On Time and Under Budget
We did it! Our first Convention as an officer/staff team finished at 11 am this morning. On time, for sure. As for under budget, we still need to see the invoices but trust me, we know how to stretch a dollar.
Our 400+ delegates debated and voted on dozens of resolutions. In the next few days my staff and I will process the resolutions and report back in the next issue of our Weekly Update newsletter (each Wednesday.)
You can sign up to get the Weekly Update by emailing afl-cio@oraflcio.org.
If you were previously signed up for the Update and haven't gotten it lately, email jennifer@oraflcio.org and we will troubleshoot til we get it up and running again.
Thanks for reading, and be sure to read next week's Update for the full report!
-- Tom
Oregon AFL-CIO Convention in the News
As I mentioned in an earlier post, all of our speakers got a warm welcome from our delegates -- including our great elected officials and AFL-CIO union leaders. Today was a also big news draw because of Sen. Edwards' visit. Here's a recap of some of today's news coverage:
John Edwards Campaigns At Union Meeting In Seaside
Oregon Public Broadcasting: Link to story and audio.
Oregon’s labor movement is increasingly seen as an especially effective force in state politics.
Oregon AFL-CIO president Tom Chamberlain says one in four Oregon voters comes from a household with at least one union member. He says the labor federation spends much of its energy communicating with own members about how to vote.
Edwards Courts Oregon Union Members
Associated Press
The labor activists interrupted Edwards with applause several times as he promised an aggressive agenda to provide health coverage for all, end the Iraq war and push for pro-union laws to help working families.
John Edwards Visits Oregon
Story at KPTV FOX 12
"We love him," Chamberlain said. "He understands what it takes for working people to earn a living. It's genuine and sincere. He's a champion for rebuilding the middle class."
Edwards rallies union support in Oregon
Story at the Oregonian
Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards got a raucous rock-star welcome from Oregon labor activists Tuesday as he laid out his plans for universal health care, quick withdrawal of combat troops from Iraq and looser union sign-up laws.
"If you can join the Republican Party by signing name on a card, any worker in America ought to be able to join a union by signing a card," Edwards said. And when union workers strike, "No one will walk through that picket line and take your job away from you -- not while I'm president."
"I love what he has to say," said Marty Demaris, an official in the Klamath Falls machinists union. "He's there with labor. It's been a long time since we heard a president talking that way."
John Edwards courts union members in Oregon
Story at WAVY TV
Speaking at the Oregon AFL-CIO convention, Edwards said every person in America is worthy of health coverage.
Oregon AFL-CIO President Tom Chamberlain says that while the state federation isn't planning to make an endorsement, Edwards is highly popular among Oregon's union activists.
John Edwards brings campaign to Oregon
Story at KTVZ
An exuberant John Edwards ... drew a rousing reception from about 400 union members and took heart from a weekend straw poll among state Democrats.
The Convention is in our members' hands -- they are still hard at work at their resolutions. I'll do a recap on the decisions they've made in the coming days.
Labels: Convention, John Edwards, Oregon AFL-CIO
Sen. Edwards: What Can I Say
If you want to see 500 union members and supporters as happy as all get-out, watch them meet and hear from Sen. John Edwards.
The Oregon AFL-CIO hasn't endorsed a candidate for president, and I'm not playing favorites here, but Sen. Edwards hit the ball out of the ballpark in his speech to our Convention today in Seaside. On every issue -- health care, the war in Iraq, and more, he gets it. Working people are the backbone of our country, and we need to work hard to make sure that a child of a mill worker can have the opportunity to someday run for president.
Rep. Kucinich made a similar point on Friday -- that we need to keep the doors open for poor and middle class children to thrive just as the child of a CEO has. That is what our labor movement is about. It's my story and the story of so many of the union members, officers and staff with whom I am honored to work. That's exactly why we're here.
Other highlights so far today:
- AFL-CIO President John Sweeney and Organizing Director Stewart Acuff honored us with wall-shaking speeches. When these two were done speaking, I was energized and ready for a fight. Bring on 2008!
- U.S. Senate Candidate (and Oregon House Speaker) Jeff Merkley gave a rousing speech to our delegates, as did candidate Steve Novick yesterday. These two are good friends of labor and received a warm welcome from our folks.
