The vote of Oregon residents earlier this week in a special referendum on taxes shows that the public will stomach a tax increase to support vital public services like higher education, health care and transportation if the tax doesn't unfairly on the middle class.

That was the message of an election on Jan. 26, when Oregon voters approved two tax measures that will raise $727 million in revenue.

The turnout was unusually high for a special election, says David Rives, AFT-Oregon president and part-time community college instructor. It shows two things--both public support for critical public services and the effectiveness of a broad coalition that speaks with one voice.

It's a point that we can make when talking to legislators about the Faculty and College Excellence legislation as well.

Measures 66 and 67 raise the corporate minimum tax from $10 to $150 for the first time since 1931 and raise the tax rate on household income above $250,000. Prior to the passage of these measures, more than two-thirds of corporations doing business in Oregon paid just the $10 a year corporate minimum income tax.

The measures came to referendum after Gov. Ted Kulongoski, a Democrat, enacted tax increases passed by the Legislature to help close a $4 billion hole in the state budget. That happened in July 2009 and opponents collected signatures to place the issue on a ballot for a special election.

A group of over 250 community organizations, including AFT-Oregon and other unions, small business owners, advocates for children and seniors, churches, environmental organizations, and civil rights groups came together to form the Yes for Oregon coalition to mobilize voters. With help from the national AFT Solidarity Fund, AFT-Oregon was able to play a leading role.

"We were able to communicate really well that people are fed up with cuts to vital services," says Rives. "The key point we made is that in Oregon, 90 percent of state budget goes to education, health care, public safety. We just want to maintain services and prevent future cuts."

Rives adds that without the tax increase, colleges and universities were looking at cuts of 5 to 10 percent and tuition was sure to rise. "We hope this will forestall that."

"We have literally saved members'  jobs, provided access to educational opportunities, provided--in most cases-- for a full school year, and kept tuition manageable for thousands of students," adds Rob Wagner, AFT-Oregon director of political and legislative affairs.

The other important point advocates made about the measures is that they only affected those most able to pay their fair share, says Rives. The income tax increase only affects 3 percent of all Oregonians.  The corporate tax increase affects just 7 percent of all businesses.

Coalition members made hundreds of thousands of phone calls and personal visits to people's home, the coalition estimates.  Many, many AFT members knocked on those doors, says Rives, and "we spoke with one clear message, which was key."

"The Oregon legislators did the right thing in passing this," says Ed Muir, AFT deputy director of research and information. "What other state legislators can take from this vote is, if they do the right thing to protect their state's economy and provide help to thousands of families that rely on schools, health care and roads, the people will get it."

Oregon is not the only state that has rejected the right wing's anti-tax philosophy, notes the Progress Report, published by the Center for American Progress. Twenty-nine states have "passed tax and fee increases totaling $24 billion this budget year, according to the National Governors Association, up from $1.5 billion a year earlier."