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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Thanks to everyone who was attended the Holiday Open House, this past Thursday, December 8th!  Whether you made it or not, Local 88 wishes all of our members and community a fantastic holiday season!

2011 Local 88 Holiday Party guests toasting the holidays and the new year.

Local 88 held its Holiday Party open house at the AFSCME Portland office on Dec 8.
More than 70 members and guests representing all county departments attended during the 2 hour event.

Party guests included Santa Claus, Chair Jeff Cogan, County Auditor Steve Marsh, Beckie Lee (Chief of Staff for Commissioner Kafoury), Chris Warner (Chief of Staff for Commissioner Smith), and Rod Underhill who is from the District Attorney’s Office and is a candidate for District Attorney.

Judy Shiprack and Diane McKeel could not make it, but sent their regards.

Appetizers and beverages were enjoyed during the event while holiday music played and door prize tickets were drawn. The door prize drawing started off with a laugh as Chair Cogan drew the first ticket from the basket. When no one claimed the number he checked the ticket he held and it was the winner. Not rigged, we can assure you, just a very funny coincidence.

At 7 pm, Local 88 President Michael Hanna and AFSCME Staff Representative Bryan Lally raised a toast to the new contract signed between the Union and Multnomah County. Noted were the outstanding work by Rachel Gumpert, temporarily employed as our Member Action Coordinator, the contract bargaining team and the hundreds of Local 88 members who actively engaged in supporting the contract negotiating team.

Special thanks to our party coordinators Jackie Tate, Naomi Newsom and Susan Palmer. Also thanks to Hugh Singh who managed the beverage table and the many members who showed up early to decorate the room and help set up the food and those members who helped clean up after the party.

It was a fun evening with members visiting with old acquaintances and meeting new people from departments all across the county. If you couldn’t attend this year we hope to see you at upcoming membership meetings and next year’s holiday party.

Santa believes in the 99%

2011 Local 88 Holiday Party guests represent members from all departments. Members and their families enjoyed food, friendship and door prize drawings during the event.

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McEntee: “Obama is the only choice for the 99%”

Washington, DC — The 1.6 million-member American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Union, AFL-CIO (AFSCME) announced today their endorsement of Pres. Barack Obama for reelection in 2012. The AFSCME International Executive Board passed a resolution of endorsement at today’s International Executive Board Meeting.

“President Obama is the only choice for the 99%. We must put people back to work, make the 1 percent pay their fair share, and protect Medicaid, Medicare and Social Security. President Obama will stand up for working families,” said AFSCME Pres. Gerald W. McEntee. “Newt Gingrich and Mitt Romney have a prescription for the U.S. economy that was written by the same corporate interests that got us into this mess in the first place. We’ve all seen the depths the right-wing extremists governors will go to at the expense of working families, and we certainly don’t need that type of leadership in the White House. The GOP candidates just don’t get it, they are out of touch with reality. We believe that American voters are smarter than that and will say thanks but no thanks to their 1 percent agenda and work to re-elect President Obama to a second term.”

AFSCME’s Executive board voted to endorse today, and will now begin an extensive conversation with members and non-members nationwide. In 2008, AFSCME launched a one-of-a-kind nationwide campaign to elect President Obama. AFSCME recruited more than 40,000 activists, made more than 6 million calls to members and deployed hundreds of staff to 17 key battleground states to ensure a victory.

“It’s unbelievable that the GOP leadership and Presidential candidates are so eager to protect the Bush tax breaks for millionaires that they are willing to cut off benefits for the long-term unemployed and repeal a payroll tax cut,” added Michael Ebersole, a highway maintenance technician for the Florida Department of Transportation and Local 3106 AFSCME member. “President Obama’s call—to invest in innovation and infrastructure that will put people back to work today and build a strong foundation for the future—is what this country needs. I intend to work day and night to ensure this President gets a second term.”

[ Link to Press Release ]

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This is a fun, family-friendly event. Stop by on your way home.  We look forward to seeing you!

• What: Holiday Open House and Celebration
• When: Thursday, December 8, 2011
• Where: 6025 E Burnside, Portland
• Time: 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM
• Food: Appetizers and beverages will be available
• Other: Gift cards and prizes will be awarded throughout the evening.

Questions? If you have questions or would like to volunteer to help with this event, contact Susan Palmer at secretary@afscmelocal88.org

Click [ HERE ] to download the flier.

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The New E-Board and Officers are sworn in.

Local 88′s election for the 2011-2013 has completed.  To all of the members who participated, thank you!  Here are the results and your new leadership:

In the election for vice-president, the vote breakdown was:
Deirdre Mahoney-Clark 56%
Grant Swanson 44%

New Officers for November 2011-November 2013 Term:

• President: Michael Hanna
• Vice President: Deirdre Mahoney-Clark
• Secretary: Susan Palmer
• Treasurer: Jeanne Ramsten

Additionally, the new Executive Board members were sworn in.

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___________________________

Deirdre Mahoney-Clark
Website: http://deirdre4vp.wordpress.com/

Dear Union Sisters and Brothers,

Deirdre Mahoney-Clark

I am actively involved in the business of the union through my role as a card carrying member, Chief Steward of Department of County Management and the newly formed Department of County Assets; the Multnomah Evolves Committee, Political Action Committee, Executive Board meetings, General Membership meetings, the AFSCME Council- 75 meetings and my daily interaction with other union members.

