Nesbitt discusses future of labor at retirees conference
Oregon Alliance for
Retired Americans
holds 9th annual
convention in Portland
In a remarkably candid speech to the
annual convention of the Oregon Al-
liance for Retired Americans (OARA),
former Oregon AFL-CIO president
Tim Nesbitt said it's time for public sec-
tor unions to re-examine their leader-
ship roles and for all of labor to re-ex-
amine its organizing models if it wants
to survive.
Approximately 50 retirees attended
the 9th annual conference of the OARA
held March 10 in Portland. The Al-
liance for Retired Americans is affili-
ated with the AFL-CIO, with chapters
in 31 states.
“Whence the Middle Class?’ was
the theme of this year’s conference.
“Looking back over the last 12
years, the last 20 years, the last 30
years, if the measure of the success of
the union movement is making sure
that working people get their fair share
of what they contributed to the econ-
omy, we have failed. Or there has been
a failure despite our best efforts,” said
Nesbitt, who served as president of the
Oregon AFL-CIO from 1999 to 2005.
“If workers had simply shared in the
productivity gains of this economy, we
would not have the poverty inequality
we have now. It would be a very differ-
ent situation. So it does force some re-
examination,” he said.
Earlier at the conference, Jason Get-
tle, a policy analyst for the Oregon Cen-
ter for Public Policy, reported that over
the last decade Oregon has led the na-
tion in worker productivity gains. In
2001, a typical Oregon worker pro-
duced about $57,000 worth of goods
and services in today’s dollars. By
2010, productivity had increased to
about $76,000.
“That translates to a growth in pro-
ductivity of 32 percent — over three
times the national increase of 9.8 per-
cent over the same period,” Gettle said.
Yet, despite that economic growth,
the average Oregon worker wage, ad-
justed for inflation, actually declined by
10 percent since 1979, to a median in-
come of $30,327.
By contrast, those at the top of Ore-
gon’s income scale saw their incomes
soar. The average income of the top 1
percent was about $635,000 in 2009
(the most recent year with data avail-
able). That’s nearly double the infla-
tion-adjusted average of about
$340,000 for the top 1 percent in 1979.
During Nesbitt's presentation, he
called to mind a slogan the Oregon
AFL-CIO employed in 2004 — No
Unions, No Middle Class.
“Unfortunately, we continue to
prove that slogan with fewer unions and
a smaller middle class,” he said.
“You’ve seen stats today about how
things have gotten worse — and they
have. And we’ve been talking about
that for several decades. I think it’s time
to back up and start talking about ways
to make things better.
“And some of what we’re going to
have to do to get out of this is going to
involve some tough decisions.”
Nesbitt believes public sector unions
are best suited for driving change be-
cause they make up the largest portion
of the labor movement, and they have
the resources to do it. But he worries
that public employees are losing sup-
port among the larger private sector
workforce.
A long-time leader of the Service
Employees International Union, Nes-
bitt said there was a time in the ’60s and
Volunteers, donations sought for
kids’ fishing derby in Vancouver
VANCOUVER — Union sponsors and volunteers are being sought for
the 13th annual Klineline Kids Fishing Derby, Friday and Saturday, April
13-14. Klineline Pond is located at Salmon Creek Park in Vancouver.
One of the biggest events in Clark County, the derby attracts more than
1,500 children ages five to 14. The Friday fish-in is for special needs kids.
The event received this year’s Spirit of Clark County award presented by the
Clark County board of commissioners.
With a $5 entry fee, each child receives a fishing rod, T-shirt, and lunch.
The fish they catch are cleaned and bagged for them to take home. There are
also lots of prizes, including bicycles, tackle boxes with gear, and much more.
Approximately 700 volunteers are needed to assemble fishing rods and
reels prior to the fish-in, and to assist kids the day of the event. Members of
several unions have been instrumental in the continuing success of the event,
but more are still needed.
Union local sponsors also are needed.
A contribution of $250 will get your union logo on T-shirts and provide
space to hang your union banner the day of the event.
For participation, sponsorship, or volunteer opportunities, call Roben
White at 360-608-8537.
The fish-in is presented by the Washington Department of Fish and
Wildlife and Klineline Kids Fishing.
For more information about the derby, go online to http://www.klineline-
kf.org/.
MARCH 16, 2012
“It’s not just a matter of if we’re go-
ing to save those safety net programs,
that we argue that the rich are going to
have to pay for them. I think we’re all
going to have to pay for them more as
well.
“But until middle class families un-
derstand how fragile their situations can
be without those programs, I’m not
sure we’re going to get the willingness
to do that.”
