PAGE 14 | October 21, 2016 | NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS
Who’s on our side?
Guest Opinion
Dennis Richardson is
too extreme for Oregon
Women deserve better than Trump’s sexism
By Tom Chamberlain Oregon AFL-CIO President
W
hat would you think about a candidate who was front
and center at last summer’s Freedom Foundation
fundraiser at the Oregon Zoo? Or stated he would implement
Scott Walker’s anti-union “reforms” in Oregon if he “had the
power?” Criticized raising the minimum wage? Opposed ex-
tending health coverage to people with pre-existing condi-
tions? Voted against prevailing wage, and opposed efforts to
stop wage theft?
But wait. There’s more.
This candidate stated that Oregon should send undocu-
mented immigrants to private prisons in China, and he tried to
amend legislation to prevent undocumented children from be-
ing covered by state health care programs.
These are all statements and positions advocated by Dennis
Richardson, who is currently seeking the office of Oregon’s
Secretary of State. Mr. Richardson is too extreme for Oregon.
His extremist views shaped his legislative record while he
served in the Oregon Legislature. Time and time again, Mr.
Richardson has championed legislation limiting the rights of
women to make decisions concerning the right to choose. In
2007, he railed against domestic partnerships for same-sex
couples and stood in opposition to legislation that prohibited
businesses from discriminating based on sexual orientation.
He has compared homosexuality to smoking and drinking,
saying all are based on someone’s behavior.
After a mass shooting at an elementary school in Newtown,
Connecticut, Mr. Richardson stated that if he had been a
teacher at the school and allowed to carry a gun, “most of the
murdered children would still be alive and the gunman would
still be dead, and not by suicide.”
Needless to say, Mr. Richardson has been an outspoken op-
ponent of a working people’s agenda, including the prevailing
wage, increasing the minimum wage, the right of workers to
join a union, and access to health care.
While almost anyone would be a better choice for Oregon
Secretary of State than Dennis Richardson, we are fortunate
to have a candidate in Brad Avakian, who has been a champion
of Oregon’s workers for decades. While in the Oregon Legis-
lature, Brad was a leader who not only voted for Oregon AFL-
CIO priority legislation, but actively worked within the Leg-
islature to get it passed. Brad has proven to be a defender of
the environment by sponsoring the Oregon Renewable Energy
Act, and a leader in the advancement of human rights by co-
sponsoring the Oregon Equality Act.
As Oregon’s Labor Commissioner, Brad has not tap-danced
around controversial issues, but has shown the courage and
leadership to do the right thing. He is a defender of rights for
all Oregonians, fighting for janitorial workers who were denied
their full wages, transgender patrons who faced discrimination
in a North Portland bar, and a Christian in Bend who experi-
enced religious discrimination in the workplace.
My favorite example of Brad’s courage and leadership is in
the fight against the Trans-Pacific Partnership, when many
elected leaders were either supportive of the agreement or
silent. Brad stood with U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley and Congress-
man Peter DeFazio in rock-solid opposition to the TPP. Brad
spoke at town halls and at rallies against a corporate agenda
that has cost Oregon thousands of manufacturing jobs.
The choice for Oregon Secretary of State could not be more
clear. Brad Avakian, through a decades-long career in public
service, has stood for Oregon. My vote is for Brad.
Tom Chamberlain is president of the Oregon AFL-CIO, a 130,000-member-strong
federation of labor unions.
By Liz Shuler, Secretary-Treasurer, National AFL-CIO
A
t the last presidential debate, America’s
working women got a front-row seat to
Donald Trump’s sexism. He repeatedly inter-
rupted Hillary Clinton, a phenomenon too
many working women can relate to, and re-
peated his claims that she doesn’t have the
“presidential look” it takes to lead the United
States. It seems like every day a new story
from Trump’s past reveals more misogyny.
Take the latest story out of his golf club in Pa-
los Verdes, Calif., where Trump urged staff to
fire unattractive hostesses and only hire
“beautiful women.”
But it is his horrific, ongoing treatment of
Alicia Machado that has captured and main-
tained our attention. After winning the Miss
Universe title, Alicia endured cruel comments
from Donald Trump on her appearance and
ethnicity. Trump reportedly referred to her as
“Miss Piggy” and, presumably because she’s
Venezuelan, “Miss Housekeeping.”
Donald Trump has a long history of attack-
ing women who dare to stand up to, criticize,
or go against his wishes. His latest smears are
not only a direct assault on Latina women but
also women who work as housekeepers, the
majority of whom are women of color. By
sneering “Miss Housekeeping” at Alicia,
Trump displayed his ignorance and deep dis-
respect for housekeepers and the services they
provide. If he is willing to be so public in his
attacks against Alicia Machado, what does he
say about his hotel employees?
Women who work in housekeeping clock
long hours at a physically demanding job. On
top of the strenuous work, too often house-
keepers are subject to sexual harassment and
assault by the guests at hotels they work so
hard to maintain. In fact, female hotel employ-
ees across the country—from Seattle to Long
Beach—have been taking a stand against the
all-too-frequent sexual harassment they face
on the job.
Instead of disparaging housekeepers as
nothing more than a term to be used as an in-
sult, Donald Trump should be thanking them
for keeping his hotels running. But the women
who work in his Las Vegas hotel know that
Trump is not the least bit appreciative of their
hard work, evidenced by his continued refusal
to negotiate a union contract with them at his
hotel. Trump has never had the best interests
of working women in mind and these recent
comments prove that a Trump presidency
would be disastrous for women everywhere.
Liz Shuler is secretary-treasurer of the national AFL-CIO. Prior
to that she worked as an organizer/communications at Port-
land-based IBEW Local 125, and as executive assistant to
IBEW international president Edwin Hill. This article originally
appeared on the AFL-CIO NOW blog, with co-author Maria
Elana Durazo. The AFL-CIO has endorsed Hillary Clinton for
president.
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