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About Northwest labor press. (Portland , Ore.) 1987-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 5, 2018)
NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS | October 5, 2018 | PAGE 3 She’s worked to educate the public about lead poisoning, asthma, and HIV. Today she runs Lane County’s antismok- ing program. Her district leans slightly Re- publican, but Inskip has been endorsed by Congressman Peter DeFazio and senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden. And she has labor in her corner. “We need to have people in office who know what it’s like to be a regular working Oregon- ian,” Inskip told the Labor Press. “We need more working people in the legislature — to represent our needs, not the needs of corporate interests.” ...Union members running for office From Page 2 part of the turnaround. A member of IBEW Local 280, he’s running as a Democrat in South Salem’s House District 19, challenging incumbent Denyc Boles. [Boles, a hospital lobbyist, was appointed to the seat when fellow Republican Jodi Hack resigned to head a lobby group for non-union homebuilders.] Ellison grew up in Albany in a blue collar household headed by a single mom. The ticket to a decent life was a union appren- ticeship. For the last 12 years, he’s worked at Northside Elec- tric as a journeyman electrician and project estimator. He and his wife, a UFCW member at Fred Meyer, have three kids, so he sees the decline in Oregon’s public schools and the burdens teachers face, and thinks successful individuals and corporations aren’t putting enough back into the system. “It’s time people stand up and say they need to pay their fair share,” Ellison told the Labor Press. Last June he earned a mas- ter’s in renewable energy engi- neering from the Oregon Insti- tute of Technology. If he he wins election, Ellison wants to unite greens and labor, and he wants to ensure labor has input when lawmakers put together a long- anticipated clean energy jobs bill next year. He would also work to re- store the prevailing wage, re- quiring projects funded with tax breaks to pay construction workers projects a living wage and benefits. So far, his campaign has knocked on over 9,000 doors and contacted over 15,000 vot- ers. By the end of October, he hopes to hit 15,000 doors and connect with 25,000 voters. The strike that lit a match for justice Like most members, Lane County public health worker Christy Inskip wasn’t that in- volved in her union. Then last October she and her fellow AF- SCME Local 2831 members went on strike. Fighting together for fair wages and benefits sparked in her a passion to fight for workers rights. Next election cycle Backed by organized labor, AFSCME member Christy Inskip is taking on two- term incumbent state rep Cedric Hayden in Roseburg. A year later, with union sup- port and training from the Ore- gon Labor Candidate School, she’s challenging the incumbent Republican in House District 7 (Roseburg). Cedric Hayden, a rancher and dentist, holds the same seat his father once did. He voted “no” on paid sick leave, “no” on the minimum wage increase, and “no” on the legislature’s funding package for Medicaid. Inskip says it’s past time more women, and more work- ing people, ran for office, and she’s ready to be one of them. Inskip was raised in the Ozarks of Southeastern Mis- souri by her dad, a mechanic and farmer, and her mom, a teacher’s aide then nurse. Inskip did them proud, earning a mas- ters degree in public health. Prusak, Ellison, and Inskip are just three of the Oregon union members who are making first- time runs for office this year. There are at least half a dozen others are running. Maybe next time it’ll be you? Oregon Labor Candidates School is looking for recruits. To find out more, and get in touch with them at oregonlaborcandidateschool.org THE OREGON MACHINISTS’ COUNCIL has endorsed the following candidates for the November 6, General Election STATE HOUSE CONGRESSIONAL District 1 U.S. Rep. SUZANNE BONAMICI STATE SENATE Senator JAMES MANNING, SD 7 Senator BETSY JOHNSON, SD 16 Candidate CHARLES GALLIA, SD 20 Rep. PAM MARSH, HD 5 Rep. PAUL HOLVEY, HD 8 Rep. CADDY MCKEOWN, HD 9 Rep. DAVID GOMBERG, HD 10 Rep. NANCY NATHANSON, HD 13 Rep. JULIE FAHEY, HD 14 Rep. DAN RAYFIELD, HD 16 Rep. PAUL EVANS, HD 20 Rep. SHERI MALSTROM, HD 27 Rep. JEFF BARKER, HD 28 Rep. SUSAN MCLAIN, HD 29 Rep. BRAD WITT, HD 31 Rep. MITCH GREENLICK, HD 33 Rep. MARGARET DOHERTY, HD 35 Rep. JENNIFER WILLIAMSON, HD 36 Candidate RACHEL PRUSAK, HD 37 Rep. BARBARA SMITH WARNER, HD 45 Rep. JEFF REARDON, HD 48 Rep. CARLA PILUSO, HD 50 Rep. JANELLE BYNUM, HD 51 All of the above candidates submitted letters asking for endorsement and the OMC acted accordingly. The OMC will consider all requests for endorsements from any political party’s candidate that supports unions, labor, wages, working and economic conditions.
