About 90 union members and leaders from a broad array of Southwest Washington unions turned out for a day-long “Working People’s Summit” at Clark College in Vancouver, one of a series of local events sponsored by the Washington State Labor Council (WSLC) and local central labor councils.
“Proud to be Union” was the theme of the event. Attendees heard about recent local union campaigns, put in a statewide context by WSLC secretary-treasurer April Sims, and took part in workshops on coalition building and outreach to new members.
“It was an opportunity for people to get together and learn from one another,” said Union High School Spanish teacher Marj Hogan, a teachers union volunteer who helped organize the event. “A lot of folks came out dreaming bigger.”
After the main event, some participants took part in a delegation to the original Burgerville restaurant in Vancouver to show support for the boycott and demand that workers be treated fairly. Unionists also protested outside the house of the chair of the Board of Clark College, where instructors have had great difficulty getting an acceptable union contract.
