PAGE 6 | July 20, 2018 | NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS
Who’s on our side?
By Tom Chamberlain Oregon AFL-CIO President
Ballot measure fight
coming this November
PORTlANd HOSTS UNION SPORTSMEN AllIANCE (USA) bANqUET. The Union Sportsmen’s
Alliance (USA) held its third annual conservation dinner in Portland July 13 at the IBEW Local 48 Hall in North-
east Portland. The event was co-sponsored by the Oregon State Building and Construction Trades Council.
USA, an affiliate organization of the AFL-CIO, is a non-profit conservation group that unites union members
and their families who hunt, fish, shoot, and enjoy the outdoors. USA raises funds at events held throughout
the country, then combines that with the unique trade skills of union volunteers to work on projects in local
communities that conserve wildlife habitat, improve access to the outdoors, restore parks, and provide youth
mentorship. The Portland group completed its first project in May — raising trusses and placing plywood
sheeting for roofs on a new shooting sports complex for the Cascade Pacific Council Boy Scouts of America
at Camp Meriwether on the Oregon Coast. USA has completed more than 100 projects in 39 states since its
inception. The July 13 Portland banquet drew some 250 members from 16 labor groups, including the Ore-
gon AFL-CIO. Among those in attendance, pictured above from left, were: Joe Harris, a business rep for Sheet
Metal Workers Local 16; Jack Kennedy, a member of IBEW Local 48; Noel Willet, directing business represen-
tative of Machinists Lodge W24; and Scott Zadow, a business rep for IBEW Local 48. They are entering a draw-
ing to win prizes that include firearms and hunting and fishing gear. Membership to USA includes a digital
subscription to The Union Sportsmen’s Journal, an e-newsletter with tips and special offers, and chances to
win prizes and trips all year. For more information, go to http://unionsportsmen.org.
As expected, the pro-corporate justices of the U.S. Supreme
Court ruled in favor of Janus in the Janus v AFSCME case, cre-
ating national “Right to Work” for the public-sector. Immedi-
ately, the Freedom Foundation implemented their program to
have workers drop union membership. The report I’ve received
from the field is that Freedom Foundation strategy is backfiring
due to years of internal organizing. Public-sector workers know
who the Freedom Foundation is: Their mission is to destroy
the American union movement. Their well-funded corporate
backers such as the Koch brothers pump millions into the Free-
dom Foundation, hoping to destroy our political programs. Just
look at the initiatives that will likely qualify for the November
ballot.
While the verification of submitted initiative petitions has
not been completed, we have a good idea as to what will be on
November’s ballot. News organizations across the state have
reported on serious fraud allegations by signature gatherers.
The Portland Tribune reported: “A whistleblower is alleging
elections and labor law violations against Ballot Access LLC
of Bend, which has been paid to gather signatures for Initiative
Petitions 22, 31 and 37. Street Roots reports: “For weeks, sig-
nature gatherers working for Ballot Access LLC have been re-
portedly lying to Portland voters, telling them an initiative to
repeal Oregon’s sanctuary-state status would do the opposite.”
Here is what we may be up against:
■ Initiative Petition 1 IP 1 would amend Oregon’s constitution to prohibit spending
public funds on abortion. It would have a disproportionate impact on teachers, nurses,
firefighters and thousands of other public-sector workers, who would no longer be
eligible for abortion coverage through their health plans. The measure also impacts
approximately 250,000 women from receiving reproductive benefits through the
Oregon Health Plan.
■ Initiative Petition 22 IP 22 would throw out Oregon’s sanctuary law, which has
been protecting Oregonians from unfair racial profiling for more than 30 years. Daily,
we hear increasing stories of long-time U.S. residents deported to a country they don’t
even know, families torn apart, ICE raids, and children detained in immigration camps.
Throwing out this law could turn local police into another arm of Trump’s deportation
force. If this ballot measure passes, local police could be asked to use personnel, funds,
equipment and facilities to locate and arrest people suspected of violating federation
immigration law. Immigrants, including those who may be undocumented, shouldn’t
live in fear of harassment or their families being torn apart.
■ Initiative Petition 31 IP 31 amends the Oregon constitution by expanding the
3/5ths majority requirement in the legislature currently needed to create or raise taxes
to include all bills that raise revenue. This initiative is funded by Priority Oregon, a dark-
money corporate group pushing an obstructionist, anti-worker agenda. The measure
would make it harder for the legislature to close tax loopholes and hold corporations
accountable for paying their fair share in taxes. This is a big business effort to gridlock
the legislature and block funding for schools and vital services.
■ Initiative Petition 37 IP 37, which has already qualified by submitting ample
signatures, would amend the Oregon Constitution by prohibiting taxes based on
transactions for “groceries.” Legal analysis shows it’s misleading and the measure
would apply to far more than just conventional grocery retailers – it would include
food processors, trucking companies, slaughterhouses, restaurants and fast food
chains. The measure is so broad that it applies to transactions such as the Oregon bottle
deposit fee, fuel tax, and restaurant meals. The measure is retroactive to September
2017 to repeal parts of Measure 101 to fund Medicaid for low-income families and
seniors. IP 37 is funded by big, out-of-state grocers including Albertsons, Safeway,
Kroger and Costco.
These initiative petitions reflect a far-right, corporatist
agenda. These groups believe Janus will weaken Oregon’s
union movement, allowing them to change Oregon to be in line
with their beliefs. They have miscalculated. Our union move-
ment stands ready to repeal these out-of-state invaders.
The Oregon AFL-CIO is a 138,000-member-strong federation of labor unions.