Mayor Wilson Smears Portland City Worker Testimony As Special Interests

PORTLAND, OR – City of Portland workers, represented by Oregon AFSCME Local 189 are shocked by an email sent from Mayor Keith Wilson to the general public on Monday, which claimed so-called “special interests” drowned out “everyday Portlanders” at City of Portland budget hearings.

Local 189 has a simple message for the Mayor: We are everyday Portlanders, Mr. Mayor. We fix our roads, ensure our drinking water is safe, pay our taxes and send our kids to Portland’s public schools. If we’re not everyday Portlanders, who is?

The Save Our Services campaign has united thousands of public service workers, including City of Portland workers, who have been showing up in large groups to budget meetings. In response to the proposed layoffs of their positions, they provided public comment – in signature AFSCME green t-shirts – to ensure that worker voices are heard as City Council leaders make difficult budget decisions that impact direct services.

Workers took major issue with the following excerpt from the email:

“No matter what the subject, the same lobbyists and special interests show up in the same T-shirts.

It’s not very democratic to drown out, shout down, or intimidate everyday Portlanders who are just there to get local government to listen.”

City of Portland workers, the vast majority of whom live in the Portland metropolitan area, were shocked to see the Mayor’s attack on their collective action to share their stories in order to protect their jobs and the essential services they provide to the city.

Despite the Mayor’s messaging, Oregon AFSCME members will continue to share their experiential knowledge as direct service providers at City of Portland budget hearings to illustrate the unintended consequences of cuts that do not center workers and the communities they serve every day.

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