PAGE 6 | June 21, 2019 | NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS
Who’s on our side?
By Tom Chamberlain Oregon AFL-CIO President
We must not forget Oregon Democrats’ betrayal on PERS
The best thing about being president of
the Oregon AFL-CIO — with less than
100 days until the end of my term — is
that I can now say whatever I want, when-
ever I want. For example, in the past, I felt
limited in the ways I held legislative De-
mocrats accountable. There is a tendency
to soften one’s criticism, understanding
that there is always a next session and an-
other legislative agenda. Holding legisla-
tive leadership accountable with state-
ments that are too harsh could impact
future legislative agendas. I am sorry to
say: There are too few Republicans that
we can count on to help move our agenda,
making the Democrats the only game in
town for labor issues.
I don’t believe in exclusive support of
political parties. Organized labor should
support those who support workers, and
hold those accountable who side with a
corporate capitalist agenda at the expense
of workers. But there was a wrong and a
betrayal done to Oregon workers in 2019
that is so heinous it would be wrong to
look the other way for the sake of future
agendas.
The corporate capitalist agenda was on
full display during the 2019 Oregon Leg-
islature. It started with passage of the Stu-
dent Success Act, which promises to in-
crease much needed funding to Oregon
schools by $1 billion per year. Oregon
corporations will pay for the increase
through a gross receipts tax. In 2016, Ore-
gon corporations paid the lowest corpo-
rate taxes in the nation. The Student Suc-
cess Act will do little to change that, since
a portion of the tax is being passed
through to consumers.
I commend the Oregon Legislature for
increasing K-12 funding. It is high time
that Oregon corporations begin paying
their fair share for Oregon services, and I
Workers at Fred Meyer and
Safeway take strike votes
Thousands of workers in the
Portland metro area are taking
part in a series of strike author-
ization votes at Fred Meyer,
QFC, Safeway and Albertsons.
The votes are taking place de-
partment by department, and
started with meat department
workers May 20-23, followed
by grocery workers June 10-12
and Fred Meyer central check-
out cashiers June 18-20. Fred
Meyer workers in non-food de-
partments like apparel will vote
June 25-27. The results won’t
be publicly announced until all
groups have voted.
Bargaining between Local
hope this is the first step in achieving that the governor’s office did not dissuade
goal.
them from fulfilling their promises to
Since 2008, Oregon corporations have Oregon workers.
pounded the drum on their perception that
The 31 House Democrats and the 13
PERS provides overly generous retire- Senate Democrats who voted for the leg-
ment benefits and funding. PERS is cur- islation, along with the governor, broke
rently funded at 80%. Translation: If their promises to Oregon workers. I have
every active PERS member were to retire reams of candidate questionnaires from
today, Oregon would be $27 billion short. union-endorsed House and Senate candi-
This shortfall is a result of the 2008 stock dates who promised not to cut PERS ben-
market crash and has little to do with Tier efits. The governor promised as well. To
3 members who make up
go back on that prom-
just over 60% of current
ise undermines their
active public employees.
credibility with the
Oregon unions should
These employees receive
unions who endorsed
not base their endorse-
a much smaller benefit
them. Worse yet, such
ments on promises made
than previous retirees.
action undermines the
by House and Senate
The PERS Tier 3 payroll
very credibility of our
cost is 8%. Such legacy
political programs.
members who are fast
costs shouldn’t be the re-
Our members spent
to break those promises
sponsibility of workers,
their hard-earned
when it is convenient.
but treated as an Oregon
money and dedicated
Rather, we must support
debt that needs to be
countless volunteer
candidates based on
paid.
hours electing De-
their demonstrated
Oregon corporations
mocrats that they
involved with the pas-
trusted to fulfill the
performance.
sage of the Student Suc-
commitments they
cess Act exacted a price
made to them through
for their support. Senate
the endorsement pro-
Bill 1049 will result in a loss of between cess. These candidates sought our en-
7 to 12.5% in workers’ individual retire- dorsements!
ment accounts, according to the PERS
The Oregon Senate and House leader-
agency. SB 1049 does little to nothing to- ship kept in question exactly when SB
ward paying down the PERS unfunded li- 1049 would be up for a vote until the last
ability. Tier 3 recipients already receive minute. This blatant political manipula-
the lowest retirement benefits in PERS, tion of the legislative process intentionally
and the only thing SB 1040 ensures is that prevented workers from witnessing the
Tier 3 will see even lower benefits in the betrayal. Then, the legislative handwring-
ing and excuses for the vote came like an
future.
