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About Northwest labor press. (Portland , Ore.) 1987-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 3, 2006)
Let me say this about that ...Local 2154 retiree (From Page 2) dialogue with the nonunion workers about the benefits of union membership and a union contract with their employers. Because of Earls’ persuasive conversations, the way was cleared for two Portland labor leaders to fly to Dallas, Texas, and meet with the top executive of the general contractor. THE TWO labor leaders who flew to Texas were Marv Hall, executive secre- tary-treasurer of the Oregon State District Council of Carpenters, who was Earls’ boss, and Earl Kirkland, executive secretary-treasurer of the Columbia-Pacific Building and Construction Trades Council. Because Floyd Earls had convinced the workers on the hospital construction project that they’d be better off as union members, the Dallas-based general contractor was amenable to signing a project labor agreement. Hall and Kirkland flew back to Portland with his signature on a contract and the major construction project went union — the general contractor and the subcontractors. Floyd told the NW Labor Press that Wally Mehrens, then a business agent of Plumbers and Fitters Local 290, participated with him in convincing the hospital site workers of the benefits of being union members. Mehrens later succeeded Kirkland as head of the Building Trades Council, a job from which he retired last year. Wally also is a member of the Labor Hall of Fame, as are Marv Hall and Earl Kirkland. EARLS AND HIS WIFE, Irene, who were married in 1950, live in suburban Milwaukie in Clackamas County, where they’ve been active in the Llewelling Neighborhood Association. They have a son, Floyd Jr., who is a member of Local 2154; a daughter, Jan Troxler; plus three grandchildren and seven great-grand- children. ★★★ TWENTY-SIX PERCENT of Oregon’s bridges “need major repairs or main- tenance or aren’t designed to handle today’s traffic,” the “USA Today” newspaper reported. The nationally-circulated newspaper said the information came from “an analysis of Federal Highway Administration data by TRIP.” “USA Today” identified TRIP as “a Washington, D.C.-based research group that supports high- way construction to relieve congestion, make travel safer and spur economic pro- ductivity.” The percentages of deficient bridges for other nearby states are California 28 percent; Washington 27 percent; Idaho 19 percent; Montana 21 percent; Nevada 12 percent; and Alaska 31 percent. The U.S. average is 26 percent. The North- eastern states have higher than average percentages of bridges needing upgrades. For example, Rhode Island 55 percent, and Massachusetts 52 percent. But the newest state, Hawaii, has a 47 percent bridge deficiency rating. “USA Today” said “Funding for bridge repair is lacking.” Oregon Republicans paint unions as ‘extreme groups’ in campaign ads Unions are extremist groups, and candidates supported by unions shouldn’t be trusted by voters. At least, that’s the basic message of several Republican political cam- paigns in Oregon, which are slamming Oregon Democrats for getting support from unions. Republican State House campaigns for Karen Minnis, Bruce McCain and Donna Nelson used that approach against Democratic opponents Rob Brading, Jeff Merkley and Sal Peralta, respectively. In truth, unions remain a potent force in politics, but their contributions are dwarfed by those of business inter- ests (by more than 10 to 1) — a fact that’s absent from the Republican campaign mailers. “Oregon’s big labor unions are dumping tens of thousands of dollars into Rep. Jeff Merkley’s campaign,” said an ad mailed to constituents in the incumbent’s East Portland House Dis- trict 47. Listing contributions by the Service Employees (SEIU), Oregon Education Association (OEA) and the Oregon School Employees Associa- tion, the ad asks, “What has Merkley promised these extreme groups?” In Yamhill County, supporters of in- cumbent Republican Representative Donna Nelson accused challenger Sal Peralta, a Democrat, of getting almost all his support from big unions and Portland special interest groups. The accusations came in phone calls to House District 24 voters. The charges angered Peralta because he had made a campaign pledge to refuse all contri- butions from businesses or unions out- side his district, and, in fact, returned checks from the Pacific Northwest Re- gional Council of Carpenters and the United Steelworkers, even though both have locals in his district. And in Oregon’s highest-profile leg- islative race between incumbent Karen Minnis and Rob Brading, the chal- lenger was taken to task for being “bankrolled by big public employee la- bor unions.” The