- Our terrific Secretary-Treasurer Barbara Byrd and I were re-elected to our leadership posts.
- About ten media covered our Convention today, including three Portland news stations, the Oregonian, several coastal newspapers and the Associated Press.
- Our 400 delegates in attendance have worked night and day to develop resolutions on everything from health care, to how we conduct our Convention. I have been doing this work for 30 years, and I have never seen such an energetic group thinking through these issues and working together like I have seen this weekend. Our members know that the decisions they make this weekend are not just lip service. They will have an impact on the state, and they are weighing them as such. Great work, everyone!
Labels: Barbara Byrd, John Edwards, John Sweeney, Oregon AFL-CIO, Tom Chamberlain
A Little Help From Our Friends
Is that Senator Ben Westlund canvassing with Working America and the Oregon AFL-CIO? You bet.
Sen. Westlund -- a good friend of working people in Oregon -- was among the many candidates and elected officials who have joined us in Seaside so far. He donned a clipboard and knocked on doors in Seaside with the Working America canvassers. Oregon is one of a handful of states for this program, and we have 45,000 members so far -- and no doubt a few more with the assistance of Sen. Westlund.
We also have had a chance to meet with many of our members' state reps and senators, candidates and statewide electeds. In addition to everyone we've had on stage (listed in the Convention to the right), we've seen Senators Brad Avakian, Kate Brown, Vicki Walker, and Representatives Debbie Boone, Brian Clem, Greg MacPherson, Brad Witt, and many more.
Today's Oregonian coverage, while accurate, saved its best line for last.
It's an exciting morning -- Within the hour, AFL-CIO Pres. Sweeney, House Speaker Jeff Merkley and U.S. Sen. John Edwards will take the stage. Then later today, our 400 delegates will once again get to the business of making the decisions to carry us through 2008 and beyond.
When the Convention ends, we will have lots of video, audio and stories to post.
Labels: Convention, Oregon AFL-CIO
Kucinich Speaks to Oregon AFL-CIO Delegates on Trade, WTO
Last night, our delegates heard from the first of two U.S. Presidential candidates who are visiting our Convention in Seaside -- U.S. Rep. Dennis Kucinich. He spoke to our delegates and guests on trade, health insurance and much more. We were pleased to have the Oregonian in attendance, and saw this story this morning:
Kucinich, a congressman from Ohio, may trail better-known candidates in raising money, but he wowed the crowd of about 200 at the opening party at the Best Western Oceanview Resort.
They hooted and cheered several times during his 40-minute speech, especially when he hit hard on repealing the North American Free Trade Agreement and getting the United States out of the World Trade Organization, both moves popular with labor.
And they loved that he made fun of other presidential candidates for refusing to stand up to health insurance companies, which he says are driving health care into the ground.
"Somebody's running for president of the United States and they're saying they can't take on the insurance companies? Let me tell you, I'm ready for that," he said. "If you can't take on the insurance companies, who else can't you take on?"
Read the rest at the Oregonian's web site -- and stay tuned for complete audio of his speech.
A disclaimer here -- the Oregon AFL-CIO has not endorsed a candidate for President, and all major candidates of both parties were invited to attend.
Labels: Convention, Dennis Kucinich, Oregon AFL-CIO, Tom Chamberlain
Convention 2008: Why it Matters
Today and tonight, more than 400 working men and women from across Oregon are driving to Seaside for the Oregon AFL-CIO’s 50th biennial Convention. Between now and Wednesday, they will celebrate their accomplishments of the past two years -- and chart an ambitious course for building our labor movement and scoring victories in November 2008.
You can be sure they will have President Bush’s veto of SCHIP in mind as they decide where to steer the voter education and mobilization momentum of their 145,000-member organization. Several of the resolutions that members are bringing forward deal with -- imagine this -- improving health care affordability and electing leaders who will fight for lower costs.
Why does this matter to Oregon as a whole? In the past few years, Oregon’s union members -- our teachers, nurses, fire fighters, steelworkers and more -- have been among the most politically active in the nation. By knocking on tens of thousands of doors and talking to their co-workers each election cycle, they’ve convinced their co-workers and family members to make their voices heard.
