...Union rep Nosse running strong campaign for state House
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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.
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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