PAGE 14 | April 17, 2015 | NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS
LOCAL MOTION
Who’s on our side?
By Tom Chamberlain Oregon AFL-CIO President
Oregon labor bucks national trend
It is hard to believe that just eight years ago,
the American labor movement was on the
verge of a monumental power shift. From
2004 to 2007, the labor movement was united
and determined to pass the Employee Free
Choice Act, crucial labor law reform. We ed-
ucated members, wrote letters, signed peti-
tions, and held leaders accountable: No en-
dorsements, and no support, unless they
signed on. We organized and we—a united
union movement—had the power.
That power was on display in 2007 on a hot
Chicago evening in Soldier Field, where tens
of thousands of union members and their fam-
ilies listened and cheered as Democratic pres-
idential candidates debated our issues. The
event was televised nationally. Clinton,
Obama, Dodd, Edwards, Kucinich, and
Richardson stood and voiced their undying
support of labor law reform under the Em-
ployee Free Choice Act.
And it went beyond presidential candidates;
it was all Congressional candidates.
With the wind at our backs, organized labor
entered the 2009 Congress with victory within
our grasp. Corporate America went berserk.
From Walmart to Warren Buffett, business do-
ing everything they could to stop us. Then our
champion, Ted Kennedy, died and we were
told to wait until after the Affordable Health
Care Act was passed.
It never happened. Democrats lost the U.S.
House of Representatives in 2010 and the Em-
ployee Free Choice Act was dead.
Corporate America was satisfied, but the la-
bor movement knew we had come close to a
real win.
By February 2011, the Koch brothers’ can-
didate, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, was
steamrolling a bill to limit collective bargain-
ing rights for all public employees. Wisconsin
labor fought hard, but lost. Soon after, Indiana
and Michigan followed.
Today, 25 of the 50 states are “right to
work.” Almost every state has seen similar
legislative attacks. All but Oregon.
With unions losing membership and power
nationwide, the 2014 elections were a disaster.
But not in Oregon. We won the majority of
our targeted races and gained seats in our Leg-
islature.
Why is Oregon on the offense with a leg-
islative agenda that includes raising the mini-
mum wage, fighting for paid sick days, and
banning the box, while the rest of the country
plays defense? Why have our unions in-
creased to 17 percent of the workforce, buck-
ing the national trend? What makes us
unique?
Oregon’s union leaders know that to be suc-
cessful we must work together and coordinate
our resources. Our leadership is strong, expe-
rienced, and willing to change with the times.
The Oregon AFL-CIO is different than al-
most any state labor federation in the country.
Most state federations focus 100 percent on
elections and legislation. We focus on elec-
tions and legislation, but we’re also a grass-
roots organization that uses our resources to
knock on doors, send letters, and make phone
calls. We build our grassroots power through
a community involvement arm called Oregon
Strong Voice, which brings together commu-
nity-based organizations, students, unions,
and more.
The 2014 election was the first time we
could provide staff to our Oregon Strong
Voice regions of Bend, Eugene and Medford,
where 33 percent of our election volunteer
shifts occurred. Our electoral efforts have ex-
panded beyond Portland, and our program
was instrumental in electing Sara Gelser to the
Oregon Senate in Albany and Corvallis, and
re-electing Sen. Alan Bates in Southern Ore-
gon. That’s what grassroots power can ac-
complish.
Oregon is the only state labor federation in
the country that directly organizes workers.
Over the next two years, we have the potential
to bring in more than 2,000 workers to our
movement.
Oregon is different because our unions
work together, fight together, and lead to-
gether.
Tom Chamberlain is president of the Oregon AFL-CIO,
a 120,000-member-strong federation of labor unions.
The following are Oregon and Southwest Washington workplaces where workers are
determining whether to be represented by a union. The thumbs-up symbol means workers will
be union-represented. Thumbs-down means they’ll be on their own. Decert means a
decertification election, where union-represented workers vote whether to remain union. The
information comes from the National Labor Relations Board and the Oregon Employment
Relations Board. NOTE: There were no representation elections held in February.
Election Requests
Employer (Location) Union
Milwaukie Convalescent Center (Milwaukie) SEIU Local 503
■ 51 workers – CNAs, cooks, housekeepers, laundry and other support workers
American Federation of Teachers (Vancouver) CWA Local 7901
■ 5 workers – staff organizers on AFT-Washington nurses organizing project
DFW Security Protective Force (Albany) United Security Forces of America
■ 12 workers – security guards at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Albany Research Center
Quality Custom Distribution (Tigard) Teamsters Local 305
■ 21 workers – warehouse employees
Glacier Northwest/Cal Portland (Hillsboro) Teamsters Local 162
■ 11 workers – concrete mixer truck drivers
Unionization by majority signup
Employer (Location) Union
Washington County Sheriff’s Office (Hillsboro) Wash. County Sergeants Assn.
