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About Northwest labor press. (Portland , Ore.) 1987-current | View Entire Issue (June 1, 2007)
Smith feeling pressure to support Free-Choice Act Made in America! Try a pair on, you’ll like them. Tough boots for the Northwest. AL’S SHOES 5811 SE 82nd, Portland 503-771-2130 Mon-Fri 10-7:30 Sat 10-5:30 Sun 12-6 (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 E-mail: Michael492@comcast.net 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 Swanson, Thomas &Coon ATTORNEYS AT LAW Since 1981 James Coon Jacqueline Jacobson Ray Thomas Kimberly Tucker Margaret Weddell Cynthia F. Newton Tip of the week: You have only one year after your doctor has told you that you suffer from an occupational disease to file a workers’ compensation claim. We represent people on all types of injury and disease related claims. n Workers’ Compensation n Construction Injuries n Personal Injury/Product Liability n Death Claims n Asbestos/Mesothelioma n Social Security Disability 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 http://www.stc-law.com Carpenters, Electricians, Laborers, Glaziers, Sheetmetal Workers, Floorcoverers, Bricklayers, Cement Masons, Roofers, Asbestos Workers, Family, Mill Wrights, Painters, Elevators, Plasterers Electricians, Carpenters, Laborers, Glaziers, Sheetmetal Workers, Floorcoverers, Bricklayers, Cement Masons, Roofer, Asbestos Workers, Family, Mill Wrights, Painters, Elevators, Plasterers Rain Forest Boots cal organizer Elana Guiney to work on the issue. Guiney also collected about 4,000 post cards signed by union mem- bers supporting passage of the bill, and planned to deliver them to Smith and Wyden this week. To argue for the bill, Chamberlain visited Smith in Washington, DC, May 16. Smith told Chamberlain he agrees the system is broken, but doesn’t think the Employee Free Choice Act is the best way to fix it; he’s opposed to the bill’s requirement that employers rec- ognize unions on the basis of majority signup (card-check) and the require- ment that the first contract be estab- lished by binding arbitration if workers and employers can’t reach agreement. “I’m discouraged by what he [Smith] said, but I don’t think working people in Oregon should let him off the hook,” Chamberlain said. “The worst thing that could happen right now is for him to say ‘I’m not voting for it’ and then not get phone calls from people about it. He needs to hear from work- ing people.” Leave a message for Sen. Smith by calling 1-800-774-8941. His Portland office phone number is 503-326-3386 . His Portland address is One World Trade Center 121 SW Salmon Street, Suite 1250 Portland, OR 97204. Turn your beater in for something sweeter. 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PO Box 16877 9955 SE Washington St Portland, Oregon 97292 www.ibewuwfcu.com Electricians, Carpenters, Laborers, Glaziers, Sheetmetal Workers, Floorcoverers, Bricklayers, Cement Masons, Roofer, Asbestos Workers, Family, Mill Wrights, Painters, Elevators, Plasterers Union members are putting pressure on Oregon’s Republican U.S. Senator Gordon Smith to support the Employee Free Choice Act, which would make it easier for workers to unionize and get their first union contract. “This is the issue for the labor movement,” said Oregon AFL-CIO President Tom Chamberlain. “It’s about workers’ ability to join a union and collectively bargain, and it’s how we save the middle class in America.” The House passed the bill 241-185 on March 1. National AFL-CIO offi- cials think the Senate will vote on it as early as mid-June. So far, 47 Democratic U.S. senators have signed on as sponsors of the bill, including Oregon’s other senator, Ron Wyden. No Republican senator has yet signed on as a co-sponsor of the bill, but with Smith facing re-election in 2008 in a state that is trending Democ- ratic, the national AFL-CIO hasn’t written him off. In mid-April, the federation set up a toll-free hotline — 1-800-774-8941 — for union supporters anywhere in America to call their senators about the bill. Callers hear a short message, en- ter their zip code, and are connected to the office of one of their senators. In Oregon, that’s Smith, because Wyden is already on board. Oregonians have made about 900 calls to the hotline, more than residents of any other state. That may be in part because the Oregon AFL-CIO has assigned politi- Glaziers, Carpenters, Laborers, Electricians, Sheetmetal Workers, Floorcoverers, Bricklayers, Cement Masons, Roofers, Asbestos Workers, Family, Mill Wrights, Painters, Elevators, Plasterers JUNE 1, 2007 NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS PAGE 3
