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About Northwest labor press. (Portland , Ore.) 1987-current | View Entire Issue (March 21, 2008)
Promoting ‘green collar’ jobs is focus of LERC’s new STAR Fund Up to six union members will be taking a three-day field trip to Califor- nia this summer to study local efforts to promote what are being called “green collar” jobs — jobs that come out of efforts to combat environmental ills like global warming. The trip comes thanks to a new fund set up by the Labor Education Research Center (LERC), the Strategic Training and Action Research (STAR) Fund. Former LERC director Margaret Hallock was among a crowd of several hundred to turn out March 7 to celebrate LERC’s 30th anniversary. Also attending were UO President Dave Frohnmayer (standing behind ) and Gov. Ted Kulongoski. It’s the fund’s first project, and dovetails closely with plans by LERC educator (and AFL-CIO secretary- treasurer) Barbara Byrd. Byrd wants to get Oregon labor leaders up to speed on global warming before next year’s session of the Oregon Legisla- ture. That’s when state lawmakers will be debating how to curb greenhouse gas emissions that are contributing to global warming. Labor unions could help push to make sure tax-subsidized investments create living wage jobs — not just profits for eco-entrepreneurs. The project is titled, “Just Transi- tion: Developing a union approach to the challenge of global warming.” LERC will be accept applications un- til May 1. Union members whose ap- plications are accepted will take part in extensive study prior to the field trip. Then they’ll travel to the San Francisco Bay area, where local unions have already been securing union jobs from local efforts to ad- dress global warming. Upon their re- turn to Oregon, participants will spend time educating other union members. The STAR Fund was begun with a $115,000 bequest from former Car- penters business agent Robert Uhrbrand and his wife Cloydene, a teacher. Leading up to LERC’s 30th anniversary celebration, LERC did fundraising to increase that endow- ment. LERC director Bob Bussel said the goal was $30,000; over $60,000 was raised. Roger G. Worthington, P.C. leads the fight to find a cure Oregon labor turns out to celebrate 30 years of LERC Close to 600 people attended what amounted to the 30th birthday party of the University of Oregon’s Labor Edu- cation & Research Center, a $60-a- head dinner at the Oregon Convention Center. Among the attendees were Ore- gon Governor Ted Kulongoski and University of Oregon president Dave Frohnmayer. LERC was founded in order to use university’s intellectual resources — teaching and research — to aid labor unions. As such, its budget has some- times faced political attacks in the Leg- islature from union foes. But that also Q means the department has its friends — elected leaders and others — and they filled the banquet hall March 7. Frohnmayer assured them of the university’s continued support, and Ku- longoski, who was present at LERC’s birth, praised the department for 30 years of service. “LERC,” Kulongoski told attendees, “exemplifies the social compact be- tween government and labor that build America’s middle class.” Proceeds from the dinner benefited a new fund LERC set up for special projects. 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