NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS |
September 15, 2017 | PAGE 5
HONORS
Legislative honors
Legislator of the Year State Rep. Dan Rayfield (D-Corvallis)
Union Defender Award State Sen. Arnie Roblan (D-Coos Bay)
Rookie of the Year State Sen. James Manning (D-Eugene)
Labor 2016 (Oregon AFL-CIO electoral effort)
Most volunteer shifts Oregon AFSCME, ATU Local 757, IATSE Local 28, IBEW Local 48,
Laborers Local 737, UFCW Local 555
Leadership in the workplace flier program Shane Nehls from Iron Workers Local 29
Outstanding volunteer Zack Culver of Laborers Local 737
Outstanding participation in political program Rose Etta Venetucci of IATSE Local 28
Union organizing
Largest private sector organizing victory United Food and Commercial Workers Local
555, for organizing 4,500 workers at Safeway/Albertsons
Largest public sector organizing victory AFT-Oregon, for organizing 800 graduate
students at Portland State University
Long-term efforts on behalf of Instafab workers Iron Workers District Council of the
Pacific Northwest
Including part-time and seasonal workers in organizing efforts at the City of
Portland Laborers Local 483
FACE TIME WITH
THE GOVERNOR
community around the state. I position on that particular issue.
Before addressing delegates, Ore-
gon Gov. Kate Brown sat down
with the Labor Press
You’ve been governor two and
a half years. Which laws have
you helped pass that helped
working people? The minimum
wage increase. Oregon con-
structed it differently than any
other state. From my perspective
it reflects the different economic
regions of Oregon but it also
moves us on the path to ensure
that people who are working full
time are not living in poverty.
I’m also very proud of the paid
sick leave bill that passed during
the 2015 legislative session.
If you’re elected to another
term, what kinds of legislation
would you help enact to help
working people? My focus is
around workforce training and
job training. … We want to give
our students in high school and
middle school access to hands-
on learning opportunities,
whether it’s welding, manufac-
turing, computer design, 3D
printing, graphic design. It truly
awakens them to the power of
their own potential. And we end
up with a really skilled and qual-
ified workforce.
Labor is starting to get in-
volved on the issue of afford-
able housing. It’s a statewide
problem. What would you do
to make housing more afford-
able? And do you favor re-
pealing the state law preempt-
ing local rent control ord-
inances? This is a national prob-
lem. My fellow governors and I
talk about this all the time. In
Oregon it’s impacting every
know from talking to my folks
at Business Oregon [the state
economic development agency]
that businesses are struggling to
move into smaller communities
because there is no housing
available for their workforce.
Since I became governor we’ve
invested close to $200 million in
building affordable units and
preventing homelessness and
providing rental assistance. Is
that enough? Statewide it feels
like a tip of the iceberg. But it’s
certainly significant to the fami-
lies that have been able to get
housing as a result. The other
piece is making sure local juris-
dictions have the tools that they
need to provide more access.
The third piece for me, and
we’re working this right now:
Our regional solutions team and
our economic development team
are working with the private sec-
tor to come up with innovative
solutions about how we build
more housing. So just to give
you an example, we partnered in
’15 and ’16 with a private devel-
oper in Pendleton to build hous-
ing for the workforce in Pendle-
ton. We’re looking for creative
solutions about how we can
leverage state and federal dollars
to build workforce housing. Be-
cause that’s the key to making
sure that our communities are
healthy and thriving.
One of the priorities for [Ore-
gon House Speaker] Tina
Kotek was lifting the preemp-
tion on rent control. Do you
have a position on that? I have
fought to make sure that our lo-
cal jurisdictions have the tools
that they need. I haven’t taken a
One of the perennial issues
Oregon faces is insufficient
revenue. And we’re still the
state that has the lowest over-
all tax burden on corpora-
tions. What would be your ap-
proach? My first priority is to
make sure that we’re tightening
our belts in state government,
that we’re spending every single
taxpayer dollar effectively and
efficiently. We made some steps
in that direction this last ses-
sion.… The second piece for me
is figuring out a path forward
that doesn’t unduly burden
working families but ensures
that the business community,
that corporations throughout the
state pay their fair share.
And that would be more than
they’re paying now? Yes. This
has been an ongoing struggle for
Oregon for decades. … I’ve had
a conversation with a number of
folks in the business commu-
nity: They want to do this. The
question is how do we do it in a
way that ensures that Oregon’s
economy continues to thrive and
that can create good-paying jobs
in every corner of the state.
What did you think of the idea
of Measure 97, the gross re-
ceipts tax like Washington has,
as the way to do it? I certainly
supported it. The voters dis-
agreed. We used that as the
frame for the conversation this
last session. I think it’s definitely
the beginning point of a conver-
sation about how we ensure that
large corporations pay their fair
share in Oregon.
— Don McIntosh
Legislative
scorecard
Every year, the Oregon AFL-CIO advocates in the state legislature
on behalf of workers — and finds out which lawmakers are
friends where it counts. After the legislative session ends, the la-
bor federation produces a scorecard that rates lawmakers, taking
into account not just actual votes on bills, but actions that helped
or hindered bills, and even examples where legislators helped
workers outside the Capitol to form a union or bargain a fair con-
tract. The scorecard puts lawmakers into four categories: Plat-
inum, Gold, Silver, and Bronze, plus an Honorable Mention cate-
gory for those who may not have voted consistently with labor
but helped deliver on at least one top priority.
OREGON SENATE
Platinum
Michael Dembrow
Arnie Roblan
Gold
Ginny Burdick
Kathleen Taylor
Richard Devlin
Lew Frederick
Sara Gelser
James Manning
Laurie Monnes-Anderson
Elizabeth Steiner-Hayward
Honorable
Mention
Silver
Brian Boquist
Alan DeBoer
Bill Hansell
Mark Hass
Betsy Johnson
Jackie Winters
Peter Courtney
Lee Beyer
Bronze
Rod Monroe
Floyd Prozanski
Chuck Riley
OREGON HOUSE
Platinum
Tina Kotek
Jennifer Williamson
Margaret Doherty
Chris Gorsek
Paul Holvey
Nancy Nathanson
Rob Nosse
Dan Rayfield
Barbara Smith Warner
Gold
Teresa Alonso Leon
Jeff Barker
Phil Barnhart
Ken Helm
Diego Hernandez
Ann Lininger
Sheri Malstrom
Susan McLain
Mark Meek
Carla Piluso
Karin Power
Tawna Sanchez
Janeen Sollman
Silver
Janelle Bynum
Paul Evans
Julie Fahey
David Gomberg
Mitch Greenlick
Alissa Keny-Guyer
John Lively
Pam Marsh
Jeff Reardon
Bronze
Brian Clem
Brad Witt
Honorable
Mention
John Huffman
Bill Kennemer
Caddy McKeown
Andy Olson
Greg Smith