Because of these involvements, I will fulfill the role of Vice-President with a broad understanding of our shared needs, values and countywide issues. We have ten departments in the county and all need fair representation on the Local 88 cabinet.

I will assist the sitting President, Secretary and Treasurer with the business of the local using my training in communication, technology and activism. I will continue the communication links forged by our Member Action Team coordinator to keep our membership informed of important issues and bring feedback directly to the executive board and county leadership.

I am a moderate leader but I am a direct communicator when the situation calls for it. I believe in respecting the opinions of others and listening for their message when it differs from mine. I will advocate for our members and fight for equity in our worksites using all the spirit you would expect from a leader you have chosen.

___________________________

Grant Swanson
Website: http://grantforvp.yolasite.com/

Grant Swanson

We are living in interesting times, times of uncertainty but also times of opportunity to create a better tomorrow. We now face the challenge to “future-proof” our union since unrestrained financial institutions and corporations have left our community without good work prospects and safety nets. We are also faced with climate change, peak oil, and the constraints of the capped property tax and its effects on our workplace. As your current vice president, I have been working hard to meet these challenges and will continue to do so. I will continue to help Local 88’s members to elect the best candidates, regardless of party affiliation, for political posts throughout the Portland region, Oregon, and nationally. I will continue to help diversify the voices heard by union leadership, political leaders, and our County’s elected officials, to include everyone’s point of view, regardless of size, ability, race, age, sexual orientation, perceived class, or other social identities. I will continue to explore new union organizing strategies so we can build a broader union movement together. I will work toward localizing our economy by creating a Co-Op development fund. My vision is to use our money to support democratic workplaces instead of giving it to for-profit corporations, who are actively attacking public institutions and workers everywhere. I will reach out to the retired, soon to retire, and all current members of Local 88 and capture their “Living Histories” to better understand where we have been, who we are, and where we are going. I will work towards building a union that embraces participatory democracy by including every member’s views in decision-making and strive to continue this culture throughout our union. If this sounds like what you want your union leadership to be, please take the time to vote for me.

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Ohio voters repealed the bill in a citizens’ veto, rejecting Senate Bill 5’s elimination of collective bargaining, its silencing of workers’ voices, and its direct attack on working, middle class families.

“Tonight, Ohioans delivered a clear message to corporate-backed politicians across the country that we will no longer stay silent as Wall Street tries to steal the American Dream,” said AFSCME Pres. Gerald W. McEntee.

The bill was backed not only by Kasich and his party, but also by a fraternity of outside corporate interests ranging from the billionaire Koch brothers to Dick Cheney’s daughter, who poured millions into the campaign. Their well-funded efforts to demonize nurses, firefighters, school teachers, bus drivers and all other public employees failed in the face of unprecedented activism by a coalition of public and private sector union employees.

“This was a brazen attempt to silence the voice of the 99%; the voters saw through it and vetoed it,” said McEntee. “A Main Street movement has begun and tonight we sent a message to all politicians to end the attacks on the economic and retirement security of the working middle class.”

AFSCME members and others erupted into cheers when the repeal of Senate Bill 5 was announced at the large gathering of We Are Ohio volunteers in downtown Columbus.

Tears streaming down her face, BJ Simmons-Talley, an Ohio Association of Public School Employees (OAPSE/AFSCME Local 4) member who has driven a school bus since the 1970s, said, “I am proud to be an Ohioan!”

AFSCME Council 8 zookeeper Matthew De Voe was similarly elated.

“I am breathing a sigh of relief right now,” he said. “If this had passed I might have lost my house. I looked at my kids the other night and had this fear that I wouldn’t be able to provide for them. Tomorrow I can go back to work energized.”

School bus driver Karen Holdridge of OAPSE couldn’t stop smiling.

“We did it,” she said. “We made history. I am so proud of our unions. We stood up and said, ‘We are Americans and you cannot take our rights away.’”

Wearing a black T-shirt that said “11.08.11 – The Day We Make History,” Ohio State Civil Service Employees Association (OCSEA/AFSCME Local 11) member Louella Jeter was reveling in the results.

“I hope this sends a message to other governors that instead of trying to take collective bargaining away from people they should sit down with them,” Jeter said. And she believes the vote showed the strength of her union and others. “Once everybody comes together it sends a message. We are strong.”

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Organized labor is coming together on Wednesday, Oct. 26, to support the Occupy Portland movement in downtown Portland. Oregon AFSCME leadership encourages your participation as we partner with the Oregon AFL-CIO, Jobs with Justice and others.

Occupy Portland is made up of real Americans pulling together to hold big banks and multi-national corporations accountable for the financial crisis we all face.

Directions/Instructions: Be assembled at Director Park at 5 p.m., corners of Yamhill Street and Park Avenue. (Official address is 815 SW Park.) A rally will commence at 5, then at approxi- mately 6 p.m. we will march downtown in a show of solidarity.

Questions? Contact Oregon AFSCME Organizer Dan Abernathy dabernathy@oregonafscme.com or (503) 239-9858

Download flyer [ HERE ].

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