Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Northwest labor press. (Portland , Ore.) 1987-current | View Entire Issue (June 16, 2006)
Think Again • E E FR By Tim Nesbitt BARGAIN COUNTER Free ads to subscribers DEADLINE: Friday prior to publication Wanted: A more hopeful agenda for America’s working families E nough of the depressing reality shows about our vanishing jobs and declining incomes. We need to make time for more hopeful points of view. Our economy is rebounding to record highs, but the back story in most American communities today is relentlessly downbeat. That story, which I have helped to tell in these columns over the past two years, goes like this: We’re losing the great middle- class of this country because corpo- rate greed and cutthroat competition in the global economy are decimat- ing and degrading our jobs. As fam- ily-wage jobs decline, our children face fewer opportunities and bleaker futures. And our public institutions can’t do much to reverse these trends, because they’re suffering from increasing financial constraints and declining public confidence. All of this is true. Worst of all, we don’t know what to do about these developments that appear to be so powerful, irreversible and grim. We’re fumbling for answers. But maybe we should focus instead on the equally reasonable premise that the work we have done to create the richest country in the world can and should provide a foundation for a more prosperous future for our chil- dren — and that we can make it so. I was reminded of the bleaker story when re-reading an article that appeared in the New York Times last February about the Caterpillar Cor- poration, which has slashed pay and benefits for its newer workers even though it remains a highly profitable company that dominates its niche in world markets. Analyzing the Cater- pillar experience, the Times’ Louis Uchitelle concluded: “The long- standing presumption that factory workers at successful companies can achieve a secure, relatively prosper- ous middle-class life for themselves and their families is evaporating.” Caterpillar has a strong union, the United Auto Workers. But that union was forced to accept a two-tier system of pay and benefits that cut compensation for new hires by as much as 40 percent. The union’s representatives rationalize this deal by saying that new hires at Caterpil- lar are still doing better than they did before they came to the company. But, to their credit, those leaders also say they will fight for the new hires in their next round of contract nego- tiations. Still, the new hires don’t sound grateful. And, the union leaders don’t sound hopeful. If there’s a common emotion shared by the older and younger workers at com- panies like Caterpillar, it’s more res- ignation than resentment. And that may be the biggest problem we have to overcome. This is why I think we need to pay more attention to trends in the global economy and in our nation’s demographics, which can work to our advantage. We in the baby boom generation may work later in life than our par- ents, but we’re still going to retire. And when we do, we are going to free up a tremendous number of jobs in our workplaces. Most of those jobs are good jobs by any objective measure of their value to the econ- omy. Whether you are a “knowledge worker” in an office, a crane opera- tor on the docks or a millworker whose plant shaves wood from logs, you are probably using technology in ways that enhance your productiv- ity far above what it was a decade ago. And most of those jobs are still good-paying jobs. We have to keep them so. This should open up new oppor- tunities for cooperation between older workers and younger workers. Our unions’ bargaining campaigns should focus on our fight for the workers who will succeed us, as the Machinists did in their successful ne- gotiations with Boeing last year. We should find new ways to em- Call 503-288-3311 Subscribe Today! Receive 24 issues of the latest labor news and views from Oregon and Southwest Washington. Special union group rate of $7.20 a year per subscription on orders of 50 or more PAGE 10 phasize what our generation can give back to those who come up behind us. We have a nursing shortage now, which will only get worse as more nurses retire. And we have a long list of young people waiting to get into our limited nurse training pro- grams — because we don’t have enough nurse educators. Maybe our unions can organize newly-retired nurses to become teachers and men- tors for a new generation of health care workers. Our building trades unions know what it takes to provide world-class training in skilled occupations, many of which are becoming more techno- logically sophisticated and challeng- ing. They’ve developed apprentice- ship programs that should serve as a model for more jobs and industries. And, those newly-hired Caterpil- lar workers shouldn’t be viewed as losers in the global economy. They are likely to be better educated, more flexible and more skilled in their jobs than we were in ours. We should make them and their counter- parts in other industries the poster children of a new campaign for inter- generational equity in our economy. Finally, we need a new narrative of hope and opportunity, especially in the public sphere. That narrative has to begin with the assertion that we deserve better for our contribu- tions to the wealth of our country. It has to demand more from govern- ment, from reining in the excesses of “Caterpillaging” corporations to re- organizing our health care system in ways that protect family incomes. Above all, it should pass along this lesson from our generation and the generations before us who cre- ated the great middle class of this county — that we can make a suc- cessful economy and enjoy prosper- ity again, if our work is fairly re- warded and our rewards are broadly shared. Tim Nesbitt is a former president of the Oregon AFL-CIO. IRS PROBLEMS? • Haven’t filed for...years? • Lost records? • Liens-Levie-Garnishments? • Negotiate settlements. • Retiring? Have Questions? Call Nancy D. Anderson Published 1st and 3rd Fridays Send to: NW Labor Press, PO Box 13150, Portland, OR 97213 Classified ads MUST include area code on all phone numbers or they will not be published Automotive ‘79 DODGE 3/4 ton PU, ex engine, good tires, $200 or will trade for best rifle or pistol. 