NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS | December 18 , 2015 | PAGE 5
$15 ballot measure passes 15,000
Organizers say they’re aiming to
have 30,000 by the time Legisla-
ture meets in February
In the three months that Ore-
gon’s $15 minimum wage ini-
tiative has been on the streets,
volunteers have collected close
to 16,000 signatures. That actu-
ally means they’re a little be-
hind: The union-backed cam-
paign has until July 8, 2016, to
turn in 88,184 valid signatures,
and they’re aiming to collect
125,000 in order to have a
healthy buffer. Up to now, it’s
been an all-volunteer effort ex-
cept for full-time campaign co-
ordinator Justin Norton-Kertson
of the group 15 Now (and he
earns $15 an hour). But the cam-
paign got a boost in early De-
cember when Oregon School
Employees Association (OSEA)
committed $25,000 to fund paid
signature gatherers.
Incredibly, more than a quar-
ter of the signatures collected so
far have come from a single in-
dividual: retired letter carrier
Jamie Partridge, the initiative’s
chief petitioner. Partridge, 66, is
a lifelong activist and 31-year
member of the National Associ-
ation of Letter Carriers Branch
82. He’s been involved with
countless groups over the years,
including Portland Jobs with
Justice, which he helped found.
Retired letter carrier Jamie Partridge, above, is the chief petitioner on a ballot
measure to raise Oregon’s minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2018.
In 2008, his civic involvement
garnered official honors by
proclamation of then-mayor
Tom Potter. And Partridge only
stepped up the pace after his
2011 retirement. Since mid-Sep-
tember he’s spent 15 hours a
week out on the sidewalks, rid-
ing light rail, or outside public
events gathering signatures.
He’s approaching 5,000 signa-
tures now and says he’s shoot-
ing for 15,000 before the end of
the campaign.
“Generally people are very
receptive and thankful that I’m
doing it,” Partridge said of the
reaction he gets when he ap-
proaches with his clipboard.
“Low-wage workers want to tell
me their stories about how hard
Turn to Page 15
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Seattle, WA.
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We Wish All The Working Men, Women and Their Fami-
lies Joy and Happiness This Holiday Season
and a Very Special New Year
The Pacific Northwest
Iron Workers District Council
and its
Affiliated Local Unions
Merry Christmas
and Happy
New Year
OREGON STATE
B UILDING & C ONSTRUCTION T RADES C OUNCIL
Executive Secretary John Mohlis
Portland, Oregon, 503-788-7153
www.oregonbuildingtrades.com
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The
Executive Board,
Staff and members of
OPEIU Local 11 wish everyone
a Happy and Joy-filled Holiday!
Office & Professional
Employees International
Union Local 11