■ 28 workers –patrol and investigative sergeants
Central Oregon Coast Fire & Rescue District (Waldport) IAFF Local 4619
■ 8 workers
Election Results
Employer (Location) Union
Yes-No =
Highland Laboratories (Mt. Angel) UFCW Local 555
10-11
FREE CLASSIFIED ADS
AUTOMOTIVE
‘03 gmc sierra diesel Duramax 4x4,
long bed pickup, 72k, white, allison
trani, HD tow pkg $19k. 503-891-9877
gmc TrUcK, flat bed, 1.5 ton, runs
and drives, 1946 vintage, licensed
2017, $3,800. 541-219-2212
HOUSING
rOcKaWaY BeacH rental, 3 bed, 2
bth, sleeps 10, Jacuzzi, 5 min to beach/
shops.Vacationhomerentals.com/43026
rOcKaWaY ocean front, 503-777-
5076, 5bdrms/2 bath, book now for
summer! http://rockawaybeachfron-
trental.co
SPORTING GOODS
Union vote scheduled for Boeing South Carolina
About 2,400 Boeing production
and maintenance workers in
South Carolina are scheduled to
vote April 22 on whether to
unionize with the International
Association of Machinists and
Aerospace Workers (IAM). The
vote comes after a year-long
campaign by the Machinists to
unionize at Boeing’s nonunion
facilities there. IAM represents
Boeing workers in the Puget
Sound, Kansas City, and Port-
land.
But just 4 percent of South
Carolina workers belong to a
union, and Boeing is campaign-
ing hard against the Machinists,
with a web site, radio ads, and
fierce anti-union messages from
South Carolina’s Republican
Gov. Nikki Haley. The union,
meanwhile, has its own web site,
ads on digital billboards around
North Charleston, and is sending
groups of workers from the
Puget Sound to meet with Boe-
ing workers in South Carolina.
Boeing is spending $1 billion
to expand its facilities in South
Carolina, and last year said it will
build a new model of 787 exclu-
sively at a South Carolina plant.
Four years ago, the National
Labor Relations Board found
that Boeing built its South Car-
olina facility in retaliation for
past strikes by Machinists. The
agency later dropped the com-
plaint, after Boeing agreed to
build a new assembly line in
Washington.
MARCH 2015
BOWling Balls, 27 very colorful
bowling balls in nice condition, selling as
a lot for $50 cash. 971-235-2235
rH gOlF clUBs, men’s, 3 woods, 9
irons, bag, cart; women’s, 3 woods, 9
irons, bag, cart, $125 ea. 360-891-5889
14FT. alUm. BOaT, Valco, with 4.5
evenrude motor, galvanized trailer,
$1,495. 503 830 8313 (Tony)
gOlF clUBs, left-hand TopFlite Tour,
3-PW, 17 & 21 degree hybrids, putter,
$45. 503-522-6542
BUYing Us & world coins to add to col-
lection, paying fairly, any amount wel-
come. 503-939-8835
cOllecTOr, cash paid, old fishing
tackle, wood plugs, reels, creels,
salmon fishing photos, etc. 503-775-
4166
cOllecTOr PaYs cash for older toys,
oil paintings, american art pottery, and
costume jewelry. 503 703-5952
class B camPer Van, want an older
model with low miles, call royal Bossen
at 503-830-4880
MISCELLANEOUS
sTamP cOllecTiOn, foreign, thou-
sands of unused and used in glassines
and sheets, $225. 503-254-5659
alUminUm recumbent bike, easy
rider aX, 19-speed, 2-wheeler, never
ridden, lock & holder, $800. 503-207-
8056
CLASSIFIED AD GUIDELINES
Subscribers may place one free classified ad per
issue. Ads should be 15 to 20 words, all in lower
case (NO CAPITAL LETTERS). Ads must include a
phone number, including area code, or they will
not be published. No commercial or business ads.
HOW TO SUBMIT A CLASSIFIED AD
WANTED
OlD WOODWOrKing tools, planes,
levels, chisels, handsaws, slicks, adzes,
wrenches, folding rulers, axes, hatch-
ets, tool chests. 503-659-0009
Indicate which union you are a member of, and
send your ad to michael492@comcast.net or by
mail to PO Box 13150, Portland OR 97213. We
publish the first and third Fridays of each month,
and the deadline is one week prior to that.