PAGE 30 | August 24, 2018 | NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS
Who’s on our side?
By Tom Chamberlain Oregon AFL-CIO President
Missouri:
Roadmap to victory
On Aug. 7, Missourians handily defeated Proposition A,
a statewide so-called “right to work” measure in a sweeping
victory. At a 2:1 ratio, Missouri voters pushed back against
this dangerous legislation and attracted national attention
for creating a pathway forward for unions, inspiration for
workers, and a renewed vigor for the labor movement on
the heels of the Janus V. AFSCME decision in June by the
U.S. Supreme Court.
What’s more, it has snapped politicians to attention. Fol-
lowing the landslide vote against Prop. A, former Missouri
governor Jay Nixon told Politico “I wouldn't want to be on
the ballot if I was in favor of right to work in 90 days.
Clearly, there’s been a path defined.”
While Nixon isn’t on the ballot, his statement carries a
lot of weight. In the months leading up to Janus, stories
about unions’ declining power were frequent. They counted
us out, despite the wave of educators walking out and strik-
ing across the country. In Oregon, we saw the struggles at
places like Burgerville and Volunteers of America as indi-
cators of a rising tide of collective action. Missouri is the
proof of that, showing us what happens when unions truly
stand together to defend workers’ rights.
The hustle by unions on the ground in Missouri was re-
markable. Dedicated union members, leaders and staff from
across the country were embedded in the robust campaign,
including over a dozen from Oregon. Together with Mis-
souri’s union movement, they knocked over 800,000 doors.
They dominated the airwaves with ads, ran robust digital
media campaigns and texted and called voters to mobilize
supporters of the campaign to knock out Prop. A. The cam-
paign also focused on persuading voters to reach across
party lines to support Missouri’s unions. According to
Politico, as many as half of the Republicans who voted did
so against Prop A., accounting for about 300,000 votes in a
state where Republican legislators have pushed for “right
to work” for years.
Equally impressive are the 310,000+ signatures turned in
by Missouri’s unions to repeal “right to work” last year. For
years, anti-union legislators attempted to pass “right-to-
work” which finally stuck in 2017, leading to the August
7th election and subsequent victory at the polls. Missouri’s
unions’ dedication to defending workers’ rights and refusing
to become the U.S.’s 28th state under “right to work” should
be a lesson to all of us. Both the signature-gathering and
the following electoral campaign should serve as a roadmap
for how unions can fight back in an age where corporate
dollars pour into any politician or law seeking to shut us
down.
Oregon’s Union Movement is taking notes from Mis-
souri. While efforts to undermine our unions in Oregon
may look different than in Missouri, there is no shortage of
work to do to make Oregon a place where working people
have a fair shot at prosperity. Whether it’s defeating ballot
measures which hurt workers, defending a champion for
workers like Governor Kate Brown, or electing a new ad-
vocate for workers’ rights to our legislature, union members
will be busy across Oregon this election season. Missouri’s
example of fusing union solidarity with cutting edge cam-
paigning is how we can win big for working people here in
Oregon, and how unions around the country can turn the
tide against attacks on our rights.
Tom Chamberlain is president of the Oregon AFL-CIO, a 138,000-member-
strong federation of labor unions.
...Missouri voters trounce ‘right-to-work’
From Page 1
not just union members.… We
would talk to people and even if
they weren’t a union member
they’d say, ‘My mom was a
union member and that’s why I
have this house.’”
Joining members of Missouri
Local 101 of the Operating En-
gineers and other pro-union vol-
unteers, Strickland spoke with
over 300 people at more than
200 homes, as part of the can-
vass effort organized by the
union-backed anti-Proposition
A group We Are Missouri.
It was by any standard a mas-
sive effort, drawing union staff
from around the nation to Mis-
souri. The “no” campaign raised
over $16 million, compared to
$5.2 million for the “yes” cam-
paign.
Besides Strickland, at least 15
others from Oregon went to
Missouri: UFCW Local 555
sent a crew of 13 people for 10
days. And the Oregon AFL-CIO
sent regional field staff mem-
bers Evan Lasley and Noah
Goldberg-Jaffe for a week.
The right-to-work law —
passed as Senate Bill 19 last
year — would have taken effect
on Aug. 28, 2017. But the Mis-
souri AFL-CIO gathered more
than 310,000 signatures — three
times as many as they needed
— to refer it to the ballot. The
Operating Engineers Local 701 organizer Scott Strickland flew to Missouri to
help beat an anti-union right-to-work law. Backing him up was his fiancée
Jenny Stinson, who took time off work and paid out of pocket to join the
fight.
measure was supposed to ap-
pear on the Nov. 6, 2018 ballot,
but the Republican-majority
Legislature earlier this year
voted on party lines to move the
election to Aug. 7, thinking that
a low-turnout would work in
their favor.
In the end, the tally was
937,241 to 452,075: 67 percent
of Missouri voters said no to
“right to work.”
“ We would talk to
people and even if
they weren’t a union
member they’d say,
‘My mom was a
union member and
that’s why I have this
house.’ ”