...Edwards supports
union card-check
(From Page 1)
making over $200,000 a year. “That
will pay for it,” he said.
Edwards supports labor’s top prior-
ity bill — the Employee Free Choice
Act. The bill, which would allow for
card-check recognition and set time-
lines for bargaining a first contract,
passed in the U.S. House of Represen-
tatives earlier this year, but was stalled
in the Senate by a filibuster. “If you
can join the Republican Party by sign-
ing your name on a card, any worker
in America ought to be able to join a
union by signing a card,” Edwards
said.
Edwards said he supports workers’
right to strike. “When you are walking
that picket line and I’m President of
the United States, nobody, nobody
will walk through that picket line and
take your job away from you. Not
when I’m President of the United
States.”
On trade, Edwards said the current
policy benefits only multi-national
corporations. “Our trade policy has to
be changed,” he said. The first change
he would make in policy would be to
ask: “Is this good for working-class
America?” He said any proposed
trade deal he signed would have to in-
clude worker rights and environmental
protections “written in the agree-
ment.”
Oregon AFL-CIO President Tom
Chamberlain, writing on his blog, said
Edwards “hit the ball out of the ball-
park in his speech ... On every issue
— health care, the war in Iraq, and
more, he gets it. Working people are
the backbone of our country, and we
need to work hard to make sure that a
child of a mill worker can have the op-
portunity to some day run for presi-
dent.”
Edwards went into more detail
about labor issues at the Seaside con-
vention, but workers’ rights were just
as much a part of his message later
that night at the Oregon Business Al-
liance annual awards dinner in Port-
land.
“I believe we need to strengthen
...Merkley,
Novick speak
at convention
AFL-CIO President John Sweeney (right) meets Jeff Merkley, a Democratic
candidate for U.S. Senate. Sweeney thanked Merkley for challenging
incumbent Republican Gordon Smith. The U.S. Senate race in Oregon is
targeted a top priority race by the national labor federation.
the right of unions to organize in the
workplace,” Edwards told business
leaders. “The entire world wants to
know whether we, as the richest na-
tion, are going to allow millions of our
own people to live in poverty.”
Activists and unions recognized for efforts
Highest Number of Volunteer
Hours Dedicated to the Labor 2006
Campaign (among Local Unions) tie:
Sheet Metal Workers Local 16
Communications Workers
of America Local 7901
Highest Number of Volunteer
Hours Dedicated to the Labor 2006
Campaign (as a percentage of mem-
bers)
Tualatin Valley Fire Fighters
Local 1660
Pat Quigley Award for Most Vol-
unteer Hours for an Individual:
Jodi Parker, Laborers Local 320
Highest Voter Turnout in the La-
bor 2006 Campaign of Any Local
Union:
Musicians Local 99
Most Improved Voter Turnout:
Woodworkers, IAM Local W-1
Organizing the Most New Mem-
bers Among Private Sector Unions:
Oregon Nurses Association
Organizing the Most New Mem-
bers Among Public Sector Unions:
Oregon AFSCME Council 75
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
Highest Number of Volunteer
Hours Dedicated to the Labor 2006
Campaign (among international
unions):
Oregon AFSCME Council 75
The following awards for organiz-
ing were presented to the following
unions:
Don’t let bad weather limit your ability to access your funds!
Call our member service department today at 503-253-8193
ext. 300 to apply for an ATM or debit card.
Sign up today for our free online banking and bill pay service
and manage your funds from the safety of your home.
9955 SE Washington St
PO Box 16877
Portland, Oregon 97292
Visit us online at ibewuwfcu.com or call us
at 800-356-6507 for more information
Electricians, Carpenters, Laborers, Glaziers, Sheetmetal Workers, Floorcoverers, Bricklayers, Cement Masons, Roofer, Asbestos Workers, Family, Mill Wrights, Painters, Elevators, Plasterers
SEASIDE — The Oregon AFL-
CIO recognized several union members
and union locals for their activities in
organizing and politics last year.
The following awards for voter edu-
cation and mobilization for Labor 2006
were included:
(From Page 1)
Smith in next year’s general election —
attorney Steve Novick and Oregon
Speaker of the House Jeff Merkley —
spoke to delegates. Both men have close
ties with unions and are considered
friends of labor.
Novick is a Harvard graduate who
stands 4-feet-9 inches tall and has a
hook for a left hand, joked about his
stature. “To beat Gordon Smith, it’s go-
ing to take something a little different.
Well, I’m little. And I’m different,” he
said.
Novick said it might be risky back-
ing an “untraditional” candidate. “But
unions are about taking risks. Every
time you stand up to the boss, you’re
taking a risk.”
Merkley, who had the unenviable
task of speaking right after Democratic
presidential candidate John Edwards,
asked delegates to envision what could
be accomplished with a Democrat-con-
trolled Congress and a Democratic pres-
ident. “We have a lot of Smith and Bush
handiwork to undo,” he said.
Merkley, who earned degrees in
public policy at Stanford and Princeton,
said Oregon deserves a U.S. senator
who will fight for fair trade and fight to
keep family-wage jobs in America. “We
need to create wealth, not strip wealth,”
he said.
Glaziers, Carpenters, Laborers, Electricians, Sheetmetal Workers, Floorcoverers, Bricklayers, Cement Masons, Roofers, Asbestos Workers, Family, Mill Wrights, Painters, Elevators, Plasterers
OCTOBER 19, 2007
NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS
PAGE 3