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About Northwest labor press. (Portland , Ore.) 1987-current | View Entire Issue (April 4, 2014)
...Union rep Nosse running strong campaign for state House (From Page 1) River, and the ProvRN nurse advice line call center. Nosse and other ONA staff are themselves represented by a union — Teamsters Lo- cal 223 — so Nosse is a Teamster, and he’s also president of his bargaining unit. Nosse says his union representative skill set could serve him well as a legislator. “Passing laws and bargaining a contract are very similar,” Nosse said. “People make proposals, and then you have to dig into the pro- posal. What’s the impact? What’s it cost? Is it going to do the thing that we want it to do? Can we get management to agree? There’s a back and forth.” In the fall of 2013, Nosse attended the Oregon Labor Candidate School, which gets unionists ready to run for public office. When he learned his state representative was leaving, he jumped in. Since Nov. 17, Nosse and his supporters have knocked on over 13,000 doors, raised over $118,000, and secured endorsements from 17 labor organizations. Nosse said he can’t imagine campaigning without the support of organized labor. Most of his campaign con- tributions are from labor organizations or individual unionists, and unions have also made $32,000 in-kind contributions: ONA staff political organizer Jenn Baker is assigned half-time to help his cam- paign, and his campaign is being run out of a trailer at the Oregon AFL-CIO headquarters, which happens to be located in his district. Nosse is also backed by the Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund and the gay civil rights organization Basic Rights Oregon (BRO). BRO’s campaign for same sex marriage is personal for Nosse: He and his partner Jim Laden have been together 21 years, and have two adopted kids; son Helazo and daughter Elisia attend Franklin High School. In 2003, Nosse and Laden used their tax refunds to buy wedding rings and get married in Vancouver, Canada, but same-sex marriages aren’t yet recognized in Oregon. PAGE 4 Nosse is also a lifelong Catholic who serves on the parish coun- cil at Southeast Portland’s St. Philip Neri Catholic church, which he’s attended since 2000. He hasn’t regularly been in the Capitol since 1996, so if elected he’ll have to relearn the nitty gritty. Nosse said he’ll rely on groups he trusts to keep him informed on legislation that comes before him. “As a candidate you run on themes and values,” Nosse said. “What matters is who you listen to and where you get your infor- mation.” Here are some of his thoughts on top issues: • Health care: “I work at a nurses union, so making sure that people have access to health care that’s good, and affordable, is su- per important to me. I want to see the Affordable Care Act get im- plemented to the best of its ability in this state, but I hope we get to a more universal system at some point down the road, like we have in every other industrialized country.” • Tax reform: “I want to make sure we have a tax base that’s fair and progressive, that fixes some of the problems with property tax Measure 5, and that pays for state services that working class and middle class people rely on. Those who earn more should pay more, and businesses that do well should pay their fair share.” • Same-sex marriage: “I want my partner and I to be able to be legally married in this state.” • Environment: “Something’s got to be done to mitigate the ef- fects of global warming, and I think it needs to be done in a way that supports workers and families that need jobs. We can have policies that do both.” In Oregon’s “citizen legislature,” lawmakers aren’t full-time pro- fessional politicians but citizens who typically return to their regu- lar jobs when the Legislature is not in session. Nosse said if elected he’ll continue working at ONA. To send Rob Nosse to the State House, the Oregon AFL-CIO is putting its political operation to work, with phone banks planned NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS ROB NOSSE IS ENDORSED BY: Oregon Nurses Association Oregon AFL-CIO Oregon State Building and Construction Trades Council Oregon AFSCME Council 75 Oregon State Council of Firefighters Oregon School Employees Association American Federation of Teachers-Oregon Communications Workers of America Local 7901 Ironworkers Local 29 Bricklayers and Allied Craft Workers Local 1 Oregon Cement Masons Local 555 UFCW Local 555 IBEW Local 48 Teamsters Joint Council 37 United Association of Plumbers and Steamfitters Local 290 SEIU 49 and 503 every Tuesday and Thursday at 5:30 p.m. starting April 15, and a big door-to-door canvass May 3 at 10 a.m. Both will be run out of the Oregon Labor Center at 3645 SE 32nd Ave. Ballots for Oregon’s 2014 primary will be mailed out April 30 and must be received by May 20. APRIL 4, 2014