503 852- 6791 ‘98 DODGE DAKOTA PU, good tires, good body, needs engine work, $900 OBO. 503 708-8955 ‘77 SCOTTSDALE 3/4 ton pickup, good tags, good work PU w/adjustable rack, $1,000 OBO. 503 415-0703 (Walter) ‘77 CORVETTE T-TOP, ‘82 rear end, straight, tags until July ‘08, 164k, 46,400 OBO. 503 705- 6495 ‘00 LINCOLN NAVIGATOR, fully loaded, too much to list, ex cond, $18,000 OBO. 503 849- 9926 ‘84 HEAVY DUTY easy lift hitch, $50; ‘90 Ford Ranger, 6 cyl, $3,400. 503 841-0592 (Newberg) Housing ROCKAWAY BEACH vacation home, 3 bed, sleeps 8, beachfront, all amenities, $165 night. 503 842-9607 SILVERTON DUPLEX, many upgrades, built 1980, RV parking, 20x20 deck, 3 bed and 1 bed on 1/2 acre, $249,000. 503 490-7155 or 503 490- 9147 LINCOLN CITY nice 2-level beachhouse, sleeps 6, $400 wk/$200 wkend. 503 351-1408 (Chris) or 503 661-8146 (Dan’s work) MT HOOD HOME, separate guesthouse, 1/2 acre, RV port, EZ commute to Portland, $239,500. 503 502-4662 ROCKAWAY BEACH 98 Prowler Park model for sale on leased lot in gated RV park on beach. $28,500.00 OBO. 503-662-3787 Wanted OLD WOODWORKING tools, planes, levels, chisels, folding rules, handsaws, spoke shaves, slicks, adzes, tool chests. 503 659-0009 AVID RESTORER wants log saws, saw handles, double bit axes, blacksmith hammers, anything with logging. 503 819-3736 JUNK CARS, removal of unwanted cars and trucks. 503 314-8600 PAIR OF FENDER skirts for 1950 Chevy, also need grille. 503 762-3280 (International Standard Serial Number 0894-444X) Established in 1900 at Portland, Oregon as a voice of the labor movement. 4275 NE Halsey St., P.O. Box 13150, Portland, Ore. 97213 Telephone: (503) 288-3311 Fax Number: (503) 288-3320 Editor: Michael Gutwig Staff: Don McIntosh, Cheri Rice Published on a semi-monthly basis on the first and third Fridays of each month by the Oregon Labor Press Publishing Co. Inc., a non- profit corporation owned by 20 unions and councils including the Oregon AFL-CIO. Serving more than 120 union organizations in Ore- gon and SW Washington. Subscriptions $13.75 per year for union members. Group rates available to trade union organizations. CHANGE OF ADDRESS NOTICE: Three weeks are required for a change of address. When ordering a change, please give your old and new addresses and the name and number of your local union. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS, P.O. BOX 13150-0150, PORTLAND, OR 97213 Member Press Associates Inc. NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS GOOD USED left ear hearing aid for senior gen- tleman. 503 320-4160 PROPERTY S.E. Portland area. 503 252-2192 OLD PHOTOGRAPHS, postcards. 503 201- 6689 1956 CHEV CAR restored, parts or ?. Will look at anything. 503 556-f5575 For the Home BURGLAR GUARDS for windows, light weight channel constr w/spear point bars and scrolls, adjustable mounts, 2 each of 2’ and 6” x 3” $20 and $50 each, OBO. 503 281-0181 Sporting Goods EIDE BOAT loader, model 205, good cond, $500. 503 803-2829 or 509 427-4557 16 GA ITHACA, 28” full, 95%, $300; 12GA Mav- erick, 28” tubes, 90%, $150. 360 225-5108 THOMPSON CENTER Patriot .45 cal. muzzle- loader target pistol, Dbl set triggers, $275. 503 658-6108 2 THUNDER GULL ultralight kits, single and dou- ble. 503 824-3653 Miscellaneous CLAM GUN, alum tube type, never used, $20; paneling, new Weldwood, 3/16 Walnut, 10 pcs., $100. 503 254-1087 TABLE SAW and radial arm saw, $200 each. 503 693-0694 FREEZER, $100; 4 position exerciser, $299. 503 775-3745 ELECTRIC DRAIN cleaner w/50’ of 1/2” dia. snake, foot switch, forward, off and reverse, $80 OBO. 503 292-0722 TOWBAR ROADMASTER Falcon, all terrain, non-binding, new in box, $450 OBO. 360 887- 1110 LAWNMOWER, SCOTTS, gas, self prop, 5 yrs old, $75 cash. 503 665-7050 PLASTIC DUMP cart, 8 cu ft, never used, $75. 503 639-4443 SKY CLIMBER mod #ME-4, 24 ft aluminum scaffold, 4 electric hoists and power cords, $1,000. 503 668-7628 or 503 320-5975 HORSETRAILER, living quarters, 5 horse, goose neck, awning, tack area, king bed, $15,500. 503 678-2608 ‘04 JD MOD #GS30 commercial mower, 48”, walk behind, less than 20 hours, 13hp Kohler, $2,900. 503 842-0922 NEW FOLDING 4’ x 4’ wire basket, $50; new fiberglass tub, slight damage, make offer; 6 sheets 1” particle board, $40; new plumbing tube fittings, make offer. 503 254-1087 WOOD LATHE, 1/2 hp, $50; two burial plots NW Mem, $1,500. 503 652-9028 PRECIOUS MOMENTS, Sweep all your worries away; Praise the Lord anyhow and Thee I Love. 503 253-0008 COMMERCIAL UPS/conditioner, 120/208 input, 120 output, tested 45 amp load, 5 hrs, $500. 360 576-7027 PERIODICALS POSTAGE PAID AT PORTLAND, OREGON. Enrolled Agent/Tax Practitioner 503-697-7757 • 15 words or less • Include address label from front page and telephone number • Sorry, we cannot accept ads over the telephone • No commercial or business ads • 1 ad per issue • Type or print legibly WESTERN LABOR PRESS ASSOCIATION A Rewarding Job Serving Working Families in Oregon Union Plus Mortgage is HIRING! 503.449.6994 JUNE 16, 2006
