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About Northwest labor press. (Portland , Ore.) 1987-current | View Entire Issue (March 6, 2020)
PAGE 8 | March 6, 2020 | NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS BUILDING TRADES LOBBY DAY Telling labor’s story to lawmakers For a day, there were more union construction workers than legisla- tors in the State Capitol building. By Don McIntosh For the Oregon Building Trades Council, it was a massively suc- cessful lobby day, in which union members made their pres- ence felt at the State Capitol. The plan was for 50 unionists to take part, and 40 were expected, but in the end over 90 members and leaders from over a dozen unions turned up at the Oregon Capitol early morning Feb. 19, cramming into a meeting room they’d reserved for orientation. About half were union staff and officers, the other half rank-and- file apprentices and journey- level workers who took the day off work to be there. “This is about building power and getting to know each other,” said Building Trades Executive Secretary Robert Camarillo, welcoming them. “We want them to know that we’re here, and that we matter.” The Oregon Building Trades Council coordinates the legisla- tive efforts of member unions representing over 35,000 work- ing men and women in Ore- gon’s union construction trades. Unlike its lobby days in previ- ous years, this time union mem- bers weren’t there to support or oppose any specific legislation. Instead, they were there to de- liver a message: “We are the union.” That way, when union representatives return to the Capitol later on to lobby for and against bills, lawmakers will re- member meeting the workers they represent. “This is our chance to tell our story, about a job where every- one is paid the same, and earns a family wage,” Laborers Polit- ical and Legislative Director Jodi Guetzloe-Parker told atten- dees. Before they headed out to meet lawmakers, Camarillo thanked by name dozens of peo- ple for organizing turnout. But Camarillo himself—since com- ing out of the Iron Workers in 2018 to lead the state’s building trades—has come to be known as one of the hardest working figures in the Oregon union movement. “I get emails from him at midnight, on a Sunday,” IBEW Local 48 Business Manager Garth Bachman told union members. After a pep talk, unionists broke into 13 teams, each of “We want them to know that we’re here, and that we matter.” — Robert Camarillo Oregon Building Trades which was scheduled to meet with two or three lawmakers. All told, meetings had been set with 35 lawmakers or their staffs. But House Republicans threw a monkey wrench into their plans: To slow down ma- jority Democrats’ ability to pass legislation, Republicans insisted that each bill be read in its en- tirely on the House floor. That meant the House would be in full session from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. All the union meetings on the House side would be can- celled. Camarillo announced a Plan B: Messages would be sent to individual representatives, who would come off the House floor to meet with union members in the hall. Meeting with lawmakers, union members told their own personal stories — about how unions had turned their lives around, or given them the chance to raise a family and live a life with dignity. “What I was doing before, I wasn’t a good role model.” IBEW Local 48 apprentice Kait- lyn Kettner told State Sen. Kath- leen Taylor. For Kettner, being union meant hope for a better life — and a chance to start over after serving time for a criminal conviction. A single mom, she’s earning money to support her family while she learns her trade. “Now, my family is proud of me,” she said. “My kids are proud of me.” Local 48 member Steven Reasons wishes he’d known about the union sooner: “I did the college route, and I wound up with a whole lot of debt and no career,” he told an aide to State Sen. Shemia Fagan. “Then I stumbled upon the apprentice- ship program, and that was the best thing that ever happened to me.” As members mingled be- tween meetings, they got to know each other. The day was full of little moments of cross- craft fellowship, as members joked and talked about the dif- ferences between the trades. While union delegations roamed the halls inside, outside the Capitol, several unions had informational displays set up. Most attention grabbing was Operating Engineers Local 701’s heavy equipment simula- tor, which cost $300,000 to con- struct and equip. It’s a lifelike simulation of operating a crane or backhoe, and it’s fun. One by one, lawmakers were invited out to try their hand at operating a crane or backhoe. At one point, union members filed into Senate chambers and filled the back of the second floor gallery. Noticing their ar- rival, Eugene Democrat James Manning took to a microphone and addressed them from below. “Welcome to your Capitol,” Manning said. “This building belongs to you.”
