Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Northwest labor press. (Portland , Ore.) 1987-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 7, 2007)
Let me say this about that ...Politics and lobbying (From Page 2) other IAM-endorsed candidates, some of whom he had recruited to run for pub- lic office. OREGON GOVERNOR Vic Atiyeh took note of Schneider’s activities rep- resenting the Machinists at the Legislature and appointed him to a Citizens Un- employment Advisory Committee. Portland Community College became aware of Schneider because of his work as chairman of the Machinists Apprenticeship Committee, which held classes at PCC, and asked him to serve on a PCC Advisory Board. In 1988, Schneider was appointed as a Machinists Grand Lodge representative by George Kourpias, then the union’s international president, and in 1996, Dick was selected to be the administrative assistant to IAM General Vice President Lee Pear- son at the union’s Western Territory headquarters in Sacramento, Calif. His next as- signment was to be one of four coordinators of the IAM’s newly-formed Aero- space Department, based at the union’s international headquarters in Upper Marlboro, Maryland, near Washington, D.C. DICK SCHNEIDER was given the responsibility for handling 62 labor con- tracts with the Boeing Company’s plants in the United States and Canada. Later, his workload was increased to 115 labor agreements with Boeing and other aero- space employers. These included L-3 Communications, the Triumph Group in Spokane, Washington, and British Aerospace operations in Texas, plus other com- panies. He worked with the leaders of IAM locals and councils at the various plants in negotiating contract renewals. Stalemates in collective bargaining some- times resulted in strikes, in which the workers gained their objectives. In the course of Schneider’s tenure with the IAM, Tom Buffenbarger succeeded George Kourpias as international president and still holds the office. SCHNEIDER’S WIFE, Kathi, whom he married in 1988, has been employed as an office secretary at District Lodge 24 for 39 years. She now works for Bob Petroff, the directing business representative. Her first job was as a secretary for Auto Mechanics Local Lodge 1005; she was hired by Ralph Kaufman, then sec- retary-treasurer of Local 1005. Long since retired, Kaufman is now nearly 100 years old and lives in Beaverton. Kathi is a 39-year member of Office and Pro- fessional Employees Local 11. Between them, Dick and Kathi have five children and 11 grandchildren. Both were married previously. Their sons and daughters include Steve, of Tigard, who is employed in telecommunications; Nicole, an attorney in New York City; April, who owns a dance studio in LaPine and is active in the Four Square Church where here husband is the youth pastor; Scott, a mortgage broker who lives in Gresham; and Steven, a Teamster Union member who works at Albertsons warehouse and also lives in Gresham. Schneider is a member of the Masonic Lodge and the Eagles Lodge. ★★★ Open Forum Unions should work together with immigrants, not against To The Editor: In response to Jeff Lyles’ letter (U.S. citizens would take jobs held by illegals at Del Monte, Aug.3), I want to agree with the brother: “The illegal aliens are being used ... to lower the standard of living of U.S. workers.” But the question for our labor movement is —how do we respond? Do we jump on the anti-immigrant bandwagon, calling for firings, raids and deportations, driving undocu- mented foreign workers even further into the under-the-table economy? Or do we join with immigrants in fighting for legalization, for equality, for improved wages, hours and work- ing conditions, and for union represen- tation? A look at our past provides the an- swer. Divide and conquer — turning workers against each other using race, nationality and gender — has been the bosses’ most powerful weapon. The argument is always the same: “They’re taking our jobs.” When the American Federation of Labor (AFL) organized white, male, citizen-only unions, little progress was made. When the Congress of Indus- trial Organizations (CIO) organized immigrants, blacks, latinos and women and white male citizens to- gether into industrial unions, spectacu- lar gains were made. As we see the huge demonstrations, boycotts and national work stoppages by immigrant workers demanding equality, do we think “threat” or “op- portunity?” Mexican, Central American and Latino-American workers have a rich history of workers’ solidarity. How we respond to their struggles will deter- 7LUHG RI :RUNLQJ LQ 3$,1" 0RVW,QVXUDQFH 3ODQV$FFHSWHG 3 P 528'/< ROUDLY 6 S (59,1* ERVING ORTLAND W 3 P 257/$1' : ORKERS 25.(56 F OR O VER 32 Y EARS ) 25 2 9(5 < ($56 mine the future of our labor move- ment. Jamie Partridge National Association of Letter Carriers 82 Portland %HHVRQ &KLURSUDFWLF KHOSVEULQJWKH UHOLHI\RXQHHG 7UHDWPHQWIRUSDLQGXHWR RYHUXVHDQGUHSHWLWLYHPRWLRQ &KLURSUDFWLFDGMXVWPHQWV 7UHDWPHQWIRUDFFLGHQWDQG VSRUWVUHODWHGLQMXULHV 5HKDELOLWDWLRQH[HUFLVHV 7KHUDSHXWLFPDVVDJH ,QWHUQDOGLDJQRVLVDQGWUHDWPHQW /DEWHVWVDQG[UD\V 'U'DQ%HHVRQ&KLURSUDFWRU 6(7KLUWHHQWK$YHLQ6HOOZRRG &$// RONALD S. SHERMAN of Scappoose, a longtime member of Portland- based Machinists Local Lodge 63 and a former secretary-treasurer of that union, died on July 29 at age 66. A memorial service was scheduled from 1 p.m to 4 p.m. Friday, Sept. 7, at Columbia Funeral Home in St. Helens. He was born on July 8, 1941 in Beaty, northeast of Klamath Falls. He moved to Portland at age 18 and joined the U.S. Air Force. Later, he worked as a ma- chinist at several companies, then was employed at the Gresham-area Boeing plant for 25 years. He was active in Machinists Lodge 63, serving as secretary- treasurer and as a delegate to the Multnomah County Labor Council and the Ore- gon AFL-CIO. He was a former board member of the Native American Tribal Council. SURVIVORS INCLUDE his wife, the former Jean Baldwin; a daughter, Deb- bie Helms; and two grandchildren. Memorial contributions can be made to the American Diabetes Association. ★★★ LONGTIME UNION and political activist Linda Johnson died Aug. 17 after battling several health issues, including a liver ailment. She was 60. Johnson was a librarian at the Oregon Health & Science University in Portland, a post she’d held since 1980. She was an active member of the American Federa- tion of State, County and Municipal Employees Local 328. She served as a delegate to many AFSCME national conventions, state con- ventions, women’s conferences and political trainings. She was a longtime mem- ber of the Oregon AFSCME Executive Board and the Council 75 Political Action Committee. She was prominent in the 1984 organizing drive that saw OHSU workers win AFSCME representation. SEPTEMBER 7, 2007 NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS PAGE 11
