Senate and House at odds over key labor, budget issues

SALEM, OR -- The 1997 Republican-controlled legislative session has shifted into high gear in a mad rush toward adjournment. Hundreds of issues that have not been resolved must be acted on in the next few weeks -- or they will likely be dead for the session, said the Oregon AFL-CIO.

While leaders in the Oregon House and Senate agree that the session is drawing to a close -- they remain at impasse over key budget and labor issues. Here are a few of the key issues being tracked by the state labor federation that remain unresolved:

State Transportation Funding Proposal: Last week the House passed House Bill 3163, a labor-backed comprehensive transportation funding proposal that would raise $1.68 billion for long-overdue road repairs and maintenance for Oregon's highways and bridges, expansion of high-speed rail, and improving transportation services for senior and disabled persons. However, the comprehensive transportation package has come under attack in the Senate. Late on June 12, the Senate Transportation Committee voted to dismantle several key provisions. The differences will likely be settled in a conference committee.

Human Resources: Senate leaders announced late last week that they intended to slash $57.4 million from the House-approved Human Resources Budget. The cuts are targeted at health services for low-income women and children, and critical support services for families with developmentally-disabled children.

Representative Chuck Carpenter, R-Portland, chair of the Ways and Means Subcommittee on Human Resources, conducted a last-minute hearing on June 12 to protest the Senate's cuts. Nearly 200 people packed the hearing and overflow rooms to testify against the cuts. Negotiations are continuing.

At-Will Employment: The Senate Rules and Elections Committee chaired by Senator Randy Miller, R-Lake Oswego, sent Senate Bill 1205 to the Senate floor. The bill is a drastic proposal that would allow the firing of workers for even discussing working conditions with their bosses.

Brad Witt, secretary-treasurer of the Oregon AFL-CIO, said the bill extends the "at-will employment doctrine to illogical and inhumane ends. "He is urging state senators to reject the bill.

The battle over SB 1205 will likely be fought in the House, where Republicans hold a slim 31-29 margin.

"In the final weeks of the session, any issue could be resurrected from previously tabled legislation or new amendments could be introduced and attached to existing bills as lawmakers rush toward adjournment," said Amy Klare, research and education director of the Oregon AFL-CIO.

(Editor's Note: These legislative reports were excerpted from the June 13 Oregon AFL-CIO Legislative Update edited by Research and Education Director Amy Klare and Political Education Coordinator Steve Lanning.)