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