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About Northwest labor press. (Portland , Ore.) 1987-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 19, 2014)
Oregon AFL-CIO Legislative director Pirtle-Guiney departs for job with governor Elana Pirtle-Guiney is leaving her position as Oregon AFL-CIO legisla- tive and communications director for a job as labor and workforce policy ad- viser to Oregon Gov. John Kitzhaber. She’ll replace Duke Shepard as the governor’s labor liaison. Pirtle-Guiney joined the Oregon AFL-CIO staff shortly after graduating Lewis & Clark College in 2006, and since then has directed organizing, po- litical work, legislative work, and com- munications. Her last day at the labor federation will be Jan. 6. She’ll be succeeded as communica- tion director by Russell Sanders, and as legislative director by Graham Trainor. Sanders is a graphic and web de- signer. He grew up in Portland in a union-proud household, graduated from Southern Oregon University in 2007, and joined the Oregon AFL-CIO staff in 2010. Trainor has been with the Oregon AFL-CIO since 2008, first as field di- rector, and then political director. Prior to that he was Oregon state director of Working America, and in 2008 he managed the campaign against an anti- public-worker-union Ballot Measure 64 for Defend Oregon. Pirtle-Guiney also serves as a labor representative on the Workers Com- pensation Management-Labor Advi- sory Committee, but will have to resign that position when she goes to work for the governor. Shepard, who once worked as field coordinator for Kitzhaber’s 1994 cam- paign for governor, went to work for Chamberlain as Oregon AFL-CIO po- litical director in 2006, and then was hired as Kitzhaber’s labor liaison in 2011. He will continue to serve as La- bor and Human Services adviser until the end of December, and will become deputy director at OHSU’s Center for Evidence-Based Policy in January 2015. “I’m glad this is Kitzhaber’s last term, because he keeps stealing my people,” Chamberlain joked. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year At the 2013 Oregon AFL-CIO convention, communications and legislative director Elana Pirtle-Guiney watches as Oregon Gov. John Kitzhaber signs a bill into law. Seattle bus drivers demand bathroom breaks SEATTLE — Seattle bus drivers picketed outside the King County executive’s office Dec. 8 to demand that King County Metro Transit do more to guarantee bathroom and rest breaks. One protester brought a package of Depends; it can be so dif- ficult to get breaks that some drivers have taken to wearing adult diapers. Others urinate in bottles or cups. Organized labor has had a some- times bumpy relationship with Kitzhaber, but Pirtle-Guiney’s hire continues a history of close connec- tions between the state labor federation and the governor’s mansion. Tom Chamberlain was organizing director under then Oregon AFL-CIO president Tim Nesbitt, then labor liai- son for then governor Ted Kulongoski in 2004, and then succeeded Nesbitt as Oregon AFL-CIO president in 2005. Nesbitt himself ended up going to work as Kulongoski’s deputy chief of staff in 2007. Amalgamated Transit Union Lo- cal 587 — which represents the 2,600 Metro drivers — has said its maintenance workers annually re- place 60 urine-soaked driver seats. Drivers also suffer urinary tract in- fections and other health problems related to bathroom access. Part of the problem is that when drivers use the bathroom, they can be disciplined for running late. After a six-month investigation, the Wash- ington Department of Labor and In- dustries last month fined the transit agency $3,500 for failing to provide unrestricted access to bathroom fa- cilities at all hours on each service route. Metro must correct the viola- tions by Dec. 22 or face additional fines. OREGON STATE B UILDING & C ONSTRUCTION T RADES C OUNCIL Executive Secretary John Mohlis Portland, Oregon, 503-788-7153 www.oregonbuildingtrades.com Like us on facebook http://www.facebook.com/oregonbuildingtrad es The Executive Board, Staff and members of OPEIU Local 11 wish everyone a Happy and Joy-filled Holiday! from Office & Professional Employees International Union Local 11 AFT Local 111 DECEMBER 19, 2014 AFT-OREGON · AFT · AFL-CIO NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS PAGE 3
