Oregon AFSCME Associate Director Corey Hope Nicholson was elected to the union’s national leadership last month. She’ll represent AFSCME’s six-state Northwest Region as vice president on the union’s national executive board. Nicholson outpolled one other candidate in a vote among delegates from six AFSCME councils at a specially called mini-convention in Seattle Feb. 3.
The position has been vacant since former executive director Stacy Chamberlain stepped down August 31, 2023. Longtime Oregon AFSCME political director Joe Baessler was appointed to Chamberlain’s state leadership role, and staff rep Lamar Wise was promoted to political director. Baessler opted not to seek a role in national leadership.
Nicholson will serve as international vice president at least until AFSCME holds its biennial international convention in August in Los Angeles. At 41, she’s the youngest member of the national board. She came to Oregon AFSCME in 2015 from SEIU 1199 in Massachusetts. In Oregon she focused on organizing workers, particularly in mental health and drug treatment jobs.
