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October 2, 2015 | NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS
NORTHWEST
LABOR
PRESS
(International Standard Serial Number 0894-444X)
Established in 1900 in Portland, Oregon as a voice of the la-
bor movement. Published on a semi-monthly basis on the
first and third Fridays of each month by the Oregon Labor
Press Publishing Co. Inc., a non-profit mutual benefit corpo-
ration owned by 20 unions and councils including the Ore-
gon AFL-CIO. Serving more than 120 union organizations in
Oregon and Southwest Washington.
Office location:
4275 NE Halsey St., Portland, Oregon
Mailing address:
P.O. Box 13150, Portland, OR 97213
Phone: (503) 288-3311
Web address:
http://nwlaborpress.org
Editor & Manager: Michael Gutwig
Associate editor: Don McIntosh
Office manager: Cheri Rice
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inks, by members of Teamsters Local 747-M.
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IRS PROBLEMS?
• Haven’t filed for ... years?
• Lost records?
• Liens - Levies - Garnishments?
• Negotiate settlements.
• Prepare offer in Compromise.
Call Nancy D. Anderson
Enrolled Agent
NPTI Fellow/America’s Tax Expert
LTC-1807
www.nancydanderson.com
503-244-2577
Oregon Working Families Party
Minor party strives to be a major player in Oregon
Founded in 2006, the Oregon
Working Families Party has had
major impact — for a minor
party that had 11,421 registrants
as of August. Labor-friendly
candidates seek the party’s
cross-endorsement, while elect-
eds who stymie pro-worker leg-
islation know they may face re-
election challenges — like Mike
Schaufler, a longtime incumbent
state House Democrat who lost
re-election in 2012.
With support from local
unions and from the better-es-
tablished Working Families
Party of New York, the Oregon
party employs a full-time staff
of four, plus a permanent can-
vass that works to support its
legislative and electoral efforts.
Its canvassers are represented
by Communications Workers of
America (CWA) Local 7901,
with a contract that puts them on
track to earn to $15 an hour. And
this fall, they’re working to reg-
ister more voters in the party.
At the Oregon Legislature,
the party brings distinctive is-
sues. It was an important part of
this year’s successful push to
pass a statewide paid sick leave
law. Other bills failed this year,
but could come back later.
would have allowed a bond-financed
revolving fund to be set up for that
purpose. And this year, lawmakers not
only balked at the start-up price tag, but
questioned whether students who do
well should have to pay more, and
whether students who do poorly should
get off so easily.
■ Fusion votingThe holy grail for the
Oregon Working Families Party is full-
fledged fusion voting, a system where
parties can cross-endorse candidates
but keep their own ballot line. Operating
in New York and Connecticut, it creates
conditions for third parties to thrive. But
in Oregon, a bill directing the Secretary
of State to study it couldn’t get
anywhere this year.
Oregon Working Families executive director Karly Edwards – a former union
organizer with UNITE HERE – moderates an Aug. 25 panel discussion. Also
pictured are, from left: party co-founder Barbara Dudley; national party chair
Dan Cantor, and Portland State University economist Mary King.
■ Inclusionary zoning Housing is fast
becoming unaffordable for working
people in places like Portland and Bend,
but a pre-emption passed by a
Republican majority in 1999 bars cities
from addressing that with “inclusionary
zoning,”, in which they require
developers to make a certain percentage
of new units affordable. A bill to undo
the pre-emption passed the House 34-
25, but failed in the Senate.
■ Pay it forward The national media
were so excited in 2013 when the
Oregon Legislature passed a bill for a
program of free public college tuition in
return for students paying a certain
percentage of their income after they
leave. But the program would have
required a funding pool to start the
program. Voters last year rejected a
complicated, thinly-supported
constitutional change ballot referral that
WHO’S ON BOARD?
Nine labor organizations contribute
to the Oregon Working Families
Party and have representation on
its leadership board:
■ UFCW Local 555
■ Teamsters Local 206
■ CWA Local 7901
■ Operating Engineers Local 701
■ ILWU Oregon Area District Council
■ Laborers Local 483
■ Laborers District Council
■ IBEW Local 48
■ UNITE HERE Local 8