Saturday, June 14 in Portland
Unions for Kids Poker Run raises money for sick kids
Are you playing in too many
scramble golf tournaments? How
about mixing it up a bit by trying a
motorcycle poker run.
A poker run is similar to a charity
golf tournament: A group of folks get
together who share a common inter-
est; in this case, the enjoyment of rid-
ing a motorcycle. They trade stories,
share laughs at checkpoints, admire
each others’ motorcycles, and basi-
cally have some fun while raising
money for a good cause.
The sixth annual Unions for Kids
Poker Run and Chili Cookoff will be
held Saturday, June 14. The start and
finish are at the IBEW Local 48
Union Hall, 15937 NE Airport Way,
Portland. Registration is from 9 to 11
a.m. and costs $10 to enter.
The poker run itself consists of a
scenic 90-mile ride starting at the Lo-
cal 48 hall. At each checkpoint, par-
ticipants receive a playing card. At
the end of the ride, the best — and
worst— poker hands win cash prizes.
The first stop is the Stagecoach Sa-
Win this motorcycle!
loon on Sandy Blvd., in Fairview.
Then it’s up I-84 into the Columbia
Gorge to Bridal Veil. At that point,
riders will head to Crown Point and
onto the second stop at Springdale
Tavern in Springdale. From there, it’s
all backroads to the third stop at Gate-
way Pub in Sandy. The fourth stop is
the Carver Hangar in Carver; then
over to Pub 181 on 184th and Divi-
sion, Portland. Following that check-
in, it’s back to the union hall for fun
and games.
After the ride, door prizes are
handed out and a silent auction is
held. One person will win a 2008
Dyna Low Rider FXDL 105th an-
niversary limited edition Harley-
Davidson motorcycle. For several
months, members of the Unions for
Kids Poker Run committee have been
selling motorcycle raffle tickets for
$10 each. Only 3,500 tickets will be
sold.
Tickets also can be purchased at
any of the aforementioned checkpoint
stops, as well as at the IBEW and
United Workers Federal Credit
Union, 9955 SE Washington St., Port-
land; or the Teamsters Credit Union,
1866, NE 162nd Ave. (off Glisan),
Portland.
Tickets are going fast, and once
they are sold, there are no more.
In addition to the raffle, there is a
silent auction. This year one of the
auction items includes a guitar signed
by Portland area musicians Patrick
Lamb, Linda Hornbuckle, Norman
Sylvester and Michael Allen Harri-
son.
Also this year, Hood River Water-
Play will set up two wind-surfing
simulators — one for kids and one for
adults. And, if the weather cooperates,
a radio-controlled race car track will
be set up.
The chili cookoff pits chefs from
various building trades unions against
each other. Participants get to vote on
the best chili. Hamburgers, hot dogs
and beverages also are available.
The raffle gets under way at 3 p.m.
and the drawing for the Harley will
take place at 4 p.m.
All of the money raised goes to
Doernbecher Children’s Hospital. To
date, the poker run has donated more
than $71,000 to the hospital.
For more information about the
poker run or raffle, call Lee Duncan at
503-260-5905 or Dave Tully at 503-
310-2246 or e-mail them at:
lee@unionsforkids.org.
Oregon Alliance keeps retirees attuned to current issues
Union involvement doesn’t have to
end when pension checks start to ar-
rive. Millions of union members stay
connected in union retiree groups,
and in the Alliance for Retired Ameri-
cans (ARA) — an umbrella group
aimed at union retirees.
ARA was started by the AFL-CIO
in 2001 as an independent non-profit
organization, and as a successor to the
National Council of Senior Citizens
(a union-allied retirees group that was
active from the early 1960s to the late
1990s.)
ARA is an avenue for union re-
tirees to participate in a kind of cross-
union political activism focused on
core economic justice issues like af-
fordable health care and retiree eco-
nomic security.
David Blank, the group’s spokes-
person, said ARA has 3.5 million
members. Any individual can join
ARA by signing up online at re-
tiredamericans.org. Dues are $10 a
year. Even those who aren’t retired or
aren’t union members can join. But
the overwhelming majority of ARA
members belong because they are re-
tired members of international unions
that are paying sliding scale per capita
dues for all their retirees to belong.
When members of participating
unions retire, they receive a letter wel-
coming them to ARA signed jointly
by their union’s president and ARA
President George Kourpias, a retired
president of the International Associa-
tion of Machinists.
