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About Northwest labor press. (Portland , Ore.) 1987-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 7, 2011)
Top Dems debate, seeking Oregon AFL-CIO backing EUGENE — All three top Demo- cratic candidates for Congress in Ore- gon’s First District debated Sept. 27 at the invitation of the Oregon AFL-CIO, the state’s premier federation of labor unions. The debate — on issues impor- tant to working people — took place in Eugene on day two of the Oregon AFL- CIO’s biennial convention. Afterward, union delegates had their own debate over whether and whom to endorse. A Nov. 8 primary will determine which of the three will go on to the Jan. 31, 2012 special election to succeed U.S. Representative David Wu, who re- signed in August. The district includes Northwest Oregon as far east as the West side of Portland. Republican can- didates were also invited to address the convention, but declined to take part. State Representative Brad Witt of Clatskanie — who was the Oregon AFL-CIO’s number two officer for 14 years — appeared to have the strongest support among delegates, but Labor Commissioner Brad Avakian and State Senator Suzanne Bonamici also have close relationships with organized labor. All three presented themselves as pro- union candidates in the debate. On trade, Witt had the strongest po- sition, pledging to seek renegotiation of all trade agreements going back to NAFTA. Witt and Avakian said they would vote against pending NAFTA- style trade agreements with Korea, Colombia and Panama, but Bonamici was non-committal, saying only that she’d look at each agreement to see if it would create jobs, and that she supports funding benefits for workers who lose jobs due to foreign competition. To shore up Social Security’s fi- nances for the long term, all three can- didates said they support eliminating the income cap on the Social Security payroll tax. Right now, only the first $106,800 of annual income is subject to the Social Security taxes; those with higher incomes pay nothing on income above that. The three candidates also seemed to agree that federal education policies like the No Child Left Behind Act and Pres- ident Obama’s Race To The Top are the wrong approach. No Child Left Behind punishes public schools if students per- form below average on standardized tests, while Race To The Top gives money to states if they encourage char- ter schools. Avakian said one of his first acts would be to introduce a bill to re- peal the No Child Left Behind Act. Bonamici said she wants to repeal the bad parts of the act. Witt said the fed- eral government needs to stop pushing From left to right: Brad Witt, Suzanne Bonamici, and Brad Avakian debate at the Oregon AFL-CIO’s 2011 convention in Eugene. The three Democrats are running for Congress in Oregon’s First Congressional District. The state labor federation made no endorsement. states to promote charter schools. Oregon State Building Trades exec- utive secretary-treasurer John Mohlis asked candidates if they support cre- ation of a federal infrastructure bank. All three agreed. Avakian derided President Obama’s recent call for $50 billion in new infra- structure spending proposal as “very very small,” saying it would create just 5,500 jobs in Oregon at a time when 190,000 Oregonians are out of work. “When is the president going to get serious about putting people back to work?” Avakian asked. Avakian said he wants “a 21st century WPA program” which would use infrastructure invest- ment to put millions back to work. Witt similarly proposed to fund in- frastructure by dedicating funds from a repeal of the Bush tax cuts. Asked what steps they’d take to pass to pass the Employee Free Choice Act, Witt said he’d go further, pressing for legislation to end so-called “right to work” laws, ban permanent replace- ment of striking workers, and grant un- employment benefits to strikers. Avakian said he sponsored the Em- ployee Free Choice Act when he was in the Oregon Legislature. [Presumably he was referring to a law that allows public sector employees to unionize via signed authorization cards.] Bonamici noted her support of an Oregon law banning employers from holding mandatory-at- tendance anti-union meetings. In closing remarks, Avakian re- minded delegates of his background de- fending union members as an attorney, and pledged to make, “Wall Street cor- porations that are bankrupting your pension plans pay their fair share.” Bonamici touted her work as a Le- gal Aid lawyer defending the poor, and said she learned the value of hard work from her grandfather, a union stone ma- son who worked in a coal mine. Witt closed the debate with an ap- peal to labor to elect one of its own to Congress. “As a 30-year union worker, union member and union representa- tive, I know better than any other candi- date in this race what our members face each and every day. From layoffs to union busting, from unfair labor prac- tices to Bill Sizemore, I have fought them all and I have won my fair share.” The debate lasted an hour and was streamed live on the federations web site, oraflcio.org. Oregon AFL-CIO President Tom Chamberlain thanked all three candi- dates for speaking to the issues and not about each other, an observation which drew a standing ovation. “All three of you are strong advo- cates for workers,” Chamberlain said. After the debate, convention dele- gates took up the question of whether and whom to endorse. A proposal to en- dorse whichever candidate prevails in the primary — in effect to make no en- dorsement in the primary — failed to win the required two-thirds superma- jority in a standing vote of delegates. Delegates next debated a proposal to endorse Witt. Arguments from the floor ran strongly in favor of backing him, as one of labor’s own, but that motion also failed to win two-thirds in a vote based on affiliates’ numerical representation. A third motion, to endorse Avakian, was tabled in a voice vote. Oregon Congressman Peter DeFazio: ‘A Message to Labor’ Oregon 4th District Congressman Peter DeFazio addressed delegates and guests Sept. 28 at the Oregon AFL- CIO’s biennial convention in Eugene. It was the third and final day of the meet- ing of delegates to the state’s 112,000- strong federation of labor unions. De- Fazio’s remarks are too lengthy for print. To read his entire message go on- line to www.nwlaborpress.org. Teamsters at Fred Meyer vote to strike TUKWILA — More than 350 Fred Meyer warehouse workers, members of Teamsters Local 117, voted last week- end to strike if a new contract isn’t forthcoming. Workers have continued to pack, pallet, and load goods at the warehouse since their contract extension expired Aug. 15. The distribution center serves approximately 140 stores in Washing- ton, Alaska, and Idaho. At issue is health care insurance. PAGE 4 NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS According to the union, parent com- pany Kroger, whose profits were over $432 million in the first quarter of 2011 alone, is trying to slash health care cov- erage and double out-of-pocket costs. Workers want health care coverage that compares with the coverage offered to Local 117 workers at other local dis- tribution centers. The union has filed 10 unfair labor practice charges against the company, including one for bad-faith bargaining. OCTOBER 7, 2011
