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About Northwest labor press. (Portland , Ore.) 1987-current | View Entire Issue (July 3, 2015)
PAGE 12 | July 3, 2015 | NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS ‘Unite for the Knight’ helps raise $508 million Labor and management coalition part of OHSU effort to raise $1 billion for cancer research By Michael Gutwig Editor & Manager Last September, seven labor and business groups held a press conference at Oregon Health & Science University’s (OHSU) Collaborative Life Sciences Building in Southwest Portland to announce formation of the “Unite for the Knight” coalition. Together, the leaders from or- ganized labor and management pledged to reach out to their memberships, contractors, and vendors to give a boost to the Knight Cancer Challenge. A year earlier, Nike co- founder Phil Knight and his wife Penny had challenged OHSU to raise half a billion dollars for cancer research. They promised OSEA to help build labor movement in the Deep South This August, two team of Ore- gon School Employees Associ- ation (OSEA) members, led by staff organizer Elissa Edge, will spend two weeks in Alabama helping school employees there unionize. The state of Alabama doesn’t legally recognize the right of public employees to bar- gain collectively, but that doesn’t mean workers can’t get organized and push for im- provements. It’s all part of the Back-to- School Organizing Campaign, an annual effort by OSEA’s par- ent organization, the American Federation of Teachers, to help build the union movement among school employees in the South. Besides Alabama, union member volunteers will cam- paign in Louisiana, New Mex- ico and Texas. AFT pays the cost of trans- portation and housing, reim- burses members up to $65 per day for meals and incidentals, and provides pre-training and on-site training. It’s the 5th year OSEA has taken part in the program. Twenty members will be head- ing out July 25 and Aug. 1 to Mobile, Birmingham, and Cen- tral Alabama. to match it with $500 million of their own if OHSU reached the goal by February 2016. On June 25, the Knight Chal- lenge surpassed its goal, and then some—raising $508 mil- lion. “This is the single largest, suc- cessful, mass campaign in the history of U.S. philanthropy, and done in record time,” said Keith Todd, president of the OHSU Foundation. More than 10,000 donors responded, and 50 gifts were for one million dollars or more. $200 million is in state bond funding approved by the Oregon Legislature in Senate Bill 5703. The labor-management Unite for the Knight coalition con- tributed nearly $1 million. The coalition was comprised of the Oregon AFL-CIO, Ore- gon State Building and Con- struction Trades Council, Ore- gon AFSCME Council 75, Oregon State Fire Fighters Council, Associated Oregon In- dustries, the Portland Business Alliance, and Oregon Business Council. John Mohlis, executive secre- tary of the Oregon State Build- The United for the Knight coalition got a $21,000 boost from the Oregon State Fire Fighters Council in March. In the photo above, Kelly Bach, pres- ident of the Fire Fighters Council, presents a check to Lisa Coussens, as- sociate director of basic research at the Knight Cancer Institute. The Knight Cancer Challenge hits close to home for firefighters, as they have a significantly higher incidence of some cancers due to on-the-job ex- posure to harmful substances. The contribution was the largest from la- bor unions participating in the United for the Knight coalition. ing and Construction Trades Council, was co-chair of the coalition. The other co-chair was Brian Gard, president of Gard Communications. Ken Allen, executive director of Oregon AFSCME, serves on the OHSU Board of Directors and was instrumental in putting the coalition together. “In the fight against cancer, we’re all on the same side,” said OHSU President Joe Robertson. The billion dollars will allow the OHSU Knight Cancer Insti- tute to create the first large-scale program dedicated to early de- tection of lethal cancers. OHSU will build a new, state-of-the-art cancer research facility, and a clinical trial center. Ground breaking is tentatively scheduled for March 2016, with construc- tion expected to be complete in 2018. OHSU already is fast tracking recruitment of 250 to 300 scien- tists and physicians to work there. Low Prices! Mon-Fri 9-6, Sat 9:30-5:30, Sun 12-6
