“This last year has been a wake-up call for many in Oregon’s labor movement,” said David Rives, AFT-Oregon President in his State of the Union address to convention delegates. Rives was referring to AFT-Oregon members’ response to a recent threat of an anti-worker ballot initiative which was ultimately withdrawn.
“AFT-Oregon worked tirelessly with locals to mobilize our members. Staff developed and conducted trainings for worksite leaders, and locals mobilized their members with an urgency we hadn’t seen before,” said Rives. It was inspiring to see a level of activity, and we don’t want to lose this momentum.”
Rives warned that although we were given a reprive for 2014, members must continue to strengthen our collective power by reaching out to members and keeping them aware of union activities, and making sure we have strong worksite leader systems. “Whatever the issue--working conditions, contracts, community issues, or member engagement--we must have regular communication, especially face-to-face, with members. So, when we face another threat against working people, we will be more than ready to take it on,” he said.
Delegates to Convention breezed through proposed constitution and bylaws amendments and resolutions in the Saturday general session. The following are a list of action approved in Saturday’s general session. A full report of committee changes and recommendations will be distributed and available online in the coming weeks. In the meantime, here’s a quick list of approved action, and the committees who reviewed them.