PAGE 24 | December 15, 2017 | NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS
Presents From Partners’
Toy Challenge:
Who’s on our side?
The results are in!
The heat was on for Labor’s
Community Service Agency’s
Presents From Partners holiday
toy drive competition! This year,
Oregon Federation of Nurses
and Healthcare Professionals
(OFNHP) Local 5017 challenged
all of labor to dig deep and bring
in toys for union families in
need. And that they did! The
challenge was who could sub-
mit the most 32- to 45-gallon
garbage bags filled with un-
wrapped toys by Dec. 11. Local
5017 turned in 20 bags (pictured
with OFNHP’s Adrienne Eng-
house above right). The South-
west Washington Central Labor
Council (delegates pictured be-
low) gathered 18 bags, but
added a $2,000 donation.
By Tom Chamberlain Oregon AFL-CIO President
The Strength of
Standing Together
“Both have graciously offered to
take a tie in the competition,” said
LCSA Executive Director Eryn
Byram. And just as importantly,
the runners up — Iron Workers
Local 29 and IBEW Local 48 —
turned in hundreds more toys
for the kids, who are the real
winners of this friendly compe-
tition. “Labor’s Community Serv-
ice Agency and the multi-union
planning committee stand in
awe of the results,” Byram said.
2017 was a year full of challenges and opportunities for
workers. The union movement’s response to the hurdles of
the past year are an inspiration to me, and I look forward to
seeing how much further we can go in the months and years
ahead.
Make no mistake: Our movement is under attack. Attacks
on unions are nothing new, and we have weathered these
storms before. The blood, sweat, and tears of the labor
movement are what built an America where working people
have a decent shot at a prosperous life. What we do in the
next year will determine how things will be for our children,
our grandchildren and onward.
Our fights are their future, and the lessons of 2017 can
teach us a lot about how to move forward. We have seen a
strong wave of activism, resistance and organizing that I
have personally never experienced, and some of the most
inspiring examples are from our own state.
The bravery shown by workers standing together to im-
prove their conditions at work is always an exceptional ex-
ample of what the future may bring. From workers at New
Seasons speaking out against union busting, to welders at
Precision Castparts rallying for recognition, to medical tech-
nicians in Springfield defying a campaign of intimidation
to win their election, one thing is clear: Oregon’s workers
are thirsty for justice and will not settle for anything less
than freedom and fairness. We’ve seen it with Volunteers of
America workers fighting for a contract. We saw it during
the strike in Lane County. And we have seen it in the faces
of everyone who has fought against the travel ban and the
revocation of DACA and TPS.
There are many more examples of what inspired me from
the past year, and they all share a common theme: standing
together. The simple idea of solidarity and supporting each
other in our struggles is what places the union movement at
the center of the fight for a better life for working people.
Union members understand the value of standing together
and the importance of strength in numbers. That strength in
numbers leads to better pay, decent benefits and safe work-
ing conditions — not just for unions but for all workers.
That’s part of the reason that in 2017 union favorability was
the highest it has been in two decades, and union activism
is on the rise: The idea of standing together matters more
now than ever before.
2017 took us to a crossroads, and we have a choice: Do
we keep moving forward by standing together, keep making
progress for working people and keep resisting attacks on
our rights? Or do we step back and let our opponents try to
take us out?
I know which direction I am going, and it’s the direction
many unions are already headed: forward. The internal and
external organizing happening across the state, along with
our legislative and electoral wins, are winds at our backs,
and I look forward to building strong unions and fighting
for working people in 2018.
The Oregon AFL-CIO is a 138,000-member-strong federation of labor unions.
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