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About Northwest labor press. (Portland , Ore.) 1987-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 16, 2018)
pAgE 4 | November 16, 2018 | NorTHWEST LAbor prESS ... A night of wins for working people From Page 2 ENd bAN oN rENT coNTroL? No Amid one of the worst affordable housing crises in the country, California Proposition 10 would have repealed a 1995 state law banning local rent control ordinances. But it went down to defeat 62 to 38 percent after landlords and realtors spent $74 million opposing it, three times as much as supporters spent. Blackstone Group, the world's largest real estate management firm, led the opposition, spending more than $5.5 million. In the same election, voters approved Proposition 1, which authorizes the state to borrow $4 billion on the bond market to construct an estimated 50,000 units of low-income housing. LImIT dIALySIS cLINIc proFITEErINg? No The SEIU Healthcare Workers West union has been fighting for years to unionize two major dialysis chains in California, DaVita and Fresenius Medical Care North America. This year, the union authored California Proposition 8 to limit dialysis corporate revenues to 15 percent more than they spend on patient care. SEIU and its allies raised $18.9 million, but dialysis companies raised $111.0 million. Voters rejected it 62 to 38 percent. TAKE AWAy pArAmEdIcS’ rIgHT To rEST brEAKS? SUrE After the California Supreme Court ruled that security officers had to be given duty-free meal and rest breaks like other workers, ambulance giant AMR financed California Proposition 11 to allow ambulance providers to require workers to remain on call during paid breaks. AMR spent $35 million; labor organizations, including the state AFL- CIO, opposed it. It passed 59 to 41 percent. To TAcKLE HomELESSNESS, TAX bIg compANIES Voters in San Francisco approved Proposition C by 60 percent, increasing taxes on big companies by $300 million to double the budget for housing and services for homeless people. The measure imposes a 0.5 percent gross receipts tax on corporate revenues above $50 million. ImprovE coNdITIoNS For HoTEL WorKErS? yES ANd yES In Oakland, voters approved Measure Z by 75 percent. For large hotels, it sets a $15 minimum wage, limits housecleaner workload, and requires that staff have a panic button to protect against sexual assault. And in Anaheim, businesses that have received city tax breaks will have to increase the minimum wage they pay employees — to $15 starting in January, rising to $18 an hour by 2022. Led by UNITE HERE Local 11, unions representing Disney workers collected the signatures needed to put the measure on the ballot. Disney fought hard against it, but a narrow majority of Anaheim voters decided it’s time the company raised its wages. HI, IT’S GOVERNOR KATE BROWN: When Oregon Governor Kate Brown visited Oregon AFL-CIO headquarters Oct. 23 and was shown the federation’s computer-assisted text and phone bank system, she wanted to try it out herself. It worked great … though it was unclear if the voters phone banked by the governor believed it was really her! Fortunately, her calls were only an infinitesimal part of a massive political effort coordinated by the Oregon AFL- CIO. Union staff and volunteers — aided by 26 paid canvassers — knocked on 110,000 doors, contacted over 210,000 voters by phone and text message, sent 400,000 pieces of mail, and talked with more than 5,000 union construction workers at work sites. As polls closed Nov. 6, the AFL-CIO hosted orEgoN ELEcTIoN HIgHLIgHTS orEgoN rE-ELEcTEd ALL 5 coNgrES- SIoNAL INcUmbENTS. NoW 4 oF THEm WILL bE IN THE mAJorITy Former AF- SCME member Jamie McLeod Skinner came closer to beating Republican Greg Walden than any Democrat in the 22 years since he first ran. But she was still a long way from winning Oregon’s heavily-Re- publican 2nd Congressional District, which spans all of Oregon east of the Cascades. When the dust settled, the union-backed Democrat McLeod Skinner got 40 percent of the vote, compared to 57 percent for Walden. Oregon’s four other incumbents — Earl Blumenauer, Suzanne Bonam- ici, Peter DeFazio, and Kurt Schrader — all won easily. All Democrats, they’ll now have a greater chance to enact legislation once their party takes control the House in January. Longtime infrastructure advocate Peter DeFazio is likely to chair the House Transportation and Infrastructure Commit- tee, a great spot from which to pressure President Trump to get serious about the $1 trillion infrastructure pledge he made during the 2016 presidential campaign. FoUr morE yEArS For govErNor KATE broWN As Oregon union officers and activists gathered on election night to watch results come in, no worry was greater than the thought that Oregon Gov. Kate Brown could lose re-election in what was thought to be a close race against Bend Republican Knute Buehler. It had become the most expensive political contest in Oregon history, and unions had worked very hard to turn out volunteers on her behalf. That’s because Brown had signed major legislation raising the minimum wage, mandating paid sick leave and funding transportation infrastructure, while Buehler voted against all those and campaigned on replacing public employee pensions with a 401(k). In the end, it wasn’t that close: Brown got 50 percent of the vote, and Buehler got 44 percent. dEmocrATS WIN THE LoNg- SoUgHT LEgISLATIvE SUpEr- mAJorITy Oregon Democrats picked up three seats in the state house and one in the state senate. Come January they’ll have a 38 to 22 House supermajority and a 18 to 12 Senate supermajority — and that means potentially the ability to pass major revenue reform for