… Law catches up to union rep
Local Motion
October 2006
Union election activity in Oregon and SW Washington,
according to the National Labor Relations Board
and the Oregon Employment Relations Board
Elections held
Results:
Company
Date
Union
Union
No
Union
Cove
5
1
Vancouver
33
9
Location
Cove School District
10/3
OSEA
Canteen Vending Services
10/18 Teamsters Local 223
Elections requested
Company
Union
Location
# of employees
Lifeline Connections (a detox facility)
Teamsters Local 58
Vancouver
16
Camas Valley School District (classified employees)
Oregon School Employees Association
(From Page 7)
By late 2004, it had been 10 years
since Cobián had seen his mother. He
wanted to go home to visit his family
in Colima — a medium-sized city
300 miles west of Mexico City.
Would a birth certificate be enough to
get him back into the United States
legally? He wasn’t sure, and decided
in January 2005 to use his false docu-
ments to apply for a U.S. passport. A
passport was issued, and he flew to
Colima, returning to the United States
in December.
ICE, as the INS is now known,
stands for Immigration and Customs
Enforcement. ICE won’t reveal how
it gets information, but a government
spokesperson told the NW Labor
Press that Cobián’s false identity was
exposed in a routine check of death
records, which may have been
prompted by his use of the passport
on return from Mexico. If Luis Men-
doza had died in 1975, the federal
government wanted to know, how had
he acquired such a solid work record
Quarry 8”
Maryville Nursing Home
Service Employees International Union Local 503
Beaverton
150
Safety toe or reg.
Gortex/Vibram. Black
Pacific Specialty Health Care (nursing home)
Service Employees International Union Local 775
Vancouver
10
Tough boots for the Northwest.
Roseburg
19
AL’S SHOES
5811 SE 82nd, Portland 503-771-2130
Swanson, Thomas &Coon
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James Coon
He had lived in fear of the visit.
Now, in a way, it was a relief to have
it over with.
A month passed. He called the
agents on the cell phone numbers
they’d given him, to inquire about the
status of his case.
On Sept. 8, the answer came: a
telephone call from the authorities on
his union cell phone. Would he be at
home later? They wanted to refund
his passport application fee, in person,
he was told. Cobián knew the jig was
up.
Lucio cried when she heard the
news.
“I didn’t want my kids to see me
arrested,” Cobián said. “So I sent
them to a cousin’s house and waited
at home alone.”
(Turn to Page 12)
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Camas Valley
5
Douglas Electric Cooperative
International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 659
20 years later?
On July 27, 2006, Cobián got a
house visit from two employees of the
Department of State, the agency that
handles passport violations. He knew
why they were there, and invited them
in, admitting what he’d done.
Then they left, and he waited. He
wanted to know what to expect.
Cobián is mystified by the process.
Why would the government let him
know they knew, and then leave him
be? Did they want him to run?
But the road is no place to raise a
family, and if he ran, he’d lose all that
he’d put into their home.
He decided to stay: The time had
come to face the music.
“I always knew it was a risk,” Co-
bián said. “I made a mistake. I lied. I
have to pay the price.”
MEMBERS OF TEAMSTERS LOCAL 223
— Eric Brending, Owner —
Ray Thomas
Kimberly Tucker
Margaret Weddell
Cynthia F. Newton
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a long-term disability policy, contact a lawyer as soon as
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We represent people on all types of injury and disease related claims.
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We provide straight answers at no cost on any of the above areas of law.
CALL US or VISIT OUR WEB SITE
( 503) 228-5222
PAGE 8
http://www.stc-law.com
NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS
NOVEMBER 17, 2006