(Provided by Suzanne Weber for State Representative campaign)
Fewer than twenty-four hours after the Astoria-based North Coast Labor Federation (NCLF) endorsed Suzanne Weber’s campaign for the Oregon Legislature, Portland political leaders from the Oregon
AFL-CIO overruled their local members and demanded that the local union endorsement be withdrawn.
Despite serving as Secretary-Treasurer of the local organization, Debbie Boothe-Schmidt had declined to attend the interview process where the NCLF endorsed Weber unanimously.
“This really is outrageous,” remarked Weber. “It’s yet another example of the Portland political elites shoving their will down the throats of the local members who pay their salaries. These are the people who want to defund our police departments, shut down our forests and do whatever extremist politicians tell them. The supposed ‘leaders’ in Portland might choose to ignore the will of union members in rural Northwest Oregon, but I never will. We need a State Representative chosen by the people who live and work here, not someone like Debbie Boothe-Schmidt who will only rubber-stamp anything and everything the Portland political elites tell her to.”
The state AFL-CIO endorsed Boothe-Schmidt without consultation with their local chapter. Local members indicated this a direct violation of the state AFL-CIO bylaws that require consideration of the local chapter recommendation before making an endorsement.
Suzanne Weber has brought together a diverse coalition, including local elected and community leaders, union members, Democrats, Republicans, and independent-minded locals.
Here’s Suzanne Weber’s video response: