(OHSU) ran unopposed for secretary,
succeeding Janice Larkin of Local 2831
(Lane County) who retired after hold-
ing the office 20 years. Incumbent Jeff
Klatke of Local 3135 (Housing Author-
ity of Portland) also ran unopposed, for
treasurer.
Elections also took place for the Ex-
ecutive Committee, which meets
monthly to direct Oregon AFSCME.
Voting members include the five
statewide officers above, plus 11 vice
presidents representing each of seven
employer sectors and each of Oregon’s
five Congressional districts.
Oregon AFSCME has a larger Exec-
utive Board that meets quarterly, with
about 75 members elected proportion-
ally, roughly on the basis of member-
ship of the locals.
For complete election results, go to
Oregon AFSCME Council 75’s web
site at www.oregonafscme.com.
APRIL 1, 2011