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About Northwest labor press. (Portland , Ore.) 1987-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 2, 2007)
Oregon senator helps scuttle wage bill WASHINGTON, D.C. — Oregon U.S. Senator Gordon Smith helped sink a bill in the U.S. Senate Jan. 24 that would have raised the federal min- imum wage from $5.15 to $7.25 per hour in three steps in slightly over two years. A majority of senators — 54 — voted to raise the minimum wage without any attachments, but oppo- nents threatened to filibuster the bill. It takes 60 votes to end debate (invoke cloture). “With their amendments and de- lays, Republican senators tied up a minimum wage increase in more knots than you can find in a scouting hand- book,” wrote national AFL-CIO blog- ger Mike Hall. “For 10 years when they controlled the agenda, Republi- can leaders used all their power to block a raise in the minimum wage. Now, after the new Democratic-con- trolled House passed — with biparti- san support — a simple $2.10-an-hour increase, out-of-power Republican Senate leaders are running a guerrilla war of delay with filibusters and amendments to deny minimum wage workers a raise. They even tried to re- peal the federal minimum wage alto- gether on Jan. 24.” Smith told the Oregonian newspa- per that he voted against the minimum wage bill because it didn’t include an education tax provision that he wanted attached. “I’ve learned in 10 years around this place that if you want something to move, you better hook it onto any train that’s moving,” Smith said on the Senate floor Jan. 24. “This is moving. And yes, I want to vote to raise the minimum wage. But I also want to put on it such things that actually help folks that we’re trying to help.” U.S. senators — who make $165,200 a year — almost annually vote to give themselves a pay raise without including any attachments. Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.), a leading Senate proponent of a “clean” minimum wage bill, said Republicans have 70 more amendments to attach to the bill. There were indications senators would attach $8 billion worth of new tax breaks for small business, ap- proved in mid-January by the Democ- ratic-run Senate Finance Committee, as a price to get the 60 votes needed to shut off debate and pass the bill. But attaching the tax breaks would kick the bill back to the House, causing more delay. And attaching the tax breaks an- gered both Change to Win Chair Anna Burger and AFL-CIO President John Sweeney. “The fight for a ‘clean’ (minimum wage) bill is over, but the fight to give America a raise is not,” Burger said. “The minimum wage increase is not dead — it is simply open now to am- endments. We will continue to work hard to prevent any amendments from being added to the bill that would hurt workers.” Sweeney says, in the past 10 years, the Republican-controlled Congress showered corporations with $276 bil- lion in tax breaks, plus another $36 billion aimed exclusively at small businesses. “It's just plain wrong to ask these working families to wait even longer to receive a minimum wage increase while many of our nation’s leaders shower big business with additional tax perks,” Sweeney said. President Bush has signaled that he would sign a bill providing for a wage increase with related tax breaks. In a statement on its Web site, the Oregon AFL-CIO said, “Senator Smith is the only one of Oregon’s con- gressional delegates who is out of sync with Oregon voters on this minimum wage bill. We salute the others — in- cluding Sen. Ron Wyden, and Repre- sentatives Earl Blumenauer, Peter De- Fazio, Darlene Hooley, David Wu, and even Smith’s Republican colleague Rep. Greg Walden — who supported this long-overdue raise.” The federal minimum wage has no impact on Oregonians, as they have twice voted in favor of raising the min- imum wage at the state level. Oregon has the second highest minimum wage in the nation at $7.80 an hour. NLRB to hear case on use of employer e-mail EUGENE, Ore. (PAI) — Can unions use company e-mail to com- municate with workers? The Na- tional Labor Relations Board will take on this question in a case this spring. The case involves The Newspa- per Guild’s Local 37194, which rep- resents 150 staffers at the Eugene, Ore., Register-Guard. The paper is challenging the union’s rights, across the board, to use e-mail in communicating with its 150 mem- bers there. The bargaining unit con- sists of reporters, photographers, copy editors, secretaries, clerks, ad- vertising department employees, and district managers in the circula- tion department. The paper’s management says its policy bans using its e-mail “to so- licit or proselytize for commercial ventures, religious or political causes, outside organizations or other non-job-related solicitations.” The paper says the ban covers the union. The Guild, an affiliate of the Communications Workers of Amer- ica, says it doesn’t. Among the issues the board will tackle is whether union members can use the e-mail system to discuss “union or other concerted, protected matters” — such as wages, hours and working conditions — defined by labor law. Zachary Zabinsky • Social Security • SSI - Disability Claims Personal Attention To Every Case Working For Disability Rights Since 1983 BARGAIN COUNTER Free ads to subscribers • 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 DEADLINE: Friday prior to publication 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 VERY RESTORABLE ‘64 Cad coupe, ‘68 Cad sedan DeVille, undercover for years, make offer. 