The bill passed both the House and avalanche. Excuses ranged from: “We
Senate by one vote. Seven House Democ- stopped the Nesbitt PERS initiative,
rats and five Senate Democrats stood with which would have been worse,” to one
Oregon workers and voted against SB senator actually saying: “You really didn’t
1049. Pressure from their leadership and believe us, did you?”
555 and the multi-employer
coalition passed the one-year
mark June 19, and Aug. 5 will
mark one year since the most
recent set of contracts between
the union and grocery employ-
ers expired. The two sides re-
main far apart on wages, health
insurance and other proposals.
Veterans nursing home
workers stay union
Workers at a nursing home for
veterans in The Dalles, Ore-
gon, voted June 10 by 60 to 37
to remain unionized with the
United Steelworkers (USW).
That meant defeat for an effort
to dump the union that repre-
sents 170 workers at non-profit
Veterans Care Centers of Ore-
gon.
The vote on “decertifica-
tion” came just weeks after
workers there — both union
and nonunion — voted to ap-
prove a new three-year union
contract that raises wages 15%.
It’s highly unusual for workers
who aren’t members of a union
to be allowed to vote on a col-
lective bargaining agreement,
but USW representative Jim
Kilborn explained that USW
agreed in light of the nursing
home agreeing, for the first
time, that all workers would
pay union dues as a condition
of employment, a provision
known as union security.
For the record, the Nesbitt PERS ini-
tiative, which takes an axe to PERS ben-
efits, is still active and on course to be on
the 2020 ballot.
It should not be lost on anyone that
while corporations were at the table hav-
ing input into the Student Success Act,
Oregon public sector unions were not in-
vited to have input into the governor’s
PERS proposal, or the House and Senate
proposals. The PERS reforms of 2005 and
2013 both included the leadership of pub-
lic sector unions. This begs the question:
Why would the governor and legislative
leadership totally silence the voice of
workers in this process?
If it wasn’t for the PERS betrayal,
many would view the 2019 Oregon leg-
islative session as the most successful in
a decade. The SB 1049 betrayal becomes
the focal point because unions and our
members worked hard and spent their
hard-earned dollars based on promises
made during the campaign season. Mem-
bers ask: How can we elect a governor,
achieve super majorities in the House and
Senate, and still public employee unions
weren’t even invited to the table in PERS
reform? Oregon unions should not base
their endorsements on promises made by
House and Senate members who are fast
to break those promises when it is con-
venient. Rather, we must support candi-
dates based on their demonstrated per-
formance.
There must be an analysis made for
those union-endorsed candidates who
faced the greatest odds in crowded pri-
maries and are only in the Legislature due
to the hard work of our members. We
must not forget.
The Oregon AFL-CIO is a 138,000-member-strong
federation of labor unions.
...Little Big Union
From Page 1
tional Safety and Health Admin-
istration (OSHA).
Union supporter Cameron
Crowell says there’s been a day-
to-day campaign in stores, with
managers taking down union
posters, and labor relations con-
sultants meeting one-on-one with
workers. Still, even though the
union election is taking place at
the company’s initiative, Crowell
thinks there’s a good chance the
union will prevail.
“We’re fairly confident the
people are on our side,” Crowell
told the Labor Press. “All man-
agement has been doing is stoke
fear and division. All we can do
is provide mutual aid and be there
for one another, and try and im-
prove one another’s lives. That’s
a message that resonates much
better than fear and division.”
YOU CAN HELP
For the youthful workforce at Little
Big Burger, this is a first encounter
with the idea of a union. Now
would be a great time to drop by to
get a burger, fries, and shake —
and give moral support and en-
couragement to the workers.