In his guest column regarding challenges facing Lane Community College, John Anderson insinuates that union workers’ advocacy and that of elected officials who support and are supported by them is somehow suspect and counter to the greater good of the institution and community. I am alarmed at the insidious, yet subtle, message presented by Anderson’s assertions and its potential to undermine the legitimacy of unions and workers’ right to speak up for their interests.
I have been a union member for most of my working life. At one point I was a member of the Lane Community College Education Association. I’ve been employed by a union for the past decade, and I served for 10 years on the Eugene City Council. So I have a strong basis on which to express an opinion. Anderson, on the other hand, does not offer any indications of his community affiliations relevant to this topic, so we can only speculate. In my view, the position he stakes out only serves the interests of those who support the concentration of power in the hands of corporate interests and those who wish to wield power unencumbered by the counterbalance provided by empowered frontline workers.
In a time of ever-greater concentration of power in the hands of a few dozen billionaires, it is more important than ever that frontline workers have the protections offered by a union contract. These protections allow them to voice their concerns over working conditions and leverage their collective power for improvements without fear of being fired, demoted or retaliated against. Elected officials, with the exception of elected judges, are not required to be “impartial” as Anderson implies. In the best cases, our elected officials bring their own core values and beliefs to their work as our representatives, while taking in information and the viewpoints of others to inform their decisions…