'The Troubles of Unions' Topic of May 5 City Club Forum

At its weekly Friday Forum on May 5, 2006, City Club of Portland welcomes a panel of speakers to discuss “The Troubles of Unions — Do They Matter?” On the panel are: Tom Chamberlain, President, Oregon AFL-CIO; Leslie Frane, Executive Director, SEIU Local 503; and former Congressman David Bonior.

Portland, OR (PRWEB) April 22, 2006 -- At its weekly Friday Forum on May 5, 2006, City Club of Portland welcomes a panel of speakers to discuss “The Troubles of Unions — Do They Matter?”

On the panel are: Tom Chamberlain, President, Oregon AFL-CIO; Leslie Frane, Executive Director, SEIU Local 503; and former Congressman David Bonior.

If solidarity is not forever, will America still have a middle class? The percentage of American workers in unions has dropped from over 30 percent in the 1950s to under 13 percent today. Union members and leaders recognize that without new organizing and political strategies, the labor movement may be doomed. Last year, some of the largest unions defected from the AFL-CIO to start the “Change to Win” coalition, and the AFL itself has undertaken significant reforms.

Robert Reich, Secretary of Labor under President Clinton, has written: “Organized labor is an aging, doddering prizefighter still relishing trophies earned decades ago.” But in the next breath, he wrote: “But it's the only fighter in that corner of the ring. There's no other countervailing force against the overriding power of business and finance.” In an era of rising wealth and income disparity — which economist and New York Times columnist Paul Krugman says is due to “power relations,” not educational differences — our panel will argue that everyone other than the super-rich should be worried about the future of the union movement.

And while these speakers will not shy away from discussing the reasons for waning membership and other troubles of labor (Leslie Frane leads Oregon's largest union local, part of SEIU that led the breakaway from the national AFL-CIO), Frane and Oregon AFL-CIO President Tom Chamberlain will argue that unions are still a very strong player in political, economic and civic affairs. Unionized private sector workers, for example, earn 23 percent more than their nonunion counterparts. And, in Oregon, it was primarily unions that fought and eventually defeated Bill Sizemore, passed initiatives increasing the minimum wage, and, through grassroots get-out-the-vote efforts, put Ted Kulongoski's 2002 campaign for governor over the top. Finally, former Michigan Congressman David Bonior, Newt Gingrich's fiercest foe, will discuss the average American’s point of view; how American labor laws do affect the right to organize; and how legal reforms — such as increased penalties for illegal union-busting — could help revive the union movement.

City Club's Friday Forum, which is open to the public, will be held at the Governor Hotel (614 SW 11th Ave.). Doors open at 11:30 a.m.; the program begins at 12:15 p.m. and concludes at 1:15 p.m. Luncheon tickets are $20 ($16 for members of City Club) and must be reserved by 2 p.m. Wednesday, May 3, 2006 online at www.pdxcityclub.org or by calling 503-228-7231, ext. 103. Coffee/tea table tickets ($5) and general seating ($5; free for City Club members) will be available at the door on a first-come, first-served basis.

A NOTE TO MEDIA

Media are encouraged to attend and are invited to sit in general seating. Please sign in at the registration table on the day of the forum. For broadcast media, an audio press patch will be available, and a riser for videotaping can be provided with advance notice. Contact Tim Krause at 503-228-7231, ext. 102.

ABOUT THE SPEAKERS

TOM CHAMBERLAIN was elected President of the Oregon AFL-CIO by a unanimous vote of the Executive Board in October of 2005. His predecessor, Tim Nesbitt, recruited Chamberlain to serve the latter half of Nesbitt’s second four-year term.

A native Oregonian, Chamberlain grew up in a home where, he says, “the difference between cold cereal for breakfast and cold cereal for dinner was a union job.” His father worked as a Teamster truck driver for Freightliner, a bus driver represented by Amalgamated Transit Union, then as a postal worker.

Chamberlain’s great-grandfather began working as a Portland Police Officer in 1883, starting a tradition of service with the city that continues to this day. Chamberlain’s brother is vice president of the Portland Police Association; his wife, a former teacher, was a member of the Oregon Education Association. His sister and son are members of American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees; his daughter, an attorney, works for AFSCME and represents the Clatsop-Tillamook Central Labor Council on the Oregon AFL-CIO’s Executive Board. Chamberlain has been a member of Firefighters Local 43 for nearly 30 years.

Following a stint in the United States Air Force, Chamberlain fought fires for the City of Portland from 1977-2003. He was elected to be Local 43’s Secretary-treasurer in 1988 and served in that capacity for 10 years. He started lobbying while working full-time in 1989. He was elected Vice President (1994-96 and 1998-2003) and then President (1996-98) of the Oregon State Fire Fighters Council.

In 1998, Chamberlain was elected to succeed Portland City Commissioner Randy Leonard as president of Local 43, the Fire Fighters’ biggest Oregon local, and was re-elected in 2001.

From 1998-2003, Chamberlain was an International Association of Fire Fighters Field Representative, providing recourses and support to IAFF affiliate leaders throughout Oregon, Utah, Wyoming, Colorado and Nevada. In 2003, he was recruited by former Oregon AFL-CIO President Tim Nesbitt to be the organizing director at the state federation. Shortly thereafter Governor Ted Kulongoski appointed Chamberlain to act as the labor liaison to the Executive Branch. In that capacity Chamberlain advised the Governor on farm workers rights, defense of the minimum wage, and endorsement of the Employee Free Choice Act. He also served as a middleman between the governor and the union bargaining teams that represented the state’s workers.

Chamberlain is married to Vickie Chamberlain and lives in Portland. They have three children between them and three grandchildren.

LESLIE FRANE is executive director of SEIU Local 503 OPEU. Her local represents over 35,000 workers in Oregon, including state employees, local government employees, home care workers, nursing home workers, university employees, and employees of private nonprofit agencies. Prior to 2002, Frane was Vice President of the New England Health Care Employees Union, District 1199-SEIU in Connecticut. She currently serves as an International Vice President of SEIU, the largest union in the United States. SEIU represents 1.8 million members in the U.S. and Canada.

DAVID E. BONIOR serves as the Chair of American Rights at Work and as University Professor of Labor Studies at Wayne State University. He also serves on the national Board of Public Citizen and as a member of the Board of Community Central Bank in Mount Clemens, MI.

Elected to the U.S House of Representatives in 1976, he served the people of Macomb and St. Clair Counties for 26 years—the longest tenure of any Congressman from this district. When he retired at the end of 2002, he had held the position of Democratic Whip, the second ranking Democrat in the House, for ten years.

His tenure in Congress was marked by a passion for social and economic justice. Bonior earned a reputation as a strong voice for working families and as a leader on the environment, fair trade, jobs and human and civil rights.

Born in Detroit, he graduated from the University of Iowa, received a Masters Degree in History from Chapman College, served in the Air Force, and worked as a probation officer and adoption caseworker before he was elected to the Michigan Legislature in 1972.

Bonior is the author of two books: The Vietnam Veteran: A History of Neglect and Walking to Mackinac.

ABOUT CITY CLUB OF PORTLAND

City Club of Portland is a nonprofit, nonpartisan civic affairs organization that promotes civic engagement and active citizenship to build a stronger community. Through unbiased research and compelling programs, City Club connects citizens with ideas and issues that affect our community. City Club is open to everyone who wants to interact with other citizens and shape the future of our city and state, providing a neutral forum for many diverse voices. For more information about City Club of Portland, visit www.pdxcityclub.org or call 503-228-7231.

###