Former Oregon AFL-CIO president Tim Nesbitt chats with American
Federation of Teachers retiree Val Jack at 10th annual conference of the
Oregon Alliance for Retired Americans. Nesbitt was a quest speaker.
’70s when public sector workers lagged
far behind their counterparts in the pri-
vate sector in terms of wages, pensions,
and health care.
“By the mid ’90s or so, I think that
had pretty much changed. We were
kind of on par,” he said. “But we in the
public sector didn’t recognize that, and
we continued to push forward."
Over time, he said public employ-
ees’ pursuit of higher pay became less
and less compelling to the general pub-
lic — and less sustainable — “when the
majority of workers in our economy in
the private sector are facing stagnation
if not outright decline in their compen-
sation.”
Nesbitt, who for the last six years
has worked as an adviser to governors
Ted Kulongoski and John Kitzhaber,
also questioned whether labor’s fight to
reform federal labor laws was the right
way to proceed.
“We keep pushing hard for reforms
to our labor laws, for card check, but
it’s worth asking ourselves as well
whether a system of labor laws which
promote the idea of a site-based bar-
gaining unit, not just employer specific,
but often job specific, can really survive
in a global economy in which capital is
so mobile. Which is why we continue
to struggle — and why I’m not sure that
reforms to our labor laws, the kinds that
are represented by card check, are suf-
ficient to make a difference longer
term.”
Nesbitt acknowledged that he does-
n’t have the answers for how to regen-
erate the labor movement, though he
said Working America is a model that
intrigues him. Working America is an
allied organization of the AFL-CIO that
works to build alliances among non-
union working people. “To the extent
that we can build those larger organiza-
tions of working people, even self-em-
ployed people, and find ways to con-
nect with them on economic issues, I
think that is a path we need to continue
to explore,” he said, noting that individ-
uals who are self-employed or own a
small business now outnumber union
members nationwide. “Many of those
self employed are probably working for
less than the minimum wage,” he said.
Nesbitt offered that public employee
unions try to establish some type of
mechanism that can provide private
sector workers and possibly the self-
employed access to more affordable
health insurance (perhaps through the
new health insurance exchange), and
better retirement programs.
“Until we find ways again to reach
private sector workers, we’re not going
to find a way out,” he said.
Other issues Nesbitt touched on:
Medicare and Medicaid: “I don’t
think most people realize just how one
crisis away from family collapse we
can be without safety net support sys-
tems like Medicaid and Medicare. Yet,
the debate about how we pay for them,
I think it comes down to this — what
are we willing to pay to support those
social insurance programs? Because if
the debate is just about taxing the rich,
there’s only so far we can go with that.
I mean fairness is important. But some
of these solutions to maintain these so-
cial safety net services, I think involve
the contributions of the working mid-
dle class.
On Wisconsin and the attempt to
recall Gov. Scott Walker after he
stripped public employees of their
right to collective bargaining: “I
hope the recall succeeds and I hope that
the Democrats can agree on a good
candidate to replace him, but at this
point I would have to say it’s been a
draw. Unions have poured resources
into that state — and still not a victory
yet. It’s an exhausting and bruising and
resource-depleting struggle and I’m
worried that as we go through these
struggles we get back to a plateau, but
that plateau is no higher than where we
were before.”
His proudest moment as president
of the Oregon AFL-CIO: The union-
led ballot measure in 2002 that indexed
minimum wage pay to inflation. “It re-
ally has made a difference. Yes, in-
equality is high in our society, but be-
cause of our minimum wage (law), it’s
not as unequal as many other states.
“That’s to the credit of our union
movement. It’s not a gain that we can
attribute to our bargaining; but we can
attribute it to union members; to the
strength of our membership. We should
celebrate successes like that.”
In other convention business, dele-
gates to the Oregon Alliance for Retired
Americans elected new officers and
passed three resolutions.
Scott Blau, a retired letter carrier,
was elected president; Linda DeLucia
was elected first vice president; Roz
Gieze was elected trustee; and Jim
Davis was elected member at-large.
DeLucia and Gieze are retired from
Service Employees International
Union. Davis is not a union member.
The resolutions called for a consti-
tutional amendment to overturn Citi-
zens United, a landmark decision by the
U.S. Supreme Court which held that
the First Amendment prohibited the
government from restricting political
expenditures by corporations and
unions; for support of a federal law re-
quiring full disclosure of corporate do-
nations to political campaign advertis-
ing; and for Congress to reauthorize the
Older Americans Act.
The Alliance also issued a special
award to past president Verna Porter,
who was unable to attend due to illness.
She received an “honorary member-
ship” for her work with the organiza-
tion since its inception.
The deadline to register to vote in Oregon is Tuesday, April 24.
To register, go online to http://oregonvotes.org/
NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS
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