Henson named business manager of AFSCME 189

Rick Henson has been named business manager of Portland City and Metropolitan Employees Local 189, an affiliate of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME).

He succeeds Yvonne Martinez, who resigned to take a job in California.

Henson is a former secretary-treasurer of Portland-based Service Employees Local 49 and is on the Executive Board of the Oregon AFL-CIO.

He is a former AFSCME member and also has worked as a union carpenter. He is married to Pat Riggs-Henson, executive secretary-treasurer of the Lane County Labor Council and also an AFSCME member.

Henson said that public employees face tough times ahead due to budget shortfalls and attacks on the Public Employee Retirement System.

He said he will determine members' interests at meetings over the coming months, then reach out to allies in the community to build relationships over those issues so that when necessary, the union can mobilize in force to be certain its voice is heard.

A resident of Eugene, Henson ran unsuccessfully in the May primary for the Oregon House of Representatives.

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