the first time in more than two decades. In Oregon, businesses pay the lowest overall taxes of any state in the country. That’s probably because of a 1996 ballot measure that requires a 3/5 legislative supermajority to raise taxes of any kind. Now, Democrats have more than 3/5, thanks to the four pickups: Senate District 3 (Ashland/ Medford), where Democrat Jeff Golden outpolled Republican Jessica Gomez; House District 37 (West Linn), where union nurse Rachel Prusak beat incumbent Republican Julie Parrish; House District 26 (Sherwood), where high school Spanish teacher Courtney Neron unseated incumbent Republican real estate lawyer Rep. Rich Vial; and House District 52 (Hood River), where social worker Anna Williams outpolled Republican incumbent Jeffrey Helfrich. bETTEr LUcK NEXT TImE For UNIoN mEmbEr cANdIdATES? Winning with 52 percent, Prusak was the lone success story of the four Oregon union members who ran for the first time for the state Legislature this year, all Democrats. In Senate District 13 (Keizer), OSEA Local 17 president Sarah Grider, an educational assistant at Newberg High School, got 44 percent of the vote in her challenge to incumbent Republican Kim Thatcher. In House District 7 (Roseburg), AFSCME 2831 member Kristy Inskip — who was inspired to run after going on strike in Lane County —got 39 percent of the vote in her challenge to Republican incumbent Cedric Hayden. And in House District 19 (Salem) IBEW Local 280 electrician Mike Ellison got 47 percent of the vote in his challenge of Republican incumbent Denyc Boles. a celebration, and President Tom Cham- berlain honored those that led the way: ▪ Operating Engineers Local 701 for its outstanding commitment to the AFL-CIO electoral campaign ▪ IBEW Local 48 organizer Eric Hayes, for coordinating the AFL-CIO’s work site flier campaign — and Columbia Pacific Building Trades Council, Oregon Building Trades Council, Sheet Metal Local 16, and Cement Masons Local 555 for leading the way in supporting the campaign. ▪ Oregon State Fire Fighters, who turned out the most volunteers ▪ OSEA and AFT-Oregon for releasing staff to help with get-out-the-vote efforts. ▪ UFCW Local 555 for releasing staff and providing professional printing services. mETro ANd coUNTy rAcES METRO Metro voters passed, by 58 percent, a $652.8 million bond to building affordable housing region-wide. They also elected Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries legislative director Christine Lewis as the new councilor for Metro District 2. Facing Lake Oswego City Council member Joe Buck, Lewis had the support of all but a few unions in the race. CLACKAMAS COUNTY Scandal-plagued incumbent County Clerk Sherry Hall defeated a union-backed challenge by Pamela White, 52 percent to 48 percent. COLUMBIA COUNTY Union-endorsed incumbent commissioner Henry Heimuller was easily re-elected with 63 percent of the vote. LANE COUNTY With East Lane County candidate Heather Buch winning 56 percent of the vote, union activists in Lane County celebrated the take-back of the Lane County Commission — one year after a union-hostile majority provoked a strike by county workers. Buch’s win, following the May primary win of union- backed candidate Joe Berney, means a pro-union 3-2 majority will now preside at a County Commission that four years ago passed ordinances to undermine and overrule a City of Eugene paid sick leave ordinance. MARION COUNTY Union-backed Shelaswau Crier failed in her bid to unseat incumbent Republican commissioner Kevin Cameron, a former state rep. MULTNOMAH COUNTY Union-endorsed candidate Jennifer McGuirk won her race for Multnomah County auditor with 57 percent of the vote. And in a rare contested judicial race, union-endorsed incumbent Multnomah County Circuit Court Judge Ben Souede got 67 percent against challenger Bob Callahan. WASHINGTON COUNTY Current Metro Council member Kathryn Harrington, with broad union support, won 67 percent in her race against Bob Terry for Washington County Chair. YAMHILL COUNTY Backed by SEIU and UFCW, marijuana farmer Casey Kulla defeated (56 to 44) incumbent Yamhill County Commissioner Stan Primozich, a financial advisor backed by county Republicans. cITy rAcES GLADSTONE NW Oregon Labor Council- endorsed Tammy Stempel was elected mayor, and Matt Tracy won his race for city council. GRESHAM For Gresham City Council races, labor-endorsed incumbent Mario Palmero won easily in a field of six, but former Jobs with Justice board member Eddy Morales lost narrowly to incumbent Kirk French. HILLSBORO Union-backed incumbents Kyle Allen and Olivia Alcaire won re- election to Hillsboro City Council. Allen is a former union member and Working America canvasser. Both were endorsed by the NW Oregon Labor Council. LAKE OSWEGO Eight candidates faced off for three city council positions, and two out of the four union-endorsed candidates won election: incumbent Jackie Manz and Bambuza restaurant chain owner Daniel Nguyen. MILWAUKIE Mark Gamba, with support from the NW Oregon Labor Council, was elected mayor. PORTLAND In the race for the seat held by City Commissioner Dan Saltzman, unions split over who to back: Public sector unions backed Jo Ann Hardesty while building trades unions and the NW Oregon Labor Council backed Loretta Smith. In the end, Hardesty won with 62 percent of the vote. Voters also approved the Clean Energy Jobs ballot measure by 65 percent. The measure was endorsed by the Columbia Pacific Building Trades Council. It will tax the biggest companies doing business in Portland and use the proceeds to fund local conservation and renewable energy projects. TIGARD Jason Snider, with support from the NW Oregon Labor Council, was elected mayor.
