NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS | May 19, 2017 | PAGE 7
UNION DEMOCRACY
Oregon AFSCME convention: Respect for public service
Honors
The public sector union’s biennial
convention started with a noisy
rally in the Capitol Rotunda
Nearly 140 delegates represent-
ing over 22,000 members gath-
ered at the Salem Convention
Center April 28-30 for Oregon
AFSCME’s biennial conven-
tion. Oregon AFSCME (Amer-
ican Federation of State,
County, & Municipal Employ-
ees) is the statewide coordinat-
ing body for 113 AFSCME lo-
cals in Oregon, each
representing workers at a differ-
ent employer. As the name sug-
gests, Oregon AFSCME repre-
sents state, county, and
municipal employees, but also
some employees of nonprofit
organizations or private contrac-
tors that do work formerly done
by public employees.
Delegates recognized Michael
Arken, former Oregon AF-
SCME vice president for re-
tirees, for his years of service to
the union with a new award
named after him. Going for-
ward, every statewide conven-
tion will present the Michael
Arken Leadership Award to
honor a member who has
served the union selflessly.
Officer elections
Delegates also nominated and
elected members of Oregon
AFSCME’s 85-member Exec-
utive Board, including local
and regional seats, as well as
eight statewide officers:
REVENUE, NOT CUTS: The message at an April 28 union rally at the Oregon Capitol. (All photos by Ross Grami,
courtesy Oregon AFSCME)
Budget fight
The convention began with a
rally in the Capitol Rotunda to
protest a “cost containment
plan” proposed April 21 by the
co-chairs of the Oregon Legis-
lature’s Joint Ways and Means
Committee. The plan includes a
temporary hiring freeze, an in-
crease in public employees’
share of retirement costs, and a
policy of limiting collective bar-
gaining agreements to two years
for economic issues. Rally-go-
ers’ message: Cuts to public
services are unacceptable so
long as Oregon corporations
continue to pay the lowest effec-
tive tax rate in the nation. Law-
makers must have heard them:
Their chants made a deafening
din inside the echoey rotunda
chamber.
The following day, Oregon
Governor Kate Brown came to
the convention floor to address
delegates, pledging to work with
Oregon AFSCME to make sure
that the state budget isn’t bal-
anced on members’ backs.
Right-to-work coming
The opening night keynote
speaker was Lee Saunders, AF-
SCME national president.
Saunders delivered a fiery
wake-up call: 1.6-million-
member AFSCME — like all
other public sector unions — is
likely six to 12 months away
from a financial crisis. Mem-
bers of the U.S. Supreme Court
have indicated that they are
open to overturning the Court’s
1977 unanimous Abood v. De-
Oregon AFSCME interim executive
director Stacy Chamberlain at the
April 28 Capitol rally.
Newly elected Oregon AFSCME officers (from left): secretary Korie Erickson,
treasurer Beth Toms, president Jeff Klatke, first vice president Christy O’Neill,
and second vice president Dominic López.
troit Board of Education deci-
sion. The Abood decision said
that union-represented workers
who don’t want to join the
union can still be assessed
“agency” or “fair share” fees to
recover the costs of collective
bargaining, contract adminis-
tration, and grievance adjust-
ment. But a pending case called
Janus vs AFSCME challenges
the Abood decision, and it’s
thought that the new 5-4 major-
ity is likely to overturn it. If that
happens, public employees
wouldn’t be required to pay
anything at all to the union for
representation.
To prepare, Oregon AF-
SCME — like other unions —
has been working to persuade
“fair share” payers to convert to
full membership. Oregon AF-
SCME president Jeff Klatke
says union membership has
gone from about 78 percent of
total represented workers to
about 85 percent in the last few
years. Total membership now
stands at just over 27,000.
Klatke, who’s been president
since 2013, says lately he’s
been seeing an upsurge of new
members, and of energy.
“A lot of people are saying:
‘I can’t sit on my hands. What
can I do in my local?’” Klatke
said.
A welcoming union
In light of recent tensions
around immigration and reli-
gious belief, delegates passed a
resolution affirming that Oregon
AFSCME is “a welcoming and
safe union for all members and
their families,” and that signage
announcing that be posted at all
of its offices.
Equity
Oregon AFSCME’s Diversity
Committee gave a presentation
to delegates about the “equity
lens” it has crafted over the last
few years with the help of the
Labor Education and Research
Center at the University of Ore-
gon. The equity lens is an ap-
proach to examining the union’s
policies and practices to make
sure all members are being
treated “equitably,” not just
equally. For example, union
meetings are open to all mem-
bers equally, but are they sched-
uled at times and locations that
make it easy for car-free mem-
bers to attend? Is child care
available, to make it easier for
single parents to attend? And in
bargaining, are there proposals
that benefit some groups of
workers more than others? Us-
ing the equity lens means asking
those questions and taking ac-
tion to make the union more eq-
uitable.
“This isn’t just about creat-
ing diversity,” said Klatke,
who’s a member of the com-
mittee. “It’s about creating a
union that honors the input of
all members, and it’s about
holding our employers ac-
countable for equitable prac-
tices.”
■ President Jeff Klatke of Local 3135
(Home Forward)
■ First vice president Christy O’Neill of
Local 2619 (Southern Oregon Head Start,
Medford)
■ Second vice president (and Political
Action Committee chair) Dominic López
of Local 1790 (Basic Rights Oregon)
■ Treasurer Beth Toms of Local 173 (Polk
County)
■ Secretary Korie Erickson of Local 88
(Multnomah County)
■ Trustees Denise Choin of Local 3241
(Oregon Office of Emergency
Management); Jeff Coffman of Local
3361 (Eastern Oregon Correctional
Institution); and Theresia Lloyd-Siemer
of Local 328 (Oregon Health & Science
University)
All the newly elected offi-
cers ran as a team. Lopez out-
polled Local 3361 member
Bryan Branstetter, and Erick-
son outpolled incumbent An-
nette Skillman of Local 2376;
the others ran unopposed and
were elected by acclamation.
Except for Klatke, it’s an all-
new team of officers.
All the elected officer posi-
tions are unpaid and are for two
year terms of office. The orga-
nization’s staff of about 60 is
led by an executive director ap-
pointed and overseen by the
Executive Board.
Oregon AFSCME Stacy
Chamberlain has served as in-
terim executive director since
the March 31 departure of
Michael Seville, who served
than a year on the job. The ex-
ecutive committee of the Exec-
utive Board is recommending
that the full board name Cham-
berlain to the post permanently
when the board next meets in
July.