Oregon AFL-CIO convention trudges forward

SEASIDE - Delegates to the 46th annual convention of the Oregon AFL-CIO at the Seaside Civic and Convention Center were subdued as they considered resolutions, upcoming political activity and organizing campaigns - their thoughts were clearly on the victims of the vicious terrorist attack on the World Trade Center in New York and the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., that had taken place that morning.

"For the first time in my life, I find myself with a significant loss of words," said national AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Richard Trumka, the morning's keynote speaker who had come to Oregon to praise union members for leading the nation in voter turnout in last November's election with 84 percent of votes cast from union households.

Instead, Trumka prayed for the men and women who lost their lives when two hijacked planes crashed into the World Trade Center, causing the twin 110-story towers to crash to the ground; and at the Pentagon, where another hijacked plane crashed into the building killing hundreds. A fourth hijacked plane crashed in a wooded area in Pennsylvania.

"A part of me is very angry," Trumka told some 500 delegates, honorary delegates and guests at the convention. "And another part of me feels pain. As a nation, we should stop and reflect on everything that is going on. We as unionists have an extended family to look to � our blood family and our trade union family."

Tim Nesbitt, president of the Oregon AFL-CIO, said the day's agenda of political speakers, programs and convention resolutions seemed pale in comparison to what had happened, but he said afterwards that "the day's news got us more focused on the issues at hand and we were able to compress the agenda and finish ahead of schedule."

With limited debate on most items, delegates moved quickly through nearly 40 resolutions submitted by union locals and labor councils. The convention also heard abbreviated reports from flight attendants, home care workers, wood products workers and farm workers about ongoing organizing campaigns in Oregon.

Delegates passed an extensive organizing assistance plan for the upcoming year that calls on the Oregon labor movement to increase its membership by 10 percent by June 2002 - or 17,000 new members. The AFL-CIO will identify regions of the state for targeted intense organizing campaigns by reaching out to pro-active community groups and politicians for assistance and it will draft a strategy paper to assist affiliates on how to organize more immigrant workers.

Delegates unanimously adopted a resolution recommending implementation of the New Alliance program no later than next April and approved two constitutional changes that create additional board seats for unions that bring in more than 2,500 members through reaffiliation. Another constitutional change reduces the number of central labor council seats on the state labor federation's Committee on Political Education (COPE) Board to one per council in order to include representatives of affiliated unions not currently represented on the Executive Board.

Anticipating another election cycle of anti-worker ballot initiatives, delegates authorized a temporary per capita assessment of 30 cents per member per month to fight "right-to-work-for-less" and related attacks on workers and their unions.

Delegates also approved resolutions to consider filing seven different pro-active initiatives - from a discount prescription drug cost purchasing plan to reforms of the initiative process. The AFL-CIO will survey affiliates and assess voter interest to determine whether or not to sponsor signature-gathering campaigns to qualify measures for the November 2002 general election ballot. Assessments will be made no later than February 2002.

A resolution also was passed calling on the AFL-CIO to pursue the elimination of punch card ballots by no later than the 2002 general election.

Much of the day's discussion focused on a resolution seeking support of a "health care for all" initiative campaign that is currently gathering signatures to qualify for the November 2002 ballot. After much debate, delegates - by a standing vote - referred the resolution to the next COPE meeting scheduled Dec. 14.

Another resolution that drew some debate was one calling for the AFL-CIO to hold its conventions on weekends rather than weekdays. The resolution was opposed by the convention's Ways and Means Committee and was voted down on a standing vote of 110 to 90.

In other action, delegates passed resolutions supporting the Justice for Janitors campaign by the Service Employees; the legalization of immigrant workers; post-graduate institutions like the George Meany Center; equal pay for equal work at state community colleges; the Steel Revitalization Act of 2001 to save the American steel industry; the Bonneville Power Administration's request for up to $2.2 billion in funding over five years to improve the region's electrical transmission infrastructure; the National Health Care program; and the Labor Tech 2001 conference in San Francisco Dec. 7-9.

Delegates also supported raising the state minimum wage and including indexing so that wages increase along with the cost of living. Support for community living-wage ordinances also won approval.

Delegates reiterated their opposition to fast-track trade authority and the Free Trade Area of the Americas; the contracting out of government jobs and the privatization of the Social Security system. They strongly opposed Initiative Petition 18 currently being circulated for signatures by Bill Sizemore of Oregon Taxpayers Union that would limit union members' involvement in political activity; and Initiative Petition 76 seeking to privatize the Oregon Liquor Control Commission.

Delegates passed a resolution recognizing the Oregon State Council of Senior Citizens as the official statewide chapter of the AFL-CIO's newly-created Alliance for Retired Americans with participation on standing committees and reduced affiliation fees.

The state labor federation was directed to gather information on the cost and impact of inmate work programs in Oregon and to explore the feasibility of challenging the constitutionality of the 1994 measure that established the inmate work requirement. The AFL-CIO will work to develop and implement an ergonomics standard to protect workers and it will fund an education program on behalf of farmers and agricultural workers on the negative impacts they are experiencing from the North American Free Trade Agreement.

The AFL-CIO will call on the State of Oregon to upgrade its energy infrastructure for efficiency and to promote economic development and investment in industries that are energy efficient and that respect a workers' right to organize (see related story).

A resolution calling for the dissolution of a Portland ordinance that created the Portland Joint Terrorism Task Force was referred to the Executive Board with full power to act. The E-Board met immediately after adjournment of the convention Tuesday afternoon, where the resolution was tabled. Nesbitt told Board members that the ordinance was a city issue and, therefore, should be handled by the central labor council with jurisdiction.