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About Northwest labor press. (Portland , Ore.) 1987-current | View Entire Issue (July 21, 2006)
Think Again • E E FR By Tim Nesbitt BARGAIN COUNTER Free ads to subscribers DEADLINE: Friday prior to publication The fight-fire-with-fire strategy heats up another election O ne of my favorite cartoons, which I used to have on the wall behind my desk at work, shows two cowboys huddled behind a circle of covered wagons, as a band of Indians attacks them with flaming arrows. One cowboy, his eyes wide with amazement, asks the other, “They can’t do that, can they?” The cartoon may be politically in- correct in its use of the cowboys-and- Indians stereotype. But it captured a political truth about the incompre- hension that gripped progressives in Oregon as Bill Sizemore and com- pany took over our state’s initiative process more than a decade ago. We were shocked and awed at what was coming at us on the ballot every two years. But all we did in response was to hunker down and run “just-vote- no” campaigns. We have learned a lot since then. Following the 1996 election, we developed our “fight-fire-with-fire” strategy, which we used to counter and pre-empt Sizemore’s initiatives with measures of our own. Then, we took the offensive to advance our working families agenda, including raising the state’s minimum wage. By 2002, we even proved that “they can’t do that,” when we found that Sizemore was shooting crooked arrows. After the Voter Education Project exposed massive fraud and forgery in Sizemore’s signature gath- ering operation, he failed to qualify a single initiative for the ballot. To complete the rout, the American Fed- eration of Teachers-Oregon and the Oregon Education Association nailed Sizemore’s operation for racketeer- ing and wholesale violations of our election laws in a Multnomah County courtroom. 2002 was also the year that we passed Measure 26, the Initiative In- tegrity Act, which banned the prac- tice of paying bounties for signa- tures. As a result, by 2004, initiative sponsors ran cleaner signature-gath- ering campaigns. There were fewer measures on the ballot and none that directly attacked the interests of our unions. Our fight-back strategies were successful. But the initiative attacks we confronted in Oregon were never the manifestations of indigenous up- risings. They were attacks orches- trated at the national level, where anti-government and anti-union oper- atives had decided that Oregon was a cheap and easy place to launch their war parties. For a while, it looked like these operatives were shifting more of their attention to other states. But they showed up again in Oregon this year, shooting arrows that look a lot like the arrows of yesteryear. Don McIn- tire is fronting for national anti-gov- ernment groups with another formula for capping state funding for schools and health care, like the one he brought to the ballot – and voters de- feated – in 2000. Sizemore’s cronies are advancing another income tax scheme that would bust the state budget — and looks a lot like the one voters defeated in that same year. Even the term limits advocates are back, armed with a war chest fur- nished by their national monomani- acs. There were some who argued 10 years ago that, if we started shooting flaming arrows of our own, our ene- mies would just redouble their at- tacks. But, it turns out they were a lot bolder when we didn’t fight back. And, now that we’re engaging the process and treating every election as an opportunity to make our mark on the ballot, we’re creating a very dif- ferent political dynamic. The Service Employees collected signatures for an initiative to improve staffing at nursing homes and ended up using it to negotiate commitments from the industry. OEA did the same with an initiative to make corpora- tions’ tax payments public, holding off on submitting the final signatures needed when business groups agreed 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 to join the fight against McIntire’s spending limit. And AARP threw its weight be- hind a proposal to expand the state’s bulk purchasing pool for prescription drugs, which sets up a head-on battle with the pharmaceutical industry. I’m disappointed that we didn’t end up with a ballot measure to ex- pand health care coverage and reduce costs for those with employer-spon- sored insurance. But the AARP pro- posal sets up a nice dynamic in the ongoing battle over the role of gov- ernment in people’s lives. What we’ll be fighting this year looks like a stale agenda — more straightjackets on public services and budget-busting tax cuts of the kind that voters in this state rejected when they last got to vote on them. What we’ll be promoting looks a lot more appealing — a new way to make government work for people who need help with their medical costs. This will be a year when we get to repel the flickering arrows of the old curmudgeons like Don McIntire and shoot back with a hot, new idea that can make medical care more afford- able for working families. I’d rather be on our side this year. (Note: Recently, I agreed to join the Kulongoski for Governor cam- paign as the governor’s political ad- viser. My only conditions were that I remain an independent contractor, with time on my own to devote to my service on the state’s Higher Ed board, as an adviser to the Working Families Party and as the author of this column. That’s my new arrange- ment through Election Day, which means I won’t be commenting on the governor’s race to avoid any con- flicts of interest.) 