CONTACTING US
NEWSROOM:
(541)346-5511
E-MAIL:
ode@oregon. uoregon.edu
ADDRESS:
Oregon Daily Emerald
P.0.B0X3159
Eugene, Oregon 97403
ONLINE EDITION: www.uoregon.edu/~ode
Perspectives
EDITOR IN CHIEF
Sarah Kickler
EDITORIAL EDITOR
MikeSchmierbach
NIGHT EDITOR
Mike Schmierbach
Work to protect labor lobbyists
Proposals to limit unions’ political power by
limiting their use of clues should he stopped
Like many corporate
apologists, George
Will is a profoundly
ignorant human be
ing. The latest demonstra
tion of his foolishness ap
peared Sunday in The
Register-Guard.
In his column, the be
spectacled business lack
ey argued in favor of a
California ballot measure
that would prevent
unions from spending a
member’s dues on politi
cal activity without explic
it written consent.
According to Will, the bill
isn't about preventing unions
from spending such as the $35
million they dedicated to political
causes in 1996. Rather, he claims
the proposal is intended as re
venge for particular campaigns,
such as a local school board hear
ing in which a teacher’s union
spends more than $70,000.
In this case, Will is probably
right. As a whole, corporations
outspend unions by a massive
margin — both Democrats and
Republicans receive far more of
their funding from corporate
donors than they do from labor.
Apparently, it is those four or five
campaigns (out of thousands) in
which labor money outweighed
other forces that the anti-union
forces are determined to prevent.
The California bill is part of a
larger vendetta against unions as
a whole and political action by
labor in particular. In Oregon,
the ever-dangerous Bill Sizemore
is pushing a bill that would pre
vent public employee unions
from using dues for political lob
bying. While Sizemore claims
his concern stems from the fact
that state money is spent to man
age payroll deductions that go to
unions and from there to politi
cal causes, it seems more likely
that bitterness directed at labor is
;corp.
i s
CHRIS HUTCHINSON/Emerald
once again a factor.
Sizemore’s hatred of property
taxes lias been matched only by
his vile animosity toward public
employees. Possibly because pub
lic employee unions lobbied
against the financially destructive
series of property tax bills that
Sizemore loves, he was associated
with a measure that would have
eliminated stale contributions to
public employee pensions.
In a rare victory for the forces of
good, the measure was defeated.
Apparently, this still haunts Size
more’s dreams because his pro
posal, like the California measure
Will labels the “most important
voting this election,” would crip
ple what little strength labor still
has.
Similar proposals to attack la
bor’s lobbying power have been
made at the national level and are
likely to be considered in Con
gress this year. While it would be
nice to think these actions are a
reaction to recent labor victories
(including this summer’s UPS
strike) the truth is that political
leaders, funded by labor’s corpo
rate foes, have been fighting to
kill unions for decades.
Along with moves that would
cripple the ability of unions to
lobby (thus making it difficult for
them to combat the other political
plotting against labor), Congress
has still not passed a bill protect
ing striking workers from being
permanently "replaced.”
The measures to block union
lobbying are troublesome for sev
eral reasons. First, the require
ment that unions receive written
consent for any lobbying would
create nightmarish paperwork
and most likely prevent even po
litically sympathetic workers
from easily using their money for
lobbying.
Second, the proposals ignore
the structure of unions. While
many national labor organiza
tions could stand to reorganize in
a more bottom-up fashion, the
need for a leadership structure
still exists. People join unions be
cause those unions represent
their interests as workers. That
representation may take the form
of negotiations with management,
but it also must take the form of
political activism to prevent anti
worker candidates and legislation
from further dominating Congress
and local governments.
Will argues this is irrelevant be
cause some workers do not volun
tarily join unions. Regardless of
the closed nature of some compa
nies, workers still choose to enter
that job and they still benefit from
the union’s presence. Dues, like
taxes, cannot be voluntary.
Finally, use of dues for political
causes is analogous to other polit
ical spending. Donations to ac
tivist groups, for example, indi
cate support for the cause (as
union membership indicates sup
port for labor) but not necessarily
for every bill backed by the group.
More significantly, corporations
spend stockholder money as well
as the profits reaped from the
public and the company’s em
ployees without any concern for
the politics of the people provid
ing the cash.
gags, In addition, it is cru
cial to protect and
strengthen labor in the
United States. In a nation
where politics and pro-corpo
rate economics have become in
creasingly intertwined and cam
paign finance reform is a distant
vision, labor spending is a rare
source of money to fight free
trade, anti-worker policies.