ARA has a staff of 25 in Washing-
MAY 16, 2008
ton, D.C., plus 14 field staff through-
out the country that assist the group’s
28 state chapters. Some states, like
California and New York, have ARA
chapters that are active enough to
support their own staff. Others have
staff who work for the national organ-
ization.
To help build the Oregon chapter,
the national organization last month
hired a part-time organizer, Andrew
Gonzalez. Gonzalez was introduced
to members April 26 at Oregon
ARA’s 5th annual convention.
Verna Porter, president of the Ore-
gon chapter, said the organization has
also adopted a new donation policy
above and beyond the $10 dues fee.
Members who contribute $100, $250
or $500 or more will receive a special
certificate of membership. Donor
members will be listed in the annual
convention program. The Oregon Al-
liance is a 501 (c) (3) organization,
and any donations beyond the $10
dues are tax deductible.
“The Oregon Alliance exists be-
cause retirees still care and want to be
informed and involved in the issues of
the day,” Porter said.
ARA has a more grassroots politi-
cal orientation than the larger and bet-
ter-known retiree organization AARP
(American Association of Retired
Persons). Unlike AARP, ARA doesn’t
maintain paid lobbyists; its focus is
more on the political activism and ed-
ucation of members.
In 2003, ARA was at odds with
AARP over the Medicare Moderniza-
tion Act. ARA opposed passage of the
law, which accelerated the creeping
privatization of Medicare and added a
drug benefit for seniors but prohibited
the government from trying to get a
good price for drugs.
This year ARA plans to speak out
against proposals by Republican pres-
idential candidate John McCain to
privatize Social Security.
ARA sends out periodic legislative
alerts, and rates members of Congress
for their votes on legislation impor-
tant to retirees. Sen. Ron Wyden (D-
Ore.) has voted in agreement with the
ARA position 91 percent of the time
since the ratings began in 2001. U.S.
Sen. Gordon Smith (R-Ore.) has a 24
percent rating. Washington U.S. Sen-
ators Patty Murray and Maria Cant-
well each have 97 percent. In the U.S.
House, Oregon’s four Democrats and
Southwest Washington Democrat
Brian Baird all have lifetime ratings
of 90 percent or higher, while Repub-
lican Greg Walden has a 3 percent rat-
ing. [For details about the votes ARA
chose for the rating, see “Congres-
sional Voting Record” at their Web
site, www.retiredamericans.org.]
Machinists, Boeing open contract talks
SEATTLE — Formal negotiations between the Ma-
chinists Union and Boeing Company opened May 9 for
more than 26,000 employees in the Seattle area, Portland,
Ore., and Wichita, Kan.
The contract opener was held a month earlier than pre-
vious negotiations in an attempt to provide both sides
more time to resolve several complex issues that they face.
The current 36-month labor agreement expires at 12:01
a.m. Sept. 4.
“We are cautiously optimistic as we enter this round
of bargaining,” said IAM District 751 President Tom
Wroblewski. “We are in the strongest bargaining position
we have had in years. By any measure, Boeing is one of
the most successful companies in the world — sales, prof-
its, backlogs — and our members are a huge part of that.”
Wroblewski said it hasn’t been easy for members dur-
ing the last two rounds of contract bargaining. “After the
9/11 attacks, our members had to face a company deter-
mined to take away hard-fought benefits and contractual
rights,” he said.
The Machinists motto this year is: “IT’S OUR TIME
THIS TIME!”
Wroblewski said Boeing has rebounded and is experi-
encing tremendous profits, which have increased 828 per-
NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS
cent over the past five years.
In a press release, Boeing outlined the proposal it de-
livered to the Machinists Union. The list included a per-
formance-based incentive pay plan in lieu of wage in-
creases for top-paid employees; a separate contract for
IAM-represented employees in Wichita; a contract longer
than three years; establishing a new retirement program
and discontinuing early-retiree medical coverage for new
hires; and exploring ways to increase health care costs
paid by employees.
Boeing said it also proposed to maintain much of the
existing contract without changes, including more than
150 articles, sub-sections and letters of understanding.
“Their negotiation strategy of posturing to take away
hard-fought benefits is as flawed as their 787 production
model,” Wroblewski said, noting that Boeing parted out
the 787 because they wanted to save a buck, but wound up
having to buy out suppliers and pay late delivery penalties
that cost them billions.
“Both need a positive direction, which the Machinists
Union can provide to secure a positive outcome for all,”
Wroblewski said. “With Boeing posting profits second
only to the gas and oil companies, ‘It’s Our Time This
Time!’ “
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