charges, in a mailing to House District 49 and a television ad, single out Brading’s support from SEIU Local 503 as one of three exam- ples of how Brading is a stooge of “downtown Portland liberals.” Local 503’s Portland office, at 6401 SE Fos- ter Rd., is five miles from “downtown Portland.” Moreover, Minnis is herself supported by several unions, including the 21,000-member American Federa- tion of State, County and Municipal Employees, which contributed $5,000 to her campaign. She also got $26,000 from the Oregon Nurses Association, $7,500 from Electrical Workers Local 48, $2,000 from IBEW Local 280, and $1,000 from Plumbers and Steamfitters Local 290. And she advertised her sup- port from unions in a mailer to union households. “The hypocrisy drips,” says Jon Isaacs, executive director of Future PAC, which funds Democratic cam- ★★★ CHARLIE MERCER, the president of the national AFL-CIO’s Union Label & Service Trades Department, pointed out in a recent edition of his “Label Letter” publication that this year marks the “Centennial of the 40-Hour Week.” He wrote: “In 1906, the International Typographical Union (ITU) conducted a strike in key cities to demand a 40-hour week in the printing industry. Before the year was out the union had spent $4 million in strike benefits, and employers in the industry buckled, agreeing to cut the work-week from 48 to 40 hours. The ITU became a sector within the Communications Workers of America after its merger in 1989.” ★★★ IN AN EARLIER ISSUE of the “Label Letter,” the afore-mentioned Charlie Mercer took note of the death of economist John Kenneth Galbraith at age 97 on April 29, 2006 and wrote: “Working Americans owe a great debt to this giant of modern economics. It was his notion of ‘countervailing power’ that set the stage for the New Deal legislation of the 1930s that breathed life into the modern labor movement. “If anything, Galbraith’s vision is even more relevant in today’s global market where corporations roam the world in search of the cheapest labor regardless of the social cost.” ★★★ ALBENO JOSEPH SCARCELLI of Troutdale, a retired member of Port- land Auto Mechanics Local 1005, died on Oct. 23 at age 69. He had worked at Freightliner truck manufacturing plant on Swan Island for 38 years. He had been a delegate to the Northwest Oregon Labor Council, the Oregon AFL-CIO and the Machinists Councils. He had served in the U.S. Army. AL SCARCELLI was born in Portland on June 26, 1937. He married Shirley Seeder in 1957. She died in 2004. Survivors include two daughters, Cheryl A. Scarcelli and Patricia A. Cruik- shank; a brother Stephen A. Sauro-Smith; five grandchildren and two great-grand- children. A Mass of Christian Burial was held for him on Oct. 23 at St. Michael the Archangel Catholic Church. Funeral arrangements were handled by Holman’s. Memorial contributions can be sent to the American Diabetes Association. NOVEMBER 3, 2006 paigns for the Oregon House. “Here she is, touting her support from Port- land’s largest public employees union [AFSCME] and pounding Rob Brad- ing for being bankrolled by a big pub- lic employee union.” For his part, Brading pleads guilty to winning the backing of unions, in- cluding the Oregon AFL-CIO, Ma- chinists, OEA, Carpenters, United Food and Commercial Workers and SEIU, which has contributed nearly $54,000 to his campaign, plus in-kind support. In the final analysis, ads attacking the union money connection don’t work with voters, Isaacs said. “We tested that message,” Isaacs said. “It’s not an effective argument. It’s essentially an attack on not just union members but all working peo- ple.” Republican campaigns that point the finger at unions “bankrolling” De- mocrats raise the question of who’s “bankrolling” Republican candidates. It’s a list heavy with corporate names. For the Minnis campaign, sums from unions are a drop in a very large bucket of corporate money. With checks of $10,000 to $30,000 from banking, pharmaceutical, beverage, nursery, forest, logging, agribusiness, trucking and real estate industry PACs, Minnis has set a new record — nearly $1 million raised — to win re-election to a $17,000-a-year job as a state legis- lator. PROTECTING UNION MEMBERS’ SMILES AND WALLETS. Orthodontics Available Quality, Affordable Family Dental Care • General, cosmetic, and specialty care • Most insurance and union plans accepted • Easy credit and low monthly payments, O.A.C. • Evening and Saturday appointments • Ask about our Dental Discount Program Grants Pass 1021 NE 6th St. Grants Pass, OR 97526 541-479-6696 “I CAN GO TO ONE PLACE TO FIX IT ALL?” Portland 3580 SE 82nd Ave. Portland, OR 97266 503-777-0761 Northwest Dental Associates, P.C. Northwest Dental Associates, P.C. 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