In November 2006, when we cross-referenced the Oregon Secretary of State’s official voting results with our own union membership lists, we found that union members and the other registered voters in union households voted at a rate about 13% higher than the general electorate.
And when union members act on the resolutions they pass at Conventions like the one being held in Seaside, they make Oregon’s workplaces and communities stronger for all working families -- not just their own. Two examples:
They led the charge to raise the state’s minimum wage to among the highest in the nation -- twice, in 1996 and in 2002.
For years, they have supported legislation to bring renewable energy and good jobs to Oregon, restore much-needed funds to our local public schools, put more public safety officers in our communities and create a rainy day fund – and then, in 2006, they helped elect the decision-makers who would pass these reforms in the most worker-friendly Legislative Session in decades.
Because of the work Oregon’s union members have done to create good jobs and strong communities, several top state and national leaders will be joining them in Seaside: U.S. Presidential candidates John Edwards and Dennis Kucinich, Gov. Ted Kulongoski, AFL-CIO President John Sweeney, U.S. Representatives Earl Blumenauer, Darlene Hooley, David Wu, several of the nation’s top labor leaders, and many more will be there to celebrate.
So what does this have to do with the President’s State Children’s Health Insurance Program veto? Because, for as much work as Oregon’s union members and other advocates for children and health care know, the President chose corporate profits over the health and peace of mind of working families. This is wrong.
Change needs to occur in the White House, in Congress, and at the ballot box if we are to fill our moral obligation to cover the uninsured children in Oregon and nationwide.
In the meantime, our members know that the veto makes it more critical than ever that they work hard to pass Measure 50, the Healthy Kids ballot measure that’s being fought by millions of Big Tobacco dollars.
And our 400 Convention delegates this weekend, representing 145,000 of their co-workers and joining 10 million other AFL-CIO members nationwide, are gearing up to make health care the number-one issue in the November 2008 election.
If the past few years in Oregon are any indication, you know that it’s just a matter of time until the decisions they make this weekend will make a difference for Oregon’s working families in November 2008 and in Oregon for years to come.
Labels: Convention, Dennis Kucinich, John Edwards, labor union, Oregon AFL-CIO, SCHIP, Tom Chamberlain
You Gotta See this Convention Line-Up
Let's just say I'm shirt-button-poppin' proud.
As the RSVP's rolled in for our 50th Convention, there were more than enough high-fives to go around. We knew our 145,000 members worked hard to make November 2008 great for working families, and the recognition from the top national and state leaders would be great kudos for their victories.
By the time the list had been compiled, here's who had promised to come out this week and address our 400 delegates:
(You can also see the schedule on the Oregon AFL-CIO web site):
U.S. Presidential candidates:
U.S. Rep. Dennis Kucinich (tonight)
U.S. Senator John Edwards (Tuesday)
National AFL-CIO officers and staff:
John Sweeney, AFL-CIO President
Stewart Acuff , AFL-CIO Organizing Director
Mike Cavanaugh, Director or State and Local Affiliates
David Gregory, Western Region Political Director
U.S. Prepresentatives:
Earl Blumenauer
Darlene Hooley
David Wu
Honored State Officials:
Ted Kulongoski, Oregon Governor
Secretary of State Bill Bradbury
Dan Gardner, Oregon Labor Commissioner
Ben Westlund, State Senator and Candidate for Treasurer
Several of our state senators and representatives are attending or sending their staff -- stay tuned.
U.S. Senate Candidates:
Jeff Merkley, Speaker of the House
Steve Novick, Political Consultant
Tribal leader:
We're honored to have the first tribal leader that I'm aware of giving an invocation at our Convention. Steve Shane, Clatsop-Nehalem Federated Tribes Vice Chair, has generously agreed to open our Convention on Tuesday, before Sen. Edwards speaks.
Labels: Dennis Kucinich, John Edwards, November 2008, Oregon AFL-CIO, Ted Kulongoski, union members
We did it! Our first Convention as an officer/staff team finished at 11 am this morning. On time, for sure. As for under budget, we still need to see the invoices but trust me, we know how to stretch a dollar. 