503 637-6246 CHEV 454 BLOCK, crank, STD, cleaned, magnafluxed, pan-timing cover, new parts to assemble, $800. 503 658-6108 4 MICHELIN STUDLESS snowtires, P235/75R15, mounted on Toyota alloy rims, $250. 503 658-5380 ’97 BUICK LESABRE LTD, new brakes, $4,900 OBO; ’99 Dodge 2500 V-10, 4x4, $15,000; both 1 owner. 503 654-0726 ’91 AEROSTAR van, doesn’t run, $250 OBO or trade. 503 231-1208 ’94 CHEV SILVERADO 2500, 4x4, 350 V8, 100k miles, $5,000. 503 762-1336 ’88 TOYOTA SUPRA, turbo SP, 120k, dou- ble wishbone susp, Targa top, $950 OBO. 503 286-4394 ’88 MAZDA 323, 4 spd, 152k, $500. 503 786-3588 ’79 CHEV CAPRICE Classic, 4 dr, black/gray, 350 V8, auto, PB, PS, PW, AC, new tires, 76k, $1000. 503 524-5147 BIG BLOCK Chevy parts, 1974 new muf- fler system, new intake manifold, heads. 509 773-8018 Paul 1989 – 1993 TOYOTA EXT cab pickup parts for sale. 541 468-2961 Housing LINCOLN CITY, nice 2-level beach house, sleeps 6, $350/wk, $175/wkend. 503 351- 1408 (Chris) or 503 762-4816 (Dan) ROCKAWY BEACH house, just minutes to beach, sleeps 9, 3 bd. 503 355-2136 or 503 709-6018 ROCKAWAY BEACH vacation home, 3 bed, sleeps 8, beachfront, all amenities, $175 nite. 503 842-9607 QUIET COASTAL living, Tillamook, 1088 sq ft, 2 bed, garage, 1/3 acre, generous paved driveway, $169,000. 503 442-1892 MANUFACTURED HOME, 3 bed, 2 bath, fenced yard, country kitchen, Oregon City, upscale park, $39,950. 503 775-7808 Wanted OLD WOODWORKING tools, planes, lev- els, chisels, folding rulers, handsaws, spoke shaves, slicks, adzes, tool chests. 503 659- 0009 COLLECTING OLD log saws, double bit axes, old hard hats, blacksmith hammers, anything w/logging. 503 819-3736 CEMENT BUILDING blocks, 16x8x8”. 503 656-5971 CASH FOR older oil paintings, older toys, and older art pottery. 503 653-1506 COLLECTOR LOOKING for WWII Ger- man, US and Japanese helmets, military related items. 503 852-6791 MOTORCYCLES, running or part, street, dirt, mini-bike, scooters, quads, will pay cash. 503 880-8183 INT SCOUT, prefer 1 owner or good cond, plus 14’ alum boat, Gregor, Klamath, etc. 503 257-1082 For the Home FREE MAGIC Chef gas clothes dryer, works good. 503 657-8379 (leave mes- sage) CHINA HUTCH, nice, $225; dining table w/2 chairs, $125; antique high chair, $175. 503 642-1380 ELECTRIC BED, 1/4 size, good cond. 541 963-6216 WINDOW MILGARD 8L x 4H two 24 inch end sliders, $100. 503 793-7535 Sporting Goods 1994 15HP JOHNSON, LS, electric start, low hours, excellent shape, $1,200. 503 543-2184 ’03 PASTIME CAMPER, 8.5’, FSC, queen bed, wired for cable, excellent condition, $9,000. 503 632-2283 SNOWSHOES, wood w/leather straps, 2 pair, $100. 503 659-6579 ’88 PACE ARROW MH, 34’, needs lots of work, $5,500 or trade. 503 771-8823 ’05 PROWLER AX6 Fifth-wheel, four slides, w/d, theater, 50 amp, fireplace, loaded, war- ranty, $39,950. 360 494-7890 Miscellaneous DELUXE WEIGHT bench w/lat bar tower, arm curl and leg extensions, $50; Marcy weight set, $40. 503 292-0722 ENSONIQ ESQ keyboard (66 keys) w/ca- bles and pedals, $200 OBO. 503 617-4907 NIKON 35mm camera #N65, 28-80mm lens, filters, case, ex cond, $250 cash. 503 653-0162 USED ROLLERS for HD-11-EP and inside bellows seals, make offer. 503 647-2153 IRS PROBLEMS? •Haven’t filed for...years? • Lost records? •Liens-Levies-Garnishments? •Fees are affordable • Appointments available evenings & weekends • Working with union members for over 20 years NO FEE WITHOUT RECOVERY Call Nancy D. Anderson 621 SW Morrison, Portland Enrolled Agent/Tax Practitioner 223-8517 PAGE 10 If so, what restrictions may an employer place on the e-mails and if not, can the paper permit non-job- related e-mails but not those related to the union? Another question be- fore the Board is whether e-mail ac- cess is a mandatory subject for bar- gaining, just like wages and hours. A hearing is scheduled for March 27. The union filed an unfair labor practice charge against the newspa- per while negotiating a successor contract in 2000 after the union’s president was reprimanded in writ- ing for corresponding union busi- ness with employees on their work computers via e-mail. E E FR 503-697-7757 NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS K ramers/metro mailing service 3201 N.W. YEON PORTLAND, OREGON 97210 (503) 274-1638 FAX (503) 227-1245 THE ONLY UNION MAILER IN OREGON Visit our Web site at www.kramersmailing.com MEMBERS OF TEAMSTERS LOCAL 223 — Eric Brending, Owner — FEBRUARY 2, 2007
