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About Northwest labor press. (Portland , Ore.) 1987-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 15, 2008)
LaborDay-08-(1-14):NWLP 8/12/08 10:03 AM Page 13 ...Big business behind group bashing unions (From Page 12) be exposed to intimidation at work and at home. So contact Jeff Merkley and ask him this one simple question: Shouldn’t your vote still be private?” Berman’s groups have run print and television ads bashing unions for sev- eral years, but only this year did they begin to run candidate-specific ads tar- geting states that have competitive congressional races. The ads have run in eight states, in each case against Democratic congressional candidates who support the Employee Free Choice Act. One ad, which aired in Maine and Minnesota, uses actor Vince Curatola, who played “Johnny Sack” in the HBO series The Sopranos. Playing to the union-Mafia stereotype, Curatola replaces a candidate who supports “the secret ballot for union elections” with one who doesn’t. “Problem solved,” says Curatola in the ad. Those ads are run by a related group calling itself the Coalition for a Democratic Workplace. Berman’s groups don’t disclose their supporters, but the Coalition for a Democratic Workplace does — giving a glimpse at who will be lining up to oppose the Employee Free Choice Act when it comes up again. The group’s Web site lists 488 groups in support: industry associations, state and local chambers of commerce, and chapters of Associated Builders & Contractors, an open shop contractors organization. In Oregon, besides the TV ads, Merkley has been hounded at his cam- paign events by a tall “Grim Reaper” wearing the scary mask from the movie The Scream. “Death,” accom- panied by a man with a video camera, carries a picket sign bearing a Merkley campaign logo and slogans like “Merkley kills democracy.” The en- counters then show up on a Web site that describes itself as the joint blog of the Employee Freedom Action Com- mittee and the Center for Union Facts. They know where to find Merkley because he’s been campaigning in a “100 Towns for Change” tour, an- nouncing his events in advance. Merkley’s opponent, incumbent U.S. Senator Gordon Smith, has not been similarly accessible. Publicly, Berman and his groups’ spokesperson Tim Miller have main- tained that they are neither pro- nor anti- union, just concerned that work- ers’ rights be protected. But that was contradicted by the late July discovery of court documents that show Berman was a key adviser to Smithfield Foods, a North Carolina pork processor that has waged a decade-long battle against a union campaign by the United Food and Commercial Workers. An anti-union group has been dogging Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Jeff Merkley at campaign events around the state with a costumed “Grim Reaper.” On July 31, the independent union- supported group American Rights at Work posted documents on its Web site which showed that Berman did work for Smithfield, and was offered a high-priced retainer through his for- profit firm, Berman and Company. Berman was able to get the court to seal the documents, and threatened American Rights at Work with legal action if they didn’t remove them from their site. They took the documents off, but a section detailing what is known about Berman and his groups remains on the site, www.american- rightsatwork.org. Unions help USS Ranger raise funds A non profit group seeking to pre- serve the aircraft carrier USS Ranger as an educational center, museum and memorial on the Portland waterfront is reaching out to organized labor. The USS Ranger Museum Founda- tion is lobbying city leaders and the Port of Portland to allow it to pur- chase, rent or lease one of two termi- nals along the Willamette River to lo- cate the massive Navy carrier. If successful, the USS Ranger would be the world’s largest floating museum — and a must-see tourism destination in the Pacific Northwest. The Museum Foundation is hold- ing a “Ranger Hog Raffle” to help raise funds. The prize is a 2008 Harley-Davidson FXDB motorcycle. To buy a ticket, call 503-799-5093 or go to winthisharley@yahoo.com. The Foundation is governed by an all-volunteer board of directors, made up of former officers and crew of the USS Ranger as well as civilians. Kenneth Morgan, business man- ager of Laborers Local 296, and Lynn Lehrbach of Teamsters Joint Council No. 37, are serving on the founda- tion’s advisory committee. Organized Labor fought to give us... L a b o r D a y ...a national holiday honoring the labors of Americans. From the Officers & Members of UA Local 290 Plumbers - Steamfitters - Marinefitters Serving all phases of the piping industry John Endicott — B US . M GR ./F INANCIAL S EC -T REAS . Mike Anderson — A SST . B USINESS M ANAGER Dan Bailey — A GENT /O RGANIZER /A SST . C OORD . Sid Berg — A GENT /O RGANIZER Lou Christian — A GENT Donald Kool — O RGANIZER Mike Mehrens — D ISPATCHER Alan Mills — A GENT /O RGANIZER /A SST . C OORD . Jerry Moss — A GENT Ron Murray — A GENT Mike O’Rourke — A GENT /O RGANIZER Mark Stenberg — A GENT /O RGANIZER Al Shropshire — A GENT /O RGANIZER Herman Stonebraker — A GENT Ron Woods — Agent/Organizer AUGUST 15, 2008 Mike Pollock — Director of T RAINING Marci Wichman — A SST . T RAINING C OORDINATOR Mike Wynne — A SST . T RAINING C OORDINATOR Chris Baier — W ELDING C OORDINATOR Bill Hargrave — P RESIDENT Robert Porter — V ICE P RESIDENT Kyle Stancliff — R ECORDING S ECRETARY Ryan McShannon — I NSIDE G UARD E x e c u t i v e B o a r d Gary Barnes Dennis Mask Marty Mehrens Lyman Warnock NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS F i n a n c e C o m m i t t e e Dave Hauth, Rick Hindman, Chris McNicholas E x a m i n i n g B o a r d Pete Bakker, Frank Boyle Jeff Byram, Harlan Eastman Joe Holcomb, Jeff McGillivray James Manzella Jr., Steven Nitsch, Mike Pollock, Barry Sather PAGE 13
