Oregon AFL-CIO plans for politics, organizing

ALBANY - The Oregon AFL-CIO laid out an ambitious political agenda for the November general election at its Committee on Political Education (COPE) convention here June 19-20. It was the first gathering under the leadership of President Tim Nesbitt, who was elected to the federation's highest office last year.

The political action plan endorsed unanimously by the 335 delegates incorporates the Labor 2000 program "to enhance voter registration, member education and voter turnout activities through local union worksite structures, direct mail, phone contacts, and one-on-one outreach to families, friends and neighbors." The Oregon AFL-CIO's goal is to turn out enough union household voters to deliver one of every four votes cast in the general election Nov. 7.

The state labor federation also set a goal of increasing union membership in Oregon by 10 percent over the next two years - which means it must bring in 17,000 new members.

But the AFL-CIO's top priority - and the rallying cry for most of the convention - was the defeat of all Bill Sizemore's attempts to silence labor's political voice through his "paycheck deception" initiatives. Sizemore, head of the anti-union Oregon Taxpayers United, makes his living collecting signatures and filing initiatives that would weaken unions and/or cut taxes for the rich.

Two initiatives that he has filed are not new. The first is a rewrite of his 1998 Measure 59, which would "prohibit the use of public resources," including payroll-deducted funds, for a wide range of political activity and expression - from supporting or opposing candidates or ballot measures to lobbying elected officials.

The second is a clone of California's Proposition 226, which would prohibit the use of payroll-deducted funds for political activity and lobbying unless authorized in writing every year by each affected employee.

The Measure 59 rewrite applies to public sector employers and employees while the Prop. 226 clone would apply to all employees in the public and private sectors.

Voters in 34 states defeated similar paycheck deception measures in 1998, but because Oregon's outcome was so close (51 to 49 percent), it has reappeared and will be the only measure of its kind in the nation. All eyes will be on the state in November, union officials said, because if it wins here it likely will reappear on ballots in other states.

Delegates adopted positions on 21 likely ballot measures, recommending opposition to 15 of the measures, including Sizemore's two "paycheck deception" measures.

The AFL-CIO will oppose several tax-cutting initiatives sponsored by Sizemore (federal tax deductibility and a vote on all new, increased taxes) and another Sizemore measure that would prohibit the use of seniority in public school teacher contracts for pay and order of layoff. The state labor federation also is opposing an initiative that, as written, would "prohibit public school instruction encouraging, promoting or sanctioning homosexual/bisexual behaviors."

The AFL-CIO also will oppose an initiative that would impose new restrictions on forest lands and redefine sustainable forest practices.

Among initiatives and ballot measures supported were an Oregon Public Employee Union-sponsored home care initiative that would create a statewide commission to set standards for publicly-funded home care workers who primarily assist the elderly and disabled and to allow them to join a union (signatures were filed June 22); Governor John Kitzhaber's school funding initiative; an initiative that would provide public financing for political campaigns to candidates who limit spending and private contributions; and an initiative to repeal the state's mandatory sentencing law (Measure 11).

Delegates finalized COPE recommendations for Congress, statewide offices and almost every Legislative race. Among those endorsed were Earl Blumenauer, Darlene Hooley, David Wu and Peter DeFazio for Congress. There were several "no" votes voiced for Blumenauer and Hooley because of their recent support for granting permanent normal trade status to China (the AFL-CIO strongly opposed the bill). The two Democratic incumbents still received the required two-thirds majority needed for endorsement.

The state labor federation endorsed Bill Bradbury for secretary of state; Randall Edwards for state treasurer; Hardy Myers for attorney general; and Paul DeMuniz for Oregon Supreme Court justice. All are Democratic incumbents except DeMuniz and Edwards.

Edwards has served as a Democratic state representative from Portland for the last two terms, compiling a cumulative 79 percent COPE voting record as tracked by the Oregon AFL-CIO. The treasurer's post is open because Democrat Jim Hill is prevented from running for re-election due to term limits. Hill, who spoke at the convention, will run for governor in 2002.

DeMuniz, a Court of Appeals judge, was the top primary election vote-getter in a five-person non-partisan race in May, but he failed to collect more than 50 percent of the electorate, forcing a runoff with runner-up Greg Byrne. The Supreme Court vacancy was created by the upcoming retirement of labor-backed George VanHoomissen. Byrne is an attorney for Bill Sizemore and has provided legal advice on many of his ballot measures. Byrne's campaign is funded by a core of conservative Republican millionaires that includes Shilo Inns owner Mark Hemstreet and businessmen Loren Parks and Wes Lematta.

This same group of men is expected to contribute heavily to Myers' opponent, Democrat-turned-Republican Kevin Mannix of Salem. "Mannix will be bankrolled by the same individuals and interests that back Mr. Sizemore," Myers told delegates at the Linn County Fair and Expo Center. "They are united in their desire to turn over the Department of Justice to Mr. Mannix ... and I can only imagine why."

Bradbury, who was appointed secretary of state in September 1999 following the resignation of Phil Keisling, said he supports Oregon's grass-roots initiative petition process but believes the process is being "hijacked by an extraordinary amount of money from a few wealthy extremists who are paying to use the initiative process to impose their views of Oregon on all of us."

Bradbury said the Republican National Committee is paying close attention to his race because of the power the office wields in redrawing district boundaries - which happens in 2001. He said his Republican opponent, Speaker of the House Lynn Snodgrass has a cumulative 12 percent Oregon AFL-CIO COPE voting record during three sessions and last year led one of the "most partisan and most divisive legislative sessions in Oregon history" which, he said, might not bode well when it comes time to redraw district lines.

