SERVING ORGANIZED LABOR IN OREGON AND SOUTHWEST WASHINGTON SINCE 1900
NORTHWEST
LABOR
PRESS
VOLUME 117, NUMBER 22
IN THIS ISSUE
PORTLAND-AREA ELECTION RESULTS Ten of 16
NOLC-endorsed candidates and measures won | Page 3
MERKLEY HIRES NEW LABOR LIAISON Dan Mahr of
Working America joins Sen. Merkley’s staff. | Page 5
Meeting Notices p. 4
Unionization elections p. 4
PORTLAND, OREGON
NOVEMBER 18, 2016
Swing state union voters back billionaire
Trump’s win – supported by a
third of union members, could
lead to tax cuts for the rich and
a national Right-to-Work law
“The AFL-CIO accepts the out-
come of this election, and offers
our congratulations to Presi-
dent-elect Trump.” So wrote
national AFL-CIO president
Rich Trumka the morning after.
Many union members and
members of union households
voted for Trump — despite
enormous effort by the labor
movement to elect Hillary
Clinton. CNN exit polls
showed that 43 percent of vot-
ers in union households cast
ballots for Trump, compared to
51 percent for Clinton. And
Scott Walker for labor Sec-
retary? That would be labor’s
worst nightmare. Walker is the Wis-
consin governor who stripped pub-
lic sector workers of collective bar-
gaining rights in 2010. During his
short-lived run for president he
even said that his taking on 100,000
union protesters demonstrated the
kind of nerves he’d need to con-
front foreign terrorists. In the end,
he endorsed Trump and helped him
win Wisconsin. Is he in line for a cab-
inet position? On Nov. 9 he said he’s
not considering that. Let’s hope he
stays in Wisconsin.
union household support for
Trump was even higher in key
battleground states: In Wiscon-
sin and Michigan, union house-
holds split 50-50, CNN re-
ported. And in Ohio, Trump
won 52 percent of union house-
holds, says North America’s
Building Trades President Sean
McGarvey.
“It’s 30 years of getting
screwed by both parties, De-
mocrats and Republicans,”
McGarvey said. “They were
willing to take a chance on any-
thing.”
In his morning-after state-
ment, Trumka tried to put the
best possible face on the results:
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NATIONAL
Ballot Measure Breakthroughs
Voters passed sick leave, raised
minimum wage, taxed the rich,
and said no to right-to-work
When it came to up-or-down
votes on the issues, voters
mostly agreed with labor’s
message this year.
Teamsters Local 223 rep Dave Tully (right) celebrates in Clacka-
mas County with Jim Bernard (center) and Ken Humberston, who
defeated anti-union incumbents John Ludlow and Tootie Smith.
Election night yields mixed
scorecard for Oregon labor
Labor held the line in most
races, but several losses stung.
By Don McIntosh
Oregon’s labor movement is a
potent political force, but Nov.
8, 2016, wasn’t its best night:
Despite mammoth efforts, la-
bor suffered the defeat of
Measure 97 and Brad Avakian,
and the loss of a Democratic
state Senate seat.
Still, there were some re-
sults to celebrate — the re-
election of Gov. Kate Brown
and Attorney General Ellen
Rosenblum, the election of
union-endorsed Tobias Reed
to state treasurer, passage of
Measure 98 to increase fund-
ing for career and technical ed-
ucation in high schools, and
the ouster of a pair of anti-
union conservatives in Clacka-
mas County. County Chair
John Ludlow lost to Jim
Bernard, and Commissioner
Tootie Smith lost to Ken
Humberston; both challengers
had strong union backing.
Measure 97’s loss means
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Minimum wage and sick pay
Voters approved minimum
wage increases in four states
— and two of the measures
also mandated paid sick leave.
The measures in Colorado,
Maine, and Arizona raise it to
$12 by 2020, and annually for
inflation after that. The Maine
measure also phases out the
subminimum for tipped work-
ers by 2024. And the Arizona
measure also requires 40
hours a year of paid sick time
(24 for small businesses).
Washington’s measure re-
quires 40 hours a year of paid
sick time, and raises the mini-
mum to $13.50 by 2020. Vot-
ers in Flagstaff, Arizona went
even further than the state as a
whole, passing a local meas-
ure to raise the minimum to
$15 an hour for non-tipped
workers by 2021, and tipped
workers by 2026. And in
South Dakota, voters over-
turned a sub-minimum wage
that the Legislature estab-
lished for underage workers.
Right to Work
Today in 26 states, laws known
as “right-to-work” ban any
contract requiring union-repre-
sented workers pay dues to the
union. It’s a way to make sure
unions are weak and poorly
funded. But voters rejected a
ballot measure to make Vir-
ginia a right-to-work state by a
54-46 margin. Meanwhile, in
Alabama, already a “right-to-
work” state, voters by more
than 2-1 added right-to-work to
the state constitution. And in
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WASHINGTON ELECTION RESULTS
For the Washington state labor movement’s
election night scorecard, see Page 7.
Portland City
Council looks at
public campaign
finance
It’s backed by union and civic
groups, and Commissioner Fritz
hopes to pass it by year’s end.
By Don McIntosh
Portland City Council is consid-
ering an ordinance that could
significantly erode the power of
monied interests in city politics.
Known as the Open and Fair
Elections ordinance, it got its
first public hearing Nov. 3.
The ordinance would set up a
public campaign finance system
that matches small donations.
It’s modeled on programs al-
ready in place in New York City
and several other locales. Can-
didates for mayor, City Council,
and city auditor who want to
participate in the program
would agree to accept no more
than $250 from any individual,
and to limit the total contribu-
tions they’d accept to $250,000
in the primary and $300,000 in
the general election (more for
mayoral candidates). In return
the City would provide a six-to-
one match for contributions of
up to $50 from Portland resi-
dents — giving a candidate ac-
cess to up to $144,000 in public
funds for the primary and
$216,000 for the general elec-
tion (and about double that for a
mayoral candidate). The ordi-
nance limits the program to 0.2
percent of the City’s General
Fund — about $1.2 million a
year.
The ordinance comes at a
time when political campaign
contributions from corporations
and wealthy individuals are
reaching unprecedented levels.
Portland’s 2012 city candidate
races were dominated by 600
big donors who wrote checks of
$1,000 or more, contributing a
total of $1.7 million in the
mayor’s race and two city coun-
cil races. Oregon is one of only
six states that have no limit on
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