Statement of AFSCME President Gerald W. McEntee and Secretary-Treasurer Lee Saunders regarding President Obama’s remarks today on marriage

Washington, DC —

“President Obama’s announcement today recognizes a fundamental American right – that every citizen is entitled to respect and dignity, and the equal protection of our laws. For too long, lesbian and gay Americans have been denied the right to marry the person they love, raise a family and live as equal citizens in our country. They are denied access to pension benefits, Social Security survivor benefits, family health and bereavement leave and family immigration rights. That discrimination harms all of us, not just LGBT Americans. We have an obligation to work to overturn unjust laws and amendments to state constitutions that codify prejudice and promote discrimination against fellow citizens. The President deserves praise for recognizing that this issue is about equality under the law and the right of all Americans to live their lives free from discrimination.”

AFSCME’s 1.6 million members provide the vital services that make America happen. With members in hundreds of different occupations — from nurses to corrections officers, child care providers to sanitation workers — AFSCME advocates for fairness in the workplace, excellence in public services and prosperity and opportunity for all working families.

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For more information on the products and services which will be offered, [ Click Here ].

Here is a list of the dates, times, and locations where AFLAC will be presenting to Local 88 members:

1. Lincoln Building – Tues. 4/17/12 Time:  11:30a – 1:00p 1st FLR Columbia Conf Rm
2. Lincoln Building – Tues. 4/18/12 Time:  11:30a – 1:00p 1st FLR Columbia Conf Rm
3. Lincoln Building – Tues. 4/19/12  Time:  11:30a – 1:00p 1st FLR Deschutes Conf Rm
4. McCoy Building – Tues., 4/17/12  Time:  11:30a – 1:00p Conference room 8A
5. Mead Building – Tues. 4/24/12   Time:  11:30a – 1:00p Basement – B 25
6. Portland Building  - Tues. 4/25/12  Time:  11:30a – 1:00p Training room
7. Multnomah County Courthouse – 5/01/12  Time:  11:30a-1:00p 8th Floor, Conference Room C
8. Multnomah County Courthouse – 5/02/12 Time:  11:30a-1:00p 8th Floor, Conference Room C
9. Justice Center – 5/02/12  Times:  7:00 am – 8:30am [TBD]
10. Justice Center – 5/02/12  Times:  7:00 pm – 8:30pm [TBD]
11. Justice Center – 5/02/12  Times:  7:00 am – 8:30am [TBD]
12. Justice Center – 5/02/12  Times:  7:00 pm – 8:30pm [TBD]
13. Multnomah Building- 5/08/12 Time:  11:30a – 1:00p 4th For Oak
14. Multnomah Building- 5/09/12  Time:  11:30a – 1:00p 4th For Cypress
15. Blanchard Building – 5/15/12  Time:  11:30a – 1:00p Morley Room
16. North Portland Health Clinic – 5/15/12  Time:  11:30a – 1:00p Conference Room
17. CJuvenile – 5/23/12  Time:  11:30a – 1:00p [TBD]
18. Juvenile – 5/24/12 Time:  11:30a – 1:00p [TBD]
19. Library Admin – 5/22/12  Time:  11:30a – 1:00p ISOM Room
20. Inverness Jail – 5/29/12  Time:  11:30a – 1:00p [TBD]
21. Inverness Jail – 5/30/12  Time:  11:30a – 1:00p [TBD]
22. Multnomah County East – 5/29/12  Time:  11:30a – 1:00p Blue Lake Room
23. Multnomah County East – 5/31/12  Time:  11:30a – 1:00p Blue Lake Room
24. Central Library – 6/04/12  Time:  11:30a – 1:00p 5th Floor, Conf Room A
25. Central Library – 6/06/12  Time:  11:30a – 1:00p 5th Floor, Conf Room A
26. Walnut Park Complex – 6/06/12  Time:  11:30a – 1:00p Conference Room C
27. Walnut Park Complex – 6/07/12  Time:  11:30a – 1:00p Conference Room C

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We’re calling voters from our offices Sunday through Thursday of every week.Go online and sign up for a shift!  We’ll be spreading the word that the library levy renewal is on the ballot and asking folks to vote YES! Will you join us? We know that once people learn how significant the cuts will be to libraries and that our levy doesn’t raise taxes, they’re with us. Help us keep our libraries open. Sign up for a shift now by clicking the link, entering your email and picking a shift or contact Scott at 503-208-5522 or scott@librariesyes.com to help out.

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The People’s Budget event plans to educate community members about the budget process of the Portland Metro area, and to prioritize the community’s needs in a way that values jobs and the social services that the City has thus far planned to cut, while encouraging those affected to take action.

