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About Northwest labor press. (Portland , Ore.) 1987-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 1, 2013)
General Election Union recommendations for Nov. 5 ballot VANCOUVER — There is still time to cast ballots for the Tuesday, Nov. 5 general election. Elections in Oregon and Washington are mail ballots. In Washington, ballots must be post- marked by Nov. 5 in order to be counted. In Oregon, ballots must be re- turned by Nov. 5 in order to be counted. The Northwest Oregon Labor Coun- cil has taken action on only two ballot measures. It supports Lake Oswego School District Measure 3-343 and Co- lumbia County Measure 5-234. Measure 3-434 is a five-year local operation levy for school education pro- grams. It seeks to renew a levy that is expiring. Measure 5-234 is a four-year local option levy to operate the county jail. If passed, the new levy would add 58 cents per $1,000 of assessed value to property tax rolls. In Clark County, Washington, the Southwest Washington Central Labor Council and Columbia Pacific Building and Construction Trades Council have endorsed the re-election of Vancouver Mayor Tim Leavitt. Leavitt is seeking a second four-year term. He is being chal- lenged by City Councilor Bill Turlay in the nonpartisan race. The two labor bodies also endorsed the re-election of Vancouver City Coun- cilor Jack Burkman, as well as the elec- tion of Alishia Topper and Anne McEnerny-Ogle. Topper is challenging long-time incumbent Jeanne Stewart, and McEnerny-Ogle is seeking the seat now held by Jeanne Harris. Harris is not seeking re-election. The two labor bodies also endorsed a host of candidates running for “freeholder” slots in Clark County. The county is electing 15 nonpartisan free- holders to draft a new county charter. Freeholders will have 13 months to draft a proposal for the voters. If the vot- ers reject the freeholders proposal, or if the freeholders can’t agree on a draft charter, Clark County will stay a statu- tory code county. If a majority of voters agree with the charter proposal, the new charter will be enacted. The following freeholders have been endorsed by the Southwest Washington Central Labor Council and the Colum- bia Pacific Building and Construction Trades Council: DISTRICT 1 Position 1 — Morris Foutch Position 2 — Tom Lawrence Position 3 — Rob Lutz Position 4 — Steve Foster Position 5 — Patricia Reyes DISTRICT 2 Position 1 — Jamie Hurly Position 2 — Lloyd Halverson Position 3 — Judie Stanton Position 4 — Paul Dennis Position 5 — Tony McMigas DISTRICT 3 Position 1 — Pat Jollota Position 2 — Val Ogden Position 3 — Jim Moeller Position 4 — Temple Lentz Position 5 — Bob Carroll Six of the endorsed freeholders are union members. Bob Carroll is a business represen- tative for the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 48. Tem- ple Lentz is a member of United Food and Commercial Workers Local 555, the staff union at the Oregon Federa- tion of Nurses and Health Professionals Local 5017, where she works as com- munications organizer. Jim Moeller is a member of the Oregon Federation of Nurses and Health Professionals Local 5017 and works as a mental health spe- cialist at Kaiser Permanente. Jamie Hurly is a member of the Battle Ground Education Association, where she serves on the union’s Executive Board and as a building rep. Rob Lutz serves as treasurer of the Evergreen Ed- ucation Association and has served on its Executive Board for the past four years. He has been a building rep for the past six years. And Tom Lawrence is a teacher at Battle Ground High School and a building rep for the Battle Ground Education Association. Lutz, Hurly and Wendy Smith, a freeholder candidate for District 1, Po- sition 5, have been endorsed by River- side Uniserv Council, the local branch of the Washington Education Associa- tion. Smith serves on the Evergreen Ed- ucation Association’s Executive Board, and is a building rep at her school. Labor says ‘Yes’ on I-522 Labor organizations in Washington are endorsing a statewide ballot initia- tive that would require labeling of ge- netically engineered foods starting July 1, 2015. I-522 would require food of- fered for retail sale in Washington be labeled “genetically engineered” if it contains genetically engineered foods. That’s the law in 64 other countries, but in the United States, consumers are usually in the dark about whether the foods they buy contain genetically-en- gineered ingredients. “We really need to know what we’re eating,” said Painters Local 10 President Roben White, a Vancouver resident who is ac- tive in the campaign to pass I-522. Labor candidate school to hold classes in Eugene EUGENE — Oregon Labor Candi- date School (OLCS) is offering a three- part training in Eugene on Jan. 25, Feb. 22, and March 22, 2014. Trainings cover the nuts and bolts of running for elected office or for seeking a political appointment. The Oregon Labor Candidate School was created several years ago by a coalition of Oregon unions to meet the growing need for labor champions in elected office. That’s because union members are more apt to support poli- cies that positively impact the middle class and working Oregonians, includ- ing retirement security, living wages, a strong education system, access to qual- ity and affordable health care, and col- lective bargaining rights. Trainings will take place in union halls (to be determined) on the desig- nated Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Applications are now being accepted online at www.oregonlaborcandi- dateschool.org. $15 minimum wage on ballot in SeaTac, Wash. SEATAC — In a vote that’s being watched nationally, residents of SeaTac, Washington, population 27,000, will decide Nov. 5 whether to approve a ballot initiative providing a $15-an-hour minimum wage to local hospitality and transportation workers. The City of SeaTac contains within it Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, along with airport hotels and confer- ence centers, and shuttle and rental car companies. SeaTac Proposition 1 would raise the minimum wage to $15 per hour upon enactment, and adjust it for infla- tion each year thereafter. It would also: • Require employers to provide one hour of sick leave for every 40 hours worked, up to 6.5 days a year of paid sick leave for full-time airport employ- ees; • Prohibit managers or owners from taking workers’ tips, including gratu- ities charged to banquets or catered meetings; • Require employers to offer addi- tional hours to existing part-time em- ployees before hiring from the outside; and • Give employees of contractors an opportunity to keep their jobs when the contract changes hands. If it passes, the measure would lift wages for an estimated 6,500 workers, including jet fuelers, baggage handlers, hotel housekeepers, and rental car em- ployees. It would apply to airlines, ho- tels with more than 100 guest rooms and 30 or more workers, shuttle serv- ices and car rental agencies with more than 25 workers, and institutional food service operations — such as confer- ence centers and corporate cafeterias — which have 10 or more non-mana- gerial employees. “Contractors Lock-Down” Participants will be held in Lock-Down until their bail bond is paid. Date: November 12, 2013 Time: 11:00 am – 2:00 pm Location: McMenamins at the Kennedy School – Gymnasium 5736 NE 33rd Ave, Portland, Oregon Bond is set at $500. To find out if you know any of the lock- down participants, please visit our website www.constructinghope.org Our goal for this event is to raise $25,000 to help fund our general operations including: basic tools, equipment for class, and to complete community projects. NOVEMBER 1, 2013 NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS PAGE 3