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 ‘76 AMC MATADOR, 4 dr, runs, 304, V8, AT, PS, AC, new tires, tags – 07, $200 best offer. 503 730-7638 ‘90 BUICK CENTURY, white, 4 dr, 4cyl, AT, PS, P’W, tilt mags, 4 studs on Rally wheels, $1,600. 503 252-3003 ‘95 CADILLAC SEDAN DeVille, runs and looks good, 114k, new tires, all options, $4,000. 503 266-5912 or 503 758-0037 ‘91 FORD 250, $3,000 OBO. 503 646-0984 Housing ROCKAWAY BEACH vacation home, 3 bdrm, sleeps 8, beachfront, all amenities, $160 night. 503 842-9607 LINCOLN CITY nice 2-level beach house, sleeps 6, $400 wk/$200 wkend. 503 351-1408 (Chris) or 503 661-8146 (Dan’s work) SALEM HOUSE, 3 bdrm, nice, $185,000. 503 669-9659 PINE HOLLOW Reservoir, 2.5 acres w/older double-wide moble home, furnished, $150,000 or make offer. 503 317-3705 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 FURNACE OIL wanted, will pump. 503 252-4151 32-20, 32 H&R Mag revolvers, also 25 Colt. 360 896-6077 OLD DUMP TRUCK that runs. 503 253-4397 (David) T-111 SIDING 8” pattern, will remove, want old- long 2x6 or whatever, some rot okay. 503 771- 8823 For the Home FUTON, DBL BED size w/matching chair, wood frame & mattress in good cond., $110. 360 892- Tim Nesbitt is a former president of the Oregon AFL-CIO. (International Standard Serial Number 0894-444X) Established in 1900 at Portland, Oregon as a voice of the labor movement. IRS PROBLEMS? • Haven’t filed for...years? • Lost records? • Liens-Levie-Garnishments? • Negotiate settlements. • Retiring? Have Questions? Call Nancy D. Anderson 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. PERIODICALS POSTAGE PAID AT PORTLAND, OREGON. 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. Enrolled Agent/Tax Practitioner 503-697-7757 NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS • 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 5433 POWER CHAIR, looks new, two new batteries, $1,875; dining table, oak, 4 chairs, 1 leaf, ex cond, $595. 1-503-455-2248 ENTERTAINMENT CENTER, oak veneer, large enough for 30” TV, $75 OBO. 503 648-5921 Sporting Goods GOLF CLUBS, Mizuno TC-29 midsize irons, PW- 3 RH reg. flex, $85. 503 292-3881 ‘04 PIONEER 19’ travel trailer, AC, stereo, micro, self-contained, 1 bd, immaculate, $8,500. 503 286-7734 THOMPSON CENTER Patriot .45 cal muzzle- loader target pistol, dbl set triggers, includes ammo, $275. 503 658-6108 ‘03 MERCURY OUTBOARD motor, 4-stroke, 9.9, electric start, low hours, ex cond, $2,000 OBO. 503 341-4121 ‘87 BOUNDER MOTORHOME, 32’, 67k miles, sleeps 6, good cond, basement model, $9.000 OBO. 503 252-4946 BOY’S 20” Magna Molten bike, barely used, $40. 503 256-4456 ‘98 BOUNDER MOTORHOME, 30’, 454 Chev, awnings, jacks, $2,900. 503 288-7688 85HP MERCURY outboard on 16’ Shasta fiber- glass runabout w/trailer, $1,200. 503 246-4144 1999 Chaparral 2135SS Cuddy, Mercruise V8, very low hours, to much to list $19,995 971 327- 7007 RIVER RAFT, 11’6” (2-man), frame, oars, ammo boxes, spare paddles, pumps, wood floor with foam backing, need patch, $100. 503-407-7166 Miscellaneous 6.5 ONAN GEN, $500; 454 MTR $1,000 U Pull, 51,200 miles, hear both run. 503 630-4177 3 WHEEL SCHWINN bicycle, 3 spd w/basket, $150. 503 762-3280 MURRAY RIDING lawnmower, used very little, $700 OBO. 503 232-3685 GALVANIZED LADDER rack fits Chev LWB, $75; Homelite chainsaw 550, 28” bar, $150. 360 694- 7693 AIR ROOFING nailer, $60. 503 287-7622 A.C. 10,000 BTUS, $95. 503 656-5795 WHIRLPOOL WASHER/dryer, $150; 250 used 6 ft fence boards, 25 cents each. 360 694-7012 6 CASE POP machine, cans or bottles, $400. 503 693-0694 DODGE DANA 70 rearend, 3.54 gears, $600; 10x10 screen canopy, $30; 7.50x16 trailer tire, $30. 361-779-0982 28’KS DESERT FOX toy hauler, fuel station, generator, $18,750. 503 829-2567 YARD SALE, July 29-30, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. at 5620 SE Logus Rd., off Stanley and King Blvd. in Mil- waukie. 503-654-5109 Korean War Veterans organization is looking for new members. The group meets the 4th Tuesday each month (July 25), at noon at Milwaukie Elks Lodge, 13121 SE McLoughlin Blvd. For more information, call Max Loucks at 503-286-1464 WESTERN LABOR PRESS ASSOCIATION JULY 21, 2006