A People’s Budget is necessary because the budget decisions for the City of Portland, Metro, and Multnomah County are made largely behind closed doors, with little input from those who are directly affected by layoffs and cuts to services.

Portland city officials based their budget on the following assumption: because the recession has caused a major drop in property tax returns, large cuts in services and jobs have to be made.

No alternatives to a “cuts only” budget have been publicly discussed.  Nor has any mention of raising taxes on those who could afford it — the wealthy and the   corporations– to fix the problem.  Using the City’s large financial reserves to prevent cuts has thus far been “off the table”.

Richard Beatle, the Business Manager for Laborers 483 (Portland city workers) explains:  ” The Mayor and City Council have several options to deal with the city deficit that doesn’t  create layoffs and service cuts, but they are refusing to even discuss alternatives”

A “cuts only” budget means that labor and community groups must compete against each other in an effort to avoid cuts; unions are blamed for the deficits that result in cuts to services.  The People’s Budget planning committee plans to put forth alternative ideas.

Oregon’s politicians have said that we cannot tax the wealthy, regardless of the the constantly-shrinking tax cuts on a national level. Instead, politicians have insisted that money be taken from public workers through wage and benefit cuts or layoffs, or be taken from other working people in the form of fee increases, sales taxes, or cuts to services provided by public workers in the form of school, community center and park closures, transportation cuts (buses, trains and roads), etc.

The People’s Budget event will begin with different assumptions than the Mayor’s budget process: because the recession has caused a major drop in tax returns, instead of layoffs and cutting services the city should raise revenue by taxing those who can afford it while using available reserve funds to save and create much needed jobs.

Rather than blaming public workers for the recession, the People’s Budget plans to honor them for the services they provide to the public.

Instead of prioritizing a “cuts only” budget, the People’s Budget will prioritize the needs our the community — for jobs and against cuts. Instead of hiding Portland’s pro-wealthy investor Urban Renewal strategy, we plan to bring it into the light, along with other ways that the city has shaped its policies with the wealthy investor first in mind.

A number of labor and community groups have endorsed the People’s Budget event, including Jobs With Justice, SEIU 49, AFSCME 88, Laborers 483, Occupy Portland, Economic Justice Action Group, PCASC, CWA 7901, and others.

You are invited to attend the Community Assembly for a People’s Budget.  This event is being organized by labor and community groups to offer alternatives to the “cuts only” budgets being implemented on all levels of government, to the expense of both the public sector unions who preform these services and the community that receives them.  Due to space limitations and growing interest, we are strongly encouraging participants to RSVP by emailing Lisa Neef @ lisa@arrivestaffing.com

• Community Assembly’s Facebook Page
• Community Assembly

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The Multnomah County Library campaign needs your help.

We have some exciting events planned in the week ahead, and we hope you’ll get involved!

“Books and Beer” at the Kennedy School

On Thursday, April 5th, join us for Books and Beer! Come learn more about the library levy and enjoy some free beer and appetizers. We’ll be holding volunteer signups at this event — sign up for a 2 hour shift and get a glass of beer!

The details:

• DATE: Thursday, April 5th
• TIME: 6:30 – 8:30PM
• LOCATION: McMenamin’s Kennedy School, Martha Jordan Room, 5736 NE 33rd Ave, Portland

RSVP to: info@librariesyes.com

EVENT LINK: http://www.librariesyes.com/2012/04/02/books-and-beer-at-mcmenamins-kennedy-school/

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Letter from Danny Donohue and Alice Goff to AFSCME members.

Dear AFSCME Sisters and Brothers,

June 21, 2012 will be an important date in AFSCME history. For the first time in three decades, AFSCME members will elect both a new President and Secretary-Treasurer of our International union.

The question of union leadership has never been more crucial. Together we face unprecedented challenges across the county, and we have much work to do.

We are announcing our candidacies for International President and Secretary-Treasurer. We have been colleagues in AFSCME for over 20 years and share the experience of leading locals that have had to fight back against brutal attacks over the years. We have a bond in our commitment to this union, a vision for facing the challenges to come, and the passion to get the job done.

New leadership is needed to help chart a new course for the future. It is time for a new beginning, a fresh perspective and creative ideas. With AFSCME members in Councils and Locals across the country engaged in crucial fights to protect hard won collective bargaining rights, contracts, wages, health care and pensions, we need leaders who know first-hand what these battles require. We know what you and other AFSCME members across the country are facing because we are AFSCME members and Local Presidents. We are facing the same threats, cutbacks and attacks, and we are fighting back in city halls, school board meetings, Governors’ mansions, and on the streets.

