With the Oregon Primary Election in the rearview mirror, Council 75 is currently engaged in a series of candidate forums that are the first steps in ultimately choosing who Oregon AFSCME will endorse in this fall's General Election.

 

Some such forums have already occurred in the Portland area, Salem and Coos Bay. More are scheduled for greater Portland, Eastern Oregon and elsewhere. These forums are important and the cornerstone of the union's democratic election endorsement process.

 

There is sometimes concern expressed by members and outsiders about union endorsements, frequently paired with criticism that such endorsements are a "top down" decision. That simply is not true for AFSCME, which very much employs a "bottom up" process, starting with the local candidate forums. Participants in these local forums make recommendations to the Council 75 Political Action Committee (PAC), which reviews them and in turn forwards recommendations to the Oregon AFSCME Executive Board. The statewide, democratically elected E-Board has the final say on the union's endorsements, but it is a rare occasion with some unusual circumstance involved for the local endorsement recommendations to be overturned. Generally speaking, the recommended candidates from the local forums get the union's endorsement, making these grassroots events a vital link in the process.

 

If you are interested in participating in any of the remaining local forums, contact either Mary Botkin or Eva Rippeteau in Portland at (503) 239-9858 or (800) 792-0045 for the remaining schedule.

 

Here are some other details regarding the AFSCME endorsement process:

 

• Federal Elections — Council 75's PAC and Executive Board make the endorsement recommendation decisions on all U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representative races. The International union does not contribute to any candidates for Congress that Council 75 has not endorsed. The only federal race that is decided by the International Executive Board is for U.S. President; Oregon AFSCME Executive Director Ken Allen is an International Vice President and E-Board member.

 

• Oregon Elections — All endorsement decisions are made in Oregon. The statewide PAC consists of about 25 rank-and-file union members, representing each of Oregon's five congressional districts. The PAC membership includes Democrats, Republicans, Libertarians and independents (non-affiliated voters). These members work for cities, counties, special districts and the state; some work in the private sector or the childcare industry. Union staff members have no vote on endorsement decisions.

 

In statewide elections (Governor, Secretary of State, Attorney General) the union insists that all candidates fill out a questionnaire about issues affecting working families. The PAC then conducts interviews with the candidates; endorsement decisions are based only on issues affecting members' jobs and workplaces. In legislative races (Oregon House and Senate) members from each congressional district interview the candidates in the local forums who have returned the working family issues questionnaire. These recommendations then go to the statewide PAC and union Executive Board.

 

During each election cycle the PAC also determines the contribution amount for each candidate. All Oregon endorsement decisions and contribution levels are then referred to the Council 75 Executive Board, which is made up of about 90 member-leaders from across the state for their input and approval.

 

• PEOPLE Dollars/Hard Dollars — Public Employees Organized to Promote Legislative Equality (PEOPLE) is the national union's PAC. PEOPLE dollars are the voluntary contributions that members make. These voluntary contributions are called "hard dollars" and 100 percent of these contributions go to the International union. Hard dollars are spent on federal races, i.e. presidential and congressional elections.

 

• Regular Dues/Soft Dollars — Council 75 uses 20 cents per month per member for political purposes. These funds are called "soft dollars" and are spent solely on candidates for statewide offices and/or the Oregon Legislature. Oregon AFSCME also maintains a $3 per month Ballot Measure Fund that is used to fight bad ballot measures and support good measures.