Worker representation: Labor looks to its own ranks for candidates to support

When you’re fighting for jobs and workers rights, it helps to get “friends of labor” in public office. But electing “family” may be better still: Union members and leaders, in state and local elected office, may not need coaxing or explanation to know which side they’re on.

“When it comes to bread-and-butter labor issues, bargaining rights, rights at work, people who understand the labor movement and who have lived those values as union members themselves make better advocates,” says Elana Guiney, Oregon AFL-CIO political and communications coordinator. “That’s not to say we don’t have some great friends in the legislature who have not been in unions. We absolutely do. But the more that people can talk first-hand about those issues, the better off workers are.”

This year in Oregon, as many as two dozen union members are candidates for public office. Some are shoe-ins; others are long shots.

For many years, unions have encouraged and supported members to run for office. This year, nine Oregon unions went a step further and formed the Oregon Labor Candidate School — a six month course in the mechanics of political campaigns — for union members who want to promote a pro-labor agenda in public office. Eleven students took part, and were taught by political and media consultants who volunteered their time. Most are working on campaigns for local school boards in 2013.

Union members are also running for a number of seats in the Oregon Legislature:

• Deschutes County GIS Analyst Geri Hauser — a member of the AFSCME Local 3997 Executive Board and past member of Operating Engineers Local 701 — is running as a Democrat for Oregon Senate District 27 in Bend. She faces former Republican state senate majority leader Tim Knopp, who defeated Republican incumbent Chris Telfer in the May primary.
• Journeyman electrician Claudia Kyle, a member of International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 48, is challenging, for the second time, incumbent state representative Kevin Cameron (R-Salem).
• Paul Holman, a firefighter and paramedic for the City of Newberg, is a member of International Association of Fire Fighters. He’s running against incumbent Kim Thatcher (R-Keizer) and Libertarian Ryan Haffner.
• Jeff Reardon was a member of the Oregon Education Association as a shop teacher at Parkrose School District and later David Douglas High School. He’s now running unopposed in Portland’s Democratic-leaning District 48 after defeating incumbent Mike Schaufler, a former member of the Laborers Union, May primary.
• Chris Gorsek, a member of the Mt. Hood Community College Faculty Association, an affiliate of the Oregon Education Assocation, is running as a Democrat in east Multnomah County’s House District 49. Gorsek is a former cop and past member of the Portland Police Association.
• State Rep. Arnie Roblan, (D-Coos Bay) is leaving the House to run for an open seat in Senate District 5, where incumbent Democrat Joanne Verger is retiring. Roblan is a former teacher and member of the Oregon Education Association (OEA).

[pullquote]DID YOU KNOW? Legislative service can be a sacrifice for working people: Oregon pays its citizen legislators $1,801 per month, plus $123 for each day they’re in session or committee meetings.[/pullquote]These candidates, if elected, would join as many as 15 current and former union members in the Oregon Legislature, including six who are thought of as being part of an informal “labor caucus” and nine others who have at one time been union members. In the Oregon House, that includes: Jeff Barker (D-Aloha), a retired police officer and former president of Portland Police Association; Michael Dembrow (D-Portland), a PCC-Cascade writing instructor and past president of AFT Local 2277; Paul Holvey (D-Eugene), a staff member at the Pacific Northwest Regional Council of Carpenters; Greg Matthews (D-Gresham), a Gresham firefighter and member of International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF) Local 1062; and Brad Witt (D-Clatskanie) a staff representative at United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 555 and former secretary-treasurer of the Oregon AFL-CIO.

Six other state house representatives are past union members. Margaret Doherty, (D-Tigard) was a member and later on staff at Oregon Education Association (OEA), and Betty Komp, (D-Woodburn) is a former teacher and OEA member. Mitch Greenlick (D-Portland) a retired part-time sociology professor, helped found the union local at Portland State University in the 1980s. Nancy Nathanson, (D-Eugene) is a University of Oregon librarian and former member of Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 503.  Carolyn Tomei (D-Milwaukie) is a one-time AFT member.

In the Oregon Senate, Diane Rosenbaum (D-Portland) is a labor caucus of one, as former vice president of Communications Workers of America (CWA) Local 7901 and past president of the labor caucus at the National Conference of State Legislatures. But three other state senators also have some past union affiliation: Mark Hass, (D-Beaverton) was a long-time member of American Federation of Television & Radio Artists (AFTRA) as a reporter at KATU-TV. Laurie Monnes Anderson (D-Gresham), a retired registered nurse, was a member of the Oregon Nurses Association (ONA). And Chip Shields (D-Portland) has maintained AFT membership since having taught criminal justice classes at Portland State University.

[UPDATED] Two Oregon union members are also running for Congress this year, though not expected to win. Heavy equipment operator Delinda Delgado-Morgan, a member of Operating Engineers Local 701, is running as a Republican against Democrat Suzanne Bonamici in Oregon’s First Congressional District. The District has been in Democratic hands since 1974. Bonamici outpolled Republican Rob Cornilles in the January 31, 2012 election to win the seat vacated by David Wu. And TriMet bus driver Ronald Green, a member of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 757, won the Republican primary and is challenging Third District incumbent Democrat Earl Blumenauer, criticizing his votes for several NAFTA-style trade agreements.

Union members are also stepping forward for local office:

• Amanda Fritz, a member of the Oregon Nurses Association, is seeking re-election to the Portland City Council.
• Mary Nolan,who is challenging Fritz, was a union member with the City of Portland Professional Employees Association (COPPEA) when she was a city planner.
• Firefighter Doug Breidenthal past president of International Association of Fire Fighters Local 3340 and former chair of the Jackson County Republican Party, is running for Jackson County Commission, a non-partisan office.
• Jake Carter, a member of International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 125, is running for a seat on the board of directors of the Columbia River Public Utilities District.
• Firefighter Bryan Adams, a graduate of the Oregon Labor Candidate School, is running for Sandy City Council.