We are running for the leadership of our great union because it’s time for AFSCME to refocus our priorities and review how our International Union works.

We will work to make sure that local leaders have the tools they need to meet the crises that members are facing today–and not just after the crises hit. It is essential that the international union provide resources, coordination and guidance to enable affiliates to develop a unified and coherent program and response that strengthens us all. We must seek out the best practices, what actually works, and make sure that they are shared throughout the union.

Our union cannot survive and thrive in these challenging times unless it reaches out beyond Washington insiders and inside-the-beltway thinking. Some of the toughest battles AFSCME has ever faced are being fought day-in and day-out by local unions all across the country. We have lived and breathed the life of local and council leaders for decades. We will invite everyone to the table. We will be open to new ideas, no matter from whom or where they come. And we will listen to make sure that the widest possible array of views is taken into account when the tough decisions are made.

We will commit to ensure organizational integrity, transparency, and accountability. We will ensure that the priorities and the budgets of our union will be transparent for all to see how the members’ money is spent.

ONE AFSCME will mean unity and inclusion, ensuring that all views are taken into account and that women, young workers, and all minority groups are fully represented on decision-making bodies. Every perspective, every set of experiences, every voice will lead to a new way of facing the challenges to come.

That’s why our candidacy is not just another political campaign. It is not about the candidates; it is about the members. It is a movement – a movement for new priorities, new focus, more unity, more accountability and more transparency.

Please keep in touch with us during the campaign through our campaign website – www.ONEAFSCME.com.

Help us spread the word. Talk to your co-workers. E-mail this announcement to 5 friends. Tweet about our campaign. Post our campaign announcement video to your Facebook page. Help us communicate our message.

We ask you to be a part of this movement for ONE AFSCME, and we are asking for your endorsement and support.

In solidarity,

Danny Donohue
President, CSEA, Local 1000
Candidate for International President

Alice Goff
President, Council 36 and Local 3090
Candidate for International Secretary-Treasurer

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The Friends of the Library are hosting “Library Lovers Unite!” to educate the public about the campaign and generate support (and AFSCME is trying to get a big turnout).  “Library Lovers Unite!” will be the following:

• DATE: March 13, 2012 from 6 – 8 p.m.
• LOCATION: The Old Church (1422 SW 11th Ave, Portland, OR 97201).

DETAILS: The event is free and open to the public.  Join Local Authors and Learn How You Can Support the Library Levy Campaign.  “Library Lovers Unite!” will feature five beloved Portland authors speaking about the value of libraries in our community: Jean M. Auel, Molly Gloss, Ursula K. Le Guin, Phillip Margolin, and Kim Stafford.  The authors will be followed by information from the Libraries YES! Political Action Committee and other Library supporters.  After the event, attendees will be encouraged to mingle with the speakers, ask questions, and sign up to volunteer for the campaign.  Donations to the Libraries YES! PAC will be accepted.

For more information, click [ HERE ].

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As we approach the crucial closing weeks of the 2012 Legislature,  we ask for your help.   Please CONTACT YOUR LEGISLATORS with the following message:

Cutting services to seniors should be a last resort.  We should not dismantle Oregon’s highly cost effective community based long-term care system,  a system that is a national model that other states emulate.  Oregon must shelter our most vulnerable citizens as much as possible, and  keep them independent wherever practical.  When independence is lost,  long-term care alternatives are substantially more costly.  There are options for balancing the state budget that do not require cutting DHS programs for seniors and persons with disabilities.   Please consider those alternatives before cuting these vital services.

We are also asking that you also contact the leadership of the Joint Ways and Means Committeewith the above message.  Those folks are:

• Sen. Richard Devlin, Co-Chair
• Rep. Peter Buckley, Co-Chair
• Rep. Dennis Richardson, Co-Chair

For more information on this campaign, please go to:  http://saveoregonseniors.org/

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They will share their insights and strategies for turning the current economic crisis into movement-building opportunities.

• FREE • No Registration Required

2 Locations — 2 Dates

Eugene
Tuesday, January 17, 2012 • 7:00 p.m.
UO Knight Law Center, Room 175
1515 Agate St
Eugene OR

Portland
Wednesday, January 18, 2012 • 7:00 p.m.
UO White Stag Building — Event Room
70 NW Couch St
Portland OR

To download an informational PDF of the event, click [ HERE ].

For more information call LERC: 541-346-2781  or 503-412-3721
Labor Education and Research Center
lerc@uoregon.edu

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