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About Northwest labor press. (Portland , Ore.) 1987-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 7, 2011)
...Convention action (From Page 8) “[They’re] new members of the AFL- CIO, your neighbors, the folks who don’t have the benefit of a union on the job, but want to be part of a power to change this state and this country.” Nussbaum said the Working Amer- ica canvass results in 20,000 conversa- tions a week around the country, and a pretty good sense of the public mood: angry, isolated, and despairing. “The foundational problem that we face as a labor movement is that far too few people believe in collective power,” Nussbaum said. “They have no experi- ence with it. It’s only union members any more who have experience with collective power.” Working America, Nussbaum said, is an attempt to extend that power to a wider public. Other guest speakers included Ar- lene Holt-Baker, national AFL-CIO ex- ecutive vice president, and Bob Baugh, executive director of the AFL-CIO In- dustrial Union Council. Delegates also heard from a succession of political leaders. Besides the three Congres- sional candidates and Kotek, guest speakers included both of Oregon’s U.S. Senators — Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden — as well as Congressman Pe- ter DeFazio, Oregon Gov. John Kitzhaber, Oregon Senate Majority Leader Diane Rosenbaum, and Eugene Mayor Kitty Piercy. And delegates took a break Sept. 27 to march to the nearby Wayne Morse Free Speech Plaza for a 100-strong rally to Save America’s Postal Service. Unions are campaigning to get Con- gress to modify an unusual retiree health coverage pre-funding require- ment, which they say is pushing the U.S. Postal Service toward default and large-scale service cuts and post office closures. E LECTING L EADERSHIP Delegates approved the federation’s leadership for the next few years. Pres- ident Tom Chamberlain and Secretary- OCTOBER 7, 2011 treasurer Barbara Byrd were re-elected without opposition. Elected to the Ore- gon AFL-CIO’s nine-member Execu- tive Committee were: Ken Allen, Ore- gon AFSCME; Kelly Bach, Fire Fighters; Paul Goldberg, Oregon Nurses Association; Jim Gourley, Steel- workers Local 1189; Clif Davis, Elec- trical Workers Local 48; Jon Hunt, Amalgamated Transit Union Local 757; John Mohlis, Oregon State Building Trades Council; Steve Wilson, Ma- chinists Lodge W24; and Cj Mann for the central labor councils. Also elected were at-large members of the larger Ex- ecutive Board of which the Executive Committee is a part: Pat Smith, Painters and Allied Trades District Council 5; Tim Frew, Electrical Workers Local 280; Mark Holiday, Operating Engi- neers Local 701; Lou Christian, Plumbers and Fitters Local 290; Gary Gillespie, AFSCME Council 75; Kevin Card, Letter Carriers Branch 82; Bon- nie Luisi, Oregon School Employees Association; Bob Petroff, Machinists Lodge W24; Ken Saether, Communica- tion Workers Local 7906; Jeff Smith, Longshore and Warehouse Union Lo- cal 8; Harold Fleshman, Oregon Nurses Association; Tim Roark, American Federation of Government Employees; David Tischer, Laborers Local 320; Bruce Fife, Musicians; and Tom Holden, Steelworkers Local 6163. The new Executive Board was sworn into office immediately after the convention adjourned. A WARDS AND R ECOGNITION Several honors were given out over the course of the convention. On Day One, a group of Portland taxi drivers were brought to the podium, where Communications Workers of America Local 7901 Madelyn Elder described their gutsy campaign to form a union- ized taxi cab cooperative based on a similar effort in Denver. On Day Three, AFL-CIO affiliated unions and individ- uals were recognized for political and The Oregon AFL-CIO gave out several honors at the Eugene convention (see the article with this photo for details of the awards). From left are Matt Hilton of Oregon AFSCME; Leah Okin and Roger Gayton of IATSE Local 28; Jeannette Turner of CWA Local 7901; Oregon AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Barbara Byrd; Jim Gourley of United Steelworkers; Gary Gillespie, president of Oregon AFSCME; and Bonnie Luisi and David Rives of OSEA/AFT. organizing achievements: • Willy Myers of Sheet Metal Local 16, for developing a program to train new union members about the labor movement; third year apprentices in Local 16 take part in a week-long in- tensive training about labor history, workers’ rights laws, and the reasons for labor’s involvement in politics. • Jim (and Lisa) Gourley of United Steelworkers, for outstanding partici- pation in Labor 2010, as the AFL- CIO’s 2010 electoral effort was dubbed. • Oregon School Employees Asso- ciation (OSEA) and Communications Workers of America (CWA) Local 7901 for largest private-sector organiz- NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS ing victories — OSEA’s campaign to unionize 110 First Student school bus drivers at Gresham-Barlow school dis- trict, and CWA’s unionization vote among 150 workers at Dosha Salon Spa. • Oregon AFSCME for the largest public sector organizing victory — 165 City of Lake Oswego workers who joined in November 2010. • Oregon AFSCME, again, for out- standing statewide involvement in La- bor 2010. • American Federation of Teachers (AFT)-Oregon and its affiliate Oregon School Employees Association (OSEA) for dedicating the most staff to work on the Oregon AFL-CIO’s Labor 2010 political campaign; leading up to the November 2010 election, OSEA deployed nearly 30 temporary cam- paign workers to do member outreach. • International Alliance of Theatri- cal Stage Employees Local 28 for high- est percentage of membership involve- ment; up to 20 percent of the membership took part in events organ- ized by the Oregon AFL-CIO. “Brothers and sisters, we have so much at stake right now,” Chamberlain declared, closing the convention. “This is a moment in history that will never happen again. It’s either going to get better or it’s going to get worse, and we can make that decision if we walk out that door as one.” PAGE 9
