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About Northwest labor press. (Portland , Ore.) 1987-current | View Entire Issue (April 7, 2006)
L ABOR What’s Happening Labor bowl for MDA scheduled Sunday, April 23 The 17th annual Labor Bowl Challenge to benefit the Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA) will be held Sunday, April 23, from 1 to 4 p.m. at Cascade Lanes, 2700 NE 82nd Ave., Portland. Portland area labor unions have raised $257,000 for the charity. The money helps provide wheelchairs and braces for youngsters, medical care, research and summer camps. Pledge packets are available at the Northwest Oregon Labor Coun- cil or by calling MDA at 503-223- 3177. AND Tickets are on sale to win a 2006 Harley-Davidson low rider FXDLI, part of a fundraiser for the fourth an- nual “Unions For Kids” motorcycle poker run and chili cookoff. Tickets went on sale last month. Only 3,000 tickets will be sold at a cost of $10 each. The winner will be drawn on the day of the poker run Sat- urday, June 10, at the IBEW Local 48 hall, 15937 NE Airport Way, Portland. Since its inception in 2003, the poker run has raised $16,000 for Do- ernbecher Children’s Hospital. This year the group hopes to raise more than $20,000. Motorcycle raffle tickets are on sale at several union halls, credit unions and area businesses. The motorcycle is on display at the IBEW and United Workers Federal Credit Union, 9955 SE Washington St., Portland, through April. For more information, call Lee Duncan at 503-260-5905 or go to their Web site at unionsforkids.org . NEWS FR OM AR OUND THE P A C I F I C N O R T H W E S T Workers Memorial Day set for April 28 at Portland church Ambulance crew leaves ATU 757 for independent union Mark your calendars for Friday, April 28, Workers Memorial Day, the day the AFL-CIO remembers workers who have been killed or in- jured on the job. The first Workers Memorial Day was observed in 1989. April 28 was chosen because it is the anniversary of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration and the day of a similar remembrance in Canada. This year’s event is sponsored by the Northwest Oregon Labor Coun- cil. It will be held at 7 p.m. at Tabor Heights United Methodist Church, 6161 SE Stark St., Portland. The names of workers killed on the job in Oregon will be read and a bell will be tolled in their honor. For more information, call the la- bor council at 503-235-9444. Portland-area workers at Ameri- can Medical Response voted to dis- affiliate from their locally-based union and instead join a relatively new union that has its office in Sacramento, California. In votes tallied March 16, 298 opted for the stand-alone National Emergency Medical Services Asso- ciation, while 74 wanted to remain with Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) Local 757, AFL-CIO. ATU has represented paramedics, emergency medical technicians and dispatchers at the unit since 1988, and has won substantial improve- ments, including a 30 percent wage increase in the last contract. ATU continues to represent a group of AMR workers in Josephine County, Oregon. Those workers are in a different bargaining unit. AMR-Northwest was the only ambulance unit represented by ATU, which otherwise represents transit employees. In its appeal to the AMR workers, NEMSA promoted itself as a union just for emergency medical service professionals. NEMSA has grown mostly by “raiding” already- unionized units. Because the group switched unions, the ATU-bargained contract expired March 23. 14th annual fair inspires women to enter trades careers Motorcycle event set June 10 to benefit hospital The 14th annual Women in Trades Career Fair will be held Sat- urday, April 29, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the NECA/IBEW Electrical Training Center, 16021 NE Airport Way, Portland. On Thursday and Friday, April 27-28, the fair will be open to mid- dle school and high school students. More than 1,200 students are ex- pected to attend. The career fair, sponsored by Oregon Tradeswomen Inc., is a way for women and young girls to ex- plore living-wage careers in the con- struction-related trades, including electrical, plumbing, heavy equip- ment operation, carpentry, welding and other jobs. “The industry is predicting a huge retirement in the next five to 10 years,” said Connie Ashbrook, exec- utive director of OTI. “Now is the perfect time for women to enter the trades as doors are opening for the next generation.” Job-seekers can meet more than Zachary Zabinsky • Social Security • SSI - Disability Claims Personal Attention To Every Case Working For Disability Rights Since 1983 Portland peace rally Three years after the beginning of the second war in Iraq, anti-war rallies in Portland and elsewhere had scattered union involvement. At a March 19 rally in Portland, newly-installed Oregon AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Barbara Byrd (second from right) told dozens of unionists why the war matters to organized labor: “It’s not a war that’s being fought by rich people. This is a war that’s being fought by working people and union members and their sons and daughters. That makes it a union issue.” What’s more, Byrd said, the enormous expense of the war is costing other opportunities — like funds to retrain workers laid off because of foreign competition. And there’s solidarity: Iraqi workers have yet to win the legal right to unionize despite several years of U.S. occupation. Byrd’s remarks echoed a resolution passed at the 2005 convention of the national AFL-CIO. “Let’s bring our troops home, let’s take care of them when they get home, and let’s end this war now,” Byrd concluded. Holding the microphone is Jeanne Carpenter, a member of Communications Workers Local 7901. 70 employers, learn about appren- ticeship programs and participate in numerous hands-on workshops and demonstrations. The career fair is free and pro- vides free child care, parking and a shuttle from the Gateway Transit Center. Freiboth tapped executive secretary of King County CLC SEATTLE — David Freiboth, former national president of the In- landboatmen’s Union, has been ap- pointed executive secretary of the King County Labor Council. He suc- ceeds Teamster Steve Williamson. K “I do this with a great deal of op- timism. In spite of the challenges of late within the labor movement na- tionally, we in King County are blessed with activism and social awareness that transcends class. We are one of the most progressive and relevant labor councils in the coun- try,” said Freiboth. Freiboth, 50, served as president of the IBU for 12 years. In that ca- pacity he also served on the Execu- tive Board of the International Long- shore and Warehouse Union. IBU is the marine division of the ILWU. Freiboth is a third-generation Washington native, born in Bremer- ton and raised in Poulsbo. Williamson left the full-time post to take a job with the United Food and Commercial Workers Union. Evergreen College to host summer school for women OLYMPIA, Wash. — The Ever- green State College Labor Center is hosting its 16th annual Summer School for Union Women and Community Ac- tivists June 28-July 2. This year’s theme is “Women Bringing It Back To- gether: Building Alliances Between Union and Community Activists to Re- alize Our Goals Locally and Globally.” The registration deadline is June 12, and space is limited to 60 participants. For more information, call Nina Triffleman at 360-867-6525, or e-mail her at trifflen@evergreen.edu. ramers/metro mailing service 3201 N.W. YEON PORTLAND, OREGON 97210 (503) 274-1638 FAX (503) 227-1245 THE ONLY UNION MAILER NO FEE WITHOUT RECOVERY IN OREGON 621 SW Morrison, Portland Visit our Web site at www.kramersmailing.com 223-8517 PAGE 4 P OLITICAL MEMBERS OF TEAMSTERS LOCAL 223 — Eric Brending, Owner — NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS APRIL 7, 2006