Several union activists were endorsed for re-election, including incumbent State Representatives Dan Gardner of Electrical Workers Local 48, Diane Rosenbaum of Communications Workers Local 7901, Gary Hansen of Plumbers and Fitters Local 290, and Randy Leonard of Fire Fighters Local 43. All four are running unopposed in November.

Two new union-connected candidates for the House also received the AFL-CIO's backing. They are Irv Fletcher, retired president of the Oregon AFL-CIO, and Pete Kilger of Cement Masons Local 555. Kilger, however, reportedly will drop out of the race after recently being diagnosed with leukemia.

Look elsewhere on this page for other AFL-CIO Oregon House and Senate endorsements.

In addition to resolutions adopting political action and organizing assistance plans, delegates approved 19 resolutions, including those which called for: responsible bidder standards for public contracts; support for enforcement of the health insurance requirement for public works contracts; a "good corporate citizenship pledge;" opposition to the distribution of Public Employee Retirement System earnings to benefit employers; support training for workers who sell alcohol and tobacco products and a requirement that all customers provide ID when purchasing such products in order to protect the workers from arbitrary and overly-severe disciplinary actions; defined and supported a salmon recovery plan that opposes dam breaching "unless and until sound scientific evidence demonstrates that the proactive efforts are insufficient or impractical" for salmon recovery; opposition to the proposed merger of MCI WorldCom and Sprint; fight for legislation to repeal the multi-employer exclusion from the lockout provision of the unemployment insurance law; legislation to require pharmacy technicians be licensed; and support legislation that would allow patients access to medical grade marijuana.

The Labor 2000 program presented to and adopted by delegates includes eight priorities for the general election: updating local union membership lists for the AFL-CIO; registering to vote half of all unregistered union members; strengthening one-on-one worksite distribution systems; including information on the issues and candidates in local union newsletters; sending at least two letters from local union officers on ballot measures and candidates; completing at least two rounds of phone calls to members, by, for example, adopting a night at the Oregon AFL-CIO automated dial phone banks in Portland and Springfield; participating in an all-out Labor 2000 Mail-In-The-Vote effort; and, recruiting members to contact 10 family members, friends and relatives about the issues in this election.

Prior to convention action on the Organizing Report, delegates celebrated recent successes - which have produced more than 2,000 newly-organized workers since the last convention - and heard from workers from the front lines of those campaigns. Members from SEIU's state temporary worker campaign and the American Federation of Teachers' graduate teaching assistants at Oregon State University addressed the convention, as did a delegation of three International Longshore and Warehouse Union members from Powell's Books in Portland, who recounted their ongoing efforts to win a living wage and affordable health benefits in a first contract with the bookstore. When one speaker said he couldn't afford to buy a new pair of shoes, delegates passed the hat and raised $300 for the three young workers to buy new shoes (no Nikes).

The organizing assistance plan identifies 13 ways in which the Oregon AFL-CIO can promote, support and assist organizing - from building public support for a voice at work through political outreach, to supporting Workers' Rights Boards, researching industries that are good targets for organizing, organizing immigrant workers, and helping to develop an inter-union mentoring program for organizers.

The Organizing Committee's report painted a picture of a rapidly changing workforce in Oregon, in which labor will have to organize 4,500 new workers every year just to maintain its current level of union density (now 16 percent, compared to 34 percent in 1964.) Currently, 53 percent of public sector workers are represented by a union, compared to just 14 percent of private sector workers. And, in the private sector, labor's strength is concentrated in just a handful of industries - paper products, com- munications, utilities and construction.

"Union workers are becoming isolated in a handful of relatively highly organized sectors," the report concluded. "The greater part of the economy is growing away from us."

In another show of community support, delegates collected nearly $800 for Brandy Stroeder, a teen-ager from McMinnville with cystic fibrosis who is asking the Oregon Health Plan to pay for a lung and liver transplant that could save her life. The motion to pass the hat was brought forth by members of McMinnville Steelworkers Local 8378, which said the teen has no union connection that they are aware of. "It's just the right thing to do," said Steelworker Fred Menke.

House Endorsements

Democrats Betsy Johnson, Elaine Hopson, Cathy Lamb-Mullin, Sharon Branstiter, James Draznin, Charlie Ringo, Mitch Greenlick, Mark Haas, Raman Velji, Mike Smith, Mary Nolan, Chris Beck, Steve March, Jeff Merkley, Deborah Kafoury, Jo Ann Bowman, Mike Weatherby, Laurie Monnes Anderson, Richard Devlin, Carolyn Tomei, Kathy Lowe, Jill Thorn, Mike Clarke, Frank Nelson, Colby McCormick, Lloyd Kumley, George Bell, Kelley Wirth, John Donovan, Lori Workman, Robert Ackerman, Phil Barnhart, Vicki Walker, Bill Morrisett, Al King, Charles Lee, W. Earl Calhoun, Joanne Verger, Barbara Dodrill, Barbara Davidson, Lon Holston, Alan Bates, Wayne Snoozy, Ken Cooper, Douglas Dunlap, Paul Zastrow, Linda Harrington, and Republicans Bob Jenson and Lane Shetterly.

Senate Endorsements

Democrats Terry Thompson, Ryan Deckert, Ginny Burdick, Kate Brown, Margaret Carter, Avel Gordly,Chris Gorsek, Roger Pike, Roger McCorkle, Anne Philiben, Vern Cook, Bill Duncan and Debra James.