By DON McINTOSH Associate Editor
A chance to chat up Oregon lawmakers and coordinate labor’s
lobbying efforts drew over 100 union members to a Feb. 3 legislative
conference in Portland. Oregon House Speaker Jeff Merkley and a
half-dozen other legislators attended the four-hour session, as
did Labor Commissioner Dan Gardner, who labor leaders regard as
a rock-solid ally. Political consultant Steve Novick, who is mulling
a 2008 run against Republican U.S. Senator Gordon Smith, also addressed
attendees, earning an enthusiastic reception.
The conference is a biennial event organized by the Oregon AFL-CIO
and the Labor Education and Research Center of the University of
Oregon. This year, participants were notably optimistic, thanks
to the leadership change in Salem: Democrats control both houses
and the governor’s office, giving unions their best chance
in years of winning substantive improvements to Oregon labor laws.
Gardner shared an anecdote that illustrated just how different
the political climate is in Salem this time around. Two years ago,
the labor commissioner watched as Republican Karen Minnis, who was
then speaker of the House, squashed an incredibly minor bill he
had introduced. His agency, the Bureau of Labor and Industries,
accepts legal service when servers can’t locate farm labor
contractors who operate migrant worker camps. Gardner wanted to
expand that to all migrant worker camps, not just those where the
residents are employees of the owner. The bill passed the Senate
and the House committee, only to have Minnis tell her caucus, “It’s
Dan Gardner’s bill. I want you all to vote no.” Merkley,
who was then House Minority leader, paid Minnis a call to argue
for the bill on its merits, and related back to Gardner her response:
“What makes you think it has anything to do with the merits
of the bill?”
Such ugly partisan pettiness is out of fashion now that the Democrats
are in charge again, Gardner said. Democrats will need Republican
votes to pass revenue increases, so while they intend to use their
majority to pass legislation, revenge isn’t on the agenda.
Instead, the agenda is filled with pro-active proposals.
Gardner’s office, for example, is supporting bills to:
