East Oregonian : E.O., December 28, 2019, WEEKEND EDITION, Page 7, Image 7

BUSINESS
Saturday, December 28, 2019
East Oregonian
Young workers increasingly drawn to unions
By CLAIRE WITHYCOMBE
Oregon Capital Bureau
PORTLAND — Graham
Trainor has taken the helm at one
of the state’s largest labor groups
at a time when workers in Ore-
gon — already a strong union
state — appear emboldened,
engaging in ambitious bargain-
ing, strikes and demonstrations.
Trainor was elected in Sep-
tember to become president of
the Oregon AFL-CIO, a labor
federation representing the
interests of about 300,000 pri-
vate and public sector workers.
A longtime Oregon AFL-
Photo contributed by Oregon AFL-CIO
CIO staffer, Trainor is described Graham Trainor was elected in September to become president of
by some as the heir apparent the Oregon AFL-CIO, a labor federation representing the interests of
to Tom Chamberlain, a widely about 300,000 private and public sector workers.
respected labor leader who had
just not working out for them.”
led the federation since 2005.
proven an outlet for what he
At 38, Trainor is noticeably
Trainor said the defi nition of described as something of a
self-assured, but conscious of a “workers’ issue” is expanding rebellious streak growing up in
how he is perceived. He appears beyond the traditional realm of conservative rural Indiana.
somewhat private about the wages, hours and benefi ts, to
“Once I had the taste of fi ght-
inner workings of the federation, include issues like affordable ing for something bigger than
declining through a spokesman housing and sexual harassment. me, helping people come to
to allow a reporter to shadow
Automation and other efforts power, and then by extension
him at work.
by the tech industry to “cap- and progression, helping work-
But in a recent interview, italize on innovation” — for ers come to power in lots of dif-
he spoke at length in response instance, by hiring rideshare ferent ways, that’s where I think
to questions about his back- drivers as contractors instead it was really fostered and grew,”
ground and current issues fac- of as employees — pose yet he said.
ing workers.
another obstacle for Oregon
He likes to talk about how
Trainor thinks workers, and workers.
he comes from generations of
particularly younger work-
“It’s our job to always ask, union members. His mother was
ers, are increasingly turning to what about the workers?” a teacher and union member; his
the labor movement because Trainor said. “What are workers grandfather made gears — and
they don’t know who else is on getting out of this?”
at 93 is still a member of the
their side in the face of grow-
The overall rise in workers’ United Auto Workers, receiving
ing income inequality, housing collective action is exciting, a union pension. Trainor keeps a
costs, and student loan debt.
Trainor said. But he says it’s up print above his desk of a Diego
A national Gallup poll in to organized labor to seize that Rivera fresco depicting auto
August showed unions are gain- opportunity.
workers.
ing popular support. Trainor
“It’s showing what work-
After graduating from Indi-
said workers feel left behind ing-class solidarity can lead to ana University in 2004, he got
despite a booming economy.
and what successes can come a job as a community organizer,
“Workers are at a point where from it,” Trainor told KMUZ rallying community members to
they can’t be pushed further,” he radio host Bob Rossi in an Octo- protest mercury pollution and a
said.
ber interview. “But it’s really landfi ll expansion.
Today’s economy, Trainor incumbent on the organized
He can’t recall now the result
said, is “more fi ssured, more labor movement in Oregon and of either effort, but talking to
precarious, I would argue, than across the country to not just people on their doorsteps, show-
the economy 14 years ago when harness the power for collec- ing them how they could have a
Tom took over.”
tive action in contract fi ghts, voice and push back on the Goli-
“Young workers have been or fi ghts that that are in exist- aths of the world, had an impact.
sold, in many ways, sold a bill of ing unionized shops. It’s really,
“That was really power-
goods that, if they go to college what can we as an organized ful,” Trainor said. “And it really
and they rack up all this student labor movement do to harness shaped my commitment to
debt, they’re going to be able to that same power and all of that activism.”
get out of it in no time and realize collective action to truly grow
Organizing work took him
the American dream,” Trainor our movement?”
around the Midwest and to the
said. “And unfortunately, that’s
Trainor’s political work has East Coast, working on issues
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Eventually, he came to Ore-
gon, drawn to the Pacifi c North-
west by a love of the outdoors.
