Who’s On Our Side?
By Tom Chamberlain
L
ame duck, like the Senate fili-
buster, has moved from an alien
term to the center of political conver-
sations. A lame duck session is the
time between an election and when
new members of Congress, state, or
local governments, are sworn into of-
fice. A lame duck session, though
short in duration, is time when out-go-
ing electeds who chose not to run or
were defeated are freed from the ac-
countability of constituents.
A lame duck session is what al-
lowed the Michigan Legislature to
pass so-called “right-to-work” legisla-
tion. Such legislation allows workers
who are represented by a union not to
pay union dues. Think about it, work-
ers get all the benefits of union repre-
sentation — wages, fringe benefits,
political power, and a voice in the
work place. In fact, if these workers
get in trouble at work the union is re-
quired to represent them. But they can
choose to not pay dues.
Imagine if Oregonians could elect
not to pay taxes, but were still allowed
to send their children to public
schools, drive on Oregon roads, use
the library, and receive unemployment
insurance, workers’ compensation
benefits, and a host of other services.
As more and more Oregonians elected
not to pay their taxes, services would
erode to the point of collapse. That is
exactly the corporate strategy of right
to work: to bankrupt America’s
unions.
Twenty-four states have passed
right-to-work laws. In 1957, Indiana
passed such a law, and eight years
later repealed it. This year we saw
right-to-work once again pass in Indi-
ana.
The negative impact of a right-to-
work (RTW) law on workers is well
documented:
• Wages in RTW states are 3.2 per-
cent lower. Using the average wage in
non-RTW states as the base ($22.11),
the average full-time, full-year worker
in a RTW state makes about $1,500
less annually than a similar worker in
a non-RTW state.
• The rate of employer-funded
health insurance is 2.6 percent lower
in RTW states compared with non-
RTW states. If workers in non-RTW
states were to receive health insurance
at work at this lower rate, 2 million
workers nationally would not have
health insurance.
• The rate of employer-sponsored
pensions is 4.8 percent lower in RTW
states when you compare similar
workplaces. If workers in non-RTW
states were to receive pensions at this
lower rate, 3.8 million fewer workers
nationally would have pensions.
De-funding unions removes the
major power base in state after right-
to-work state that could stand up for
workers and progressive interests. Af-
ter a right-to-work law is imple-
mented, right-wing conservatives and
corporate CEOs have free rein to im-
plement a corporate agenda at the ex-
pense of the middle class and poor.
That’s why we see profit-motivated
experiments like private-for-profit
prisons in right-to-work states such as
Texas and Arizona.
We’re no longer just seeing this in
traditionally conservative states. In
Michigan, 26 percent of workers be-
long to a union (compared to 17.3 per-
cent in Oregon). It is one of the most
unionized states in the country. If
Michigan can become a right-to-work
state, every state is in jeopardy. Our
nation is in jeopardy.
As a movement, unions and union
members must forget about old
wrongs and grudges that separate us.
Competition for members that pit one
union against another burn up re-
sources, and more often than not,
deny a confused workforce any union
representation at all. As a movement,
we need to understand that until pri-
vate and public unions, AFL-CIO and
independent unions, come together as
one force, one voice, we will continue
to be engaged in a defensive battle that
results in more Michigans.
Tom Chamberlain is president of
the Oregon AFL-CIO.
Get involved in
Clackamas water
district recall effort
To The Editor:
As was reported in the Dec. 7, 2012,
edition of the Labor Press, front line
employees of the Clackamas River Wa-
ter District (members of AFSCME Lo-
cal 350) and the Northwest Oregon La-
bor Council are supporting the recall of
water district commissioners Patricia
Holloway and Grafton Sterling. These
two commissioners have filed numer-
ous frivolous lawsuits and complaints
leading to a loss of insurance for CRW
and they are being investigated by the
Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries
for harassment to a CRW employee
and creating a hostile work environ-
ment, among other things.
We had a very successful canvas day
Open
Forum
Dec. 1, with about 27 union people
showing up to go door-to-door collect-
ing signatures for the recall petitions.
We are planning another union can-
vas day on Saturday, Jan. 5, the loca-
tion to be decided. If you would like to
be involved in the recall campaign,
please e-mail to: crwfacts@gmail.com
or call me at 503-313-2698.
Naomi Angier
Chief petitioner
AFSCME Local 88
Milwaukie, Oregon
LERA’s ‘Maggie Awards’ go to
Kaer of OFN #5017, Tedesco
Dannica Kaer of the Oregon Feder-
ation of Nurses and Health Profession-
als Local 5017 employed at Kaiser Per-
manente and labor attorney Michael
Tedesco were the labor recipients of
this year’s “Maggie Awards,” presented
by the Oregon chapter of the Labor and
Employment Relations Association
(LERA).
LERA is an organization that brings
labor-management relations practition-
ers together to improve relations. The
annual awards recognize people who
have demonstrated commitment to the
collective bargaining process with in-
tegrity and involvement in the labor re-
lations community.
Kathleen Fuller-Poe, human re-
sources manager at the Multnomah
County Health Department, received
the management practitioner award;
Henry Drummonds, Lewis and Clark
Law School, took home the award for
neutrals; and Eva Corbin, retired deputy
administrator of labor relations for the
Oregon Department of Administrative
Services, received the Emerita Award.
The awards were presented follow-
ing LERA’s annual conference held
last month in Portland. The awards are
in memory of Magdalena “Maggie”
Jacobsen, who founded the Oregon
chapter of LERA while assigned to
Portland as a mediator for the Federal
Mediation and Conciliation Service.
Rain Forest Boots
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try a pair on, you’ll like them.
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Season’s Greetings
from the
THE KORPI LAW
FIRM PLLC
Michael H. Korpi
Attorney at Law
Representing employee benefit
plans in Oregon and Washington
for more than 20 years
135 Second Avenue North, Suite 202,
Edmonds, WA 98020
(425) 582-8935
Email: mikek@korpilaw.com
DECEMBER 21, 2012
NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS
PAGE 17