Two chapters of the Oregon AFL-CIO have merged to form the Cascades to Coast Central Labor Chapter. The new chapter combines the Marion-Polk-Yamhill Central Labor Chapter with its neighbor directly south, the Linn-Benton-Lincoln Central Labor Chapter. The merger was finalized Dec. 18 when the Oregon AFL-CIO board approved the new chapter’s bylaws.
Central labor chapters perform much the same functions as central labor councils: They coordinate support for local union campaigns, endorse pro-worker candidates for public office, and organize community activities like Labor Day picnics to increase the visibility of the labor community.
Erik Rau, who was president of the Linn-Benton-Lincoln chapter, said it served as a channel for union locals in the area to talk to each other. In November, three strikes were under way in Linn and Benton counties, and the chapter helped mobilize union members to support strike picket lines.
The merging chapters were two of the five chapters that were created to replace 10 formerly autonomous labor councils that had their own dues and charters from the national AFL-CIO. In response to flagging attendance and resources, those labor councils were reconstituted by the national AFL-CIO in 2015 as chapters of the state AFL-CIO. Since then the state federation has dedicated staff time to support the local chapters in an effort to revitalize labor activity in parts of the state that are less populous than the Portland metro area, where union density is highest. The other three central labor chapters are the Central Oregon Central Labor Chapter, Lane County Central Labor Chapter, and Southern Oregon Central Labor Chapter. Northwest Oregon Labor Council was unaffected by the 2015 reorganization, and continues as an autonomous organization directly affiliated with the national AFL-CIO.
The Cascades to Coast Central Labor Chapter will elect its leaders some time in the coming months. The chapter will hold monthly meetings with virtual and in-person options, likely at the United Steelworkers Local 6163 hall in Albany, Rau said.