Even more important, labor
acts at the local level to help
strengthen the community and
provide a base from which to fight
company policies that ignore the
needs of the area in favor of the
need to impress Wall Street. Polit
ical lobbying is crucial to help en
sure labor’s survival.
Clearly, unions will have to
have community support to fight
the latest round of anti-union pro
posals. Perhaps they should also
lobby to replace George Will’s in
sipid blithering with writing by
someone who knows what it’s
like to be in the bottom 90 percent
of our economy.
This editorial represents the opin
ion of the Emerald editorial hoard.
Responses may he sent to ode@
orepon.noregon.edu
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
DeFazio welcomes input
Last week Congress reconvened in Wash
ington, D.C., following a lengthy district
work period. After last year’s battles over the
budget, Medicare and tax cuts, it was great to
be back home in Oregon. It was especially
good to hear from people who took the time
to attend my town hall meetings or stopped
to chat in the grocery store or on the street.
For most of the coming year, I’ll be travel
ing back and forth between Washington,
D.C., and my home in Springfield. Last year,
I made the trip 27 times — on average, two to
three times a month. I’ll continue to hold
town hall meetings as often as the congres
sional schedule permits (last year I held 24
town hall meetings in communities from
Brookings to Albany). In addition, my field
staff will continue to hold periodic outreach
meetings throughout the district, which I
publicize in advance.
It really helps to hear from folks back
home while Congress is considering the na
tion’s business. The thousands of messages I
receive keep me in touch with the day-to-day
concerns of working people in Oregon. I also
do everything in my power to help residents
of the 4th Congressional District when they
have problems with agencies of the federal
government.
You can reach me with a card of letter, by
phone, fax or e-mail. Write to me at 2134
Rayburn House Office Building, Washing
ton, DC, 20515. Send your e-mail to Peter.De
Fazio@mail.house.gov, call one of my offices
in Eugene, Coos Bay or Roseburg, or feel free
to use my toll-free phone number, 1-800-944
9603, to contact my Eugene office.
Again, thanks to everyone who has taken
the time to contact me. Please keep it up.
Peter DeFazio
U.S. Representative
No rape charges
In regards to the Dontd Graham-Preston
case, I’m deeply appalled at the public slan
dering that has taken place on this campus.
The Emerald has repeatedly printed this
young man’s name in a very one-sided pre
sentation of this case. Now, the Emerald has
gone on to print that Dont£ is a rapist. The
charges against Graham-Preston are for sex
ual misconduct, not rape. Therefore, neither
the Emerald nor anyone else on this campus
has the right to call this young man a rapist. I
would expect the Emerald to have better
judgment than to print such a stigmatizing
word without a conviction, but I see I was
wrong.
If the stories of these two women are really
the truth, then Graham-Preston committed
rape. Rape is a crime and should be taken to
the police. Why, then, hasn’t the University
reported these cases to the police for crimi
nal prosecution? I know the reason: neither
of these charges would hold up in court. All
the evidence presented by these two anony
mous women is hearsay. Without any con
crete evidence, one cannot prove the event
even took place.
I am a woman and as a woman 1 would
like to believe the stories of these two
women. Yet, something about both of them
doesn’t add up. “Not participating” does not
constitute saying no. These accusations
sound like plots for revenge and not acts of
violence and violation of one’s privacy.
This isn’t a case of sexual misconduct.
This is a public lynching of a very bright
young man. If the accusations of these two
women are true, take it to the police. Let the
law and a jury decide who is telling the truth.
Otherwise, let him finish school in peace.
Stop printing his name if you are not going to
print the names of the accusers and, most of
all, stop calling a person a rapist before they
are convicted of the crime. This is America,
and one is still innocent before being found
guilty. Even on the University campus.
Nicole Nickerson
Journalism
-mrnmwm
Correction
In the story “Eugene activists
gather at forum” (ODE, Feb. 5),
local activist Jan Spencer should
have been quoted as saying that
many of Eugene’s foremost orga
nizations were present; however,
all were not able to attend. The
Emerald regrets the error.
Letters Policy
The Emerald accepts letters
from members of the University
and Eugene community, preferably
under 400 words. Shorter letters
will receive higher priority. Op-ed
pieces will only be printed, at the
discretion of the editor, if they are
written by an authority about a per
tinent issue. Letters can be submit
ted in person at EMU, Suite 300,
mailed to P.0. Box 3159, Eugene,
OR, 97403, ore-mailed to
ode@oregon.uoregon.edu. Please
include your full name and tele
phone number for confirmation.
The Emerald reserves the right to
edit for length or style.