Dynamic Convention Kicks Off with Board Meeting, Committee Meetings

The 2009 Oregon AFL-CIO Convention kicked off with a bang today, as the Executive Board sent a dynamic agenda to the full convention for consideration over the next two days. Included are some of the priorities we've been discussing all summer, and I'm excited to see our delegates take a real stand on them. I hope that their actions will kick-start the federation toward these goals! Included in the agenda are:

  • supporting the many elections during 2010 in big ways. While we don't know yet what all the ballot measures are that we'll be facing later in the year we know there are some big things circulating that we'll want to take a stand on, and in the mean time the convention will vote to take a position on the January tax-fairness package
  • adapting to the changing face of Oregon's union movement. As our movement becomes more diverse so should our leadership. We will look at growing constituency groups, and will vote on a resolution to create a youth caucus that will be treated like a constituency group in Oregon
  • kicking off an innovative media program which will educate Oregonians on the value of unions, the Oregon AFL-CIO and our affiliates, and encourage our collective efforts to maintain and build Oregon's middle class

Right now we're taking a short break; the Committee Chairs just met, and in a few minutes our first Committees will start meeting. Later this afternoon the Youth Caucus will hold it's first meeting in preparation for the resolution that, if passed, will make them an official part of our organization. Delegates interested in joining a constituency group will also be meeting to talk about those organizations, which I hope will bring more new ideas to the federation.

It's been a busy start to the Convention, but everyone seems to be excited and ready to take some strong stands. As the delegates continue to check in it looks like we might even exceed our expectations for how many people will attend! I'll have updates on that as the convention goes on, and on the many issues we address and speakers we hear from.

Tom

Posted on October 25, 2009.