'Super Sunday' brings top union officials to Portland to fight 92 & 98

Hundreds of union family members joined state and national union leaders Oct. 22 in a 24-hour mobilization in Portland to rally support to defeat two state ballot measures designed to silence working families' voices in the political process, and to elect Al Gore as president.

Pitching in with phone banks, precinct walks, worksite visits and get-out-the-vote rallies on "Super Sunday" were national AFL-CIO President John Sweeney, American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees President Gerald McEntee, and Service Employees International Union President Andy Stern.

That evening the union leaders and scores of union members attended a rally with Gore at Portland State University.

Ballot Measures 92 and 98 were put on the ballot by Bill Sizemore, the anti-union director of Oregon Taxpayers United.

Measure 92 would apply to all workers in the state to ban the use of payroll deduction for any kind of political activity without annual written permission from each worker. Workers would be required to file those forms with their employers.

The Oregon AFL-CIO says Measure 92 "unfairly targets payroll deductions and is designed to silence the voice of working people in the political process. And it will have far-reaching consequences on charities and other organizations that rely on payroll deductions for contributions."

While Measure 98 applies only to public employees, it bans any use of payroll deduction for political activities even if an employee has given his or her written permission. The measure would deny public employees "the right to use payroll deductions to support the organizations of their choice. It will impose far-reaching restrictions on charities that advocate for their clients, prevent organizations (like Parent-Teacher Associations) from using public buildings to encourage political involvement and block the publication of information on candidates and ballot measures in the state Voters' Pamphlet," the state labor federation said.

Stern, McEntee and Sweeney described Al Gore as a "longtime friend of working families" who will fight to stop efforts by big business to dismantle programs to increase workplace safety, deny the right to organize and bargain collectively."

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