He was hired as state director
at the Oregon chapter of Work-
ing America, a unit of the state
AFL-CIO that organized work-
ers who weren’t members of a
union.
In the following years,
Trainor moved up through
the labor ranks, getting more
involved in political work.
Trainor ran the labor-backed
campaign in 2008 against Mea-
sure 64, which would have
undercut public sector unions
by prohibiting the use of pay-
roll deductions for union dues.
Chamberlain sent Trainor to the
Oregon Legislature to lobby on
behalf of workers. And Trainor
took on the roles of fi eld direc-
tor, and then political director
before becoming chief of staff.
“Everything I’ve given to
Graham, he’s excelled in,”
Chamberlain said.
Chamberlain said he noticed
early that Trainor had the poten-
tial to become the group’s
president.
“He listens,” Chamberlain
said. “If you’re leading a feder-
ation of union leaders, which we
are, it’s important that we’re lis-
tening to what our affi liates have
to say and fi nding those avenues
where we can help them. And
Graham has developed those
skills.”
Chamberlain said Trainor is
“extremely organized” and “has
a passion for the work.”
Yet, Trainor’s quick rise
wasn’t without setbacks. An
early attempt to grow mem-
bership through organizing at
AFL-CIO fell fl at.
“While I wouldn’t call it com-
pletely a failure … we learned a
lot of things along the way as we
think about the changing econ-
omy and the changing demands
on workers and what it takes to
organize in this environment,”
Trainor said.
And today, the Oregon AFL-
CIO has more members than it
did before a major national split
led to several large unions leav-
ing the federation, cutting mem-
bership in the state federation
roughly in half.
A7
BRIEFLY
Oregon student sues two
vape companies
EUGENE — A University of Oregon
student has sued two vape companies
in a class action lawsuit, saying he suf-
fered a seizure after using the products
and that the companies were negligent
in their marketing.
The Oregon Daily Emerald fi rst
reported that Kewmarse Imani has sued
Juul and Altria, another vape company.
The complaint alleges that both compa-
nies were negligent and that they mar-
keted the e-cigarettes to young adults
and those who didn’t already vape.
According to the Emerald, Imani
began using Juul vape products in 2018
and had no history of using nicotine. He
alleges that he was not warned about
the health effects of e-cigarettes or
how much nicotine was in Juul’s nico-
tine pods. Imani alleged that he is now
addicted to nicotine and had seizures as
a result of using the e-cigarettes.
The suit also alleges that the vape
companies marketed e-cigarettes to
minors and failed to warn users that the
products have a higher concentration of
nicotine than competing products. The
suit claims that Juul targeted people who
didn’t smoke, rather than smokers who
were trying to quit using cigarettes, and
designed the product to appeal to young
people, using features like fruity fl avors.
Hargrove departs health
education center for
new position
LA GRANDE — The Northeast
Oregon Area Health Education Center
recently announced Brittany Hargrove
is departing Jan. 2. She accepted a posi-
tion as the coalition coordinator at Union
County Safe Communities Coalition.
Hargrove has served as the center’s
outreach coordinator for three years,
according to the announcement, and was
“instrumental in developing a presence
for our organization through her exper-
tise in communications and marketing”
as well as growing the organization’s
Future Health Professionals of Oregon
Program “from a concept to a fl ourishing
fl agship for our center, and developing
countless positive relationships through-
out the region.”
Meredith Lair, executive director
of the health education center, which is
based at Eastern Oregon University in
La Grande, stated she has no doubt Har-
grove will be a success in her new posi-
tion, which she starts in early January.
— EO Media Group