Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Northwest labor press. (Portland , Ore.) 1987-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 19, 2008)
SEPT. 19, 2008:NWLP 9/16/08 10:45 AM Page 2 Healthy Washington Coalition HWC The Washington Health Care Caucuses: Speak Up for Quality, Affordable Health Care Presented by: The Healthy Washington Coalition Lend your voice to the effort to achieve quality, affordable health care for all Washingtonians. Learn what steps we have taken and what the next steps will be. You’re invited to participate and help shape the principles and values we want in Washington’s health care system. Be part of the community that is committed to changing the health care system in Washington State. DATE September 23 rd PLACE Clark PUD Community Room TIME 6:30 - 8:30 pm 1200 Fort Vancouver Way VANCOUVER For more information visit www.healthywacoalition.org b h m k Labor group steps up campaign to counter anti-union TV ads After months of anti-union televi- sion commercials, the union-sup- ported group American Rights at Work has launched a $5 million na- tionwide ad campaign aimed at build- ing public support for the Employee Free Choice Act. The ads started air- ing on Labor Day and will run several times a day through Sept. 28. The Employee Free Choice Act — a bill in Congress that would make it easier for workers to unionize — is the U.S. labor movement’s top legisla- tive priority. Anti-union groups, in- cluding the U.S. Chamber of Com- merce and the corporate-funded Employee Freedom Action Commit- tee, are campaigning against the bill this election season, and trying to tar- nish Democratic candidates who sup- port it. “Some union bosses and their politician friends want to do away with privacy when it comes to join a union,” says one such ad. The anti- Employee Free Choice Act campaign hammers away on one feature of the bill — it would require employers to recognize a union if a majority of workers signed union cards. Right now, employers get to decide whether they want to recognize the union that way, or force a government-run elec- tion. If unions get to make that choice, they might opt for the “card-check” method, which would make a “secret- ballot” union election unnecessary. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is silent about intimidation by employers opposing unionization, but says it’s concerned that union organizers will intimidate workers into signing cards. The new American Rights at Work ad, on the other hand, paints the bill in a positive light. The ad says the Em- ployee Free Choice Act helps workers get a union — so they can improve their lives. “We’re not trying to respond to their misleading message frames,” said American Rights at Work spokesperson Josh Goldstein. “They’ve crafted their message to be about secret ballots and intimidation. Those images of intimidation strike a nerve, regardless of the fact that it has Bennett Hartman Morris & Kaplan, llp Attorneys at Law Oregon’s Full Service Union Law Firm Representing Workers Since 1960 nothing to do with this issue. We’re trying to switch focus to what unions can do for you in making a better life.” “CEO salaries and benefits are get- ting fatter and fatter,” a female voice- over says in the Oregon version of the ad, “while workers face soaring gas prices, foreclosures, and rising health care costs.” The visual at this point is an expensively-dressed “CEO” sitting at one end of a see-saw. He laughs un- controllably as the see-saw tilts in his favor. On the other side of the see-saw is a “worker” wearing a toolbelt. But the ad continues: “The Em- ployee Free Choice Act gives workers the freedom to form a union so they can earn better wages, retirement se- curity, and health care coverage,” the narrator says. The CEO stops laugh- ing, and now the camera shows the worker with a tool belt has been joined by four other workers. The see- saw now tilts their way. The ad closes with a Web address — FreeChoiceact.org — and a pitch: “Call Gordon Smith. Tell him to sup- port the Employee Free Choice Act and stop siding with wealthy CEOs over working families.” Identical ads naming other oppo- nents of the Employee Free Choice Act are running in Alaska, Maine, Minnesota and New Hampshire. And a version of the ad without the pitch airs on nationwide television, includ- ing CNN Headline News and MSNBC. The Oregon version of the ad can be viewed at: www.youtube.com/ watch?v=DNBWogN840M. Broadway Floral Serious Injury and Death Cases for the BEST flowers call • Construction Injuries • Automobile Accidents • Medical, Dental, and Legal Malpractice • Bicycle and Motorcycle Accidents • Pedestrian Accidents • Premises Liability (injuries on premises) • Workers’ Compensation Injuries • Social Security Claims Could a REVERSE MORTGAGE Work for You? Imagine a Payment Free, Financially-Secure Retirement. • Supplement Your Retirement Income. • No Debt Passes to Your Heirs. • You Maintain Ownership and Title. T URN Y OUR H OME E QUITY I NTO C ASH , L INE OF C REDIT , M ONTHLY I NCOME OR A C OMBINATION OF P LANS . Talk with Lynn or Julie, the Reverse Mortgage Specialists at: We Work Hard for Hard-Working People! 111 SW Fifth Avenue, Suite 1650 Portland, Oregon 97204 (503) 227-4600 www.bennetthartman.com PAGE 2 1638 NE Broadway, Portland (International Standard Serial Number 0894-444X) Established in 1900 at Portland, Oregon as a voice of the labor movement. 4275 NE Halsey St., P.O. Box 13150, Portland, Ore. 97213 Telephone: (503) 288-3311 Editor: Michael Gutwig Staff: Don McIntosh, Cheri Rice Published on a semi-monthly basis on the first and third Fridays of each month by the Oregon Labor Press Publishing Co. Inc., a non- profit corporation owned by 20 unions and councils including the Oregon AFL-CIO. Serving more than 120 union organizations in Ore- gon and SW Washington. Subscriptions $13.75 per year for union members. Group rates available to trade union organizations. PERIODICALS POSTAGE PAID AT PORTLAND, OREGON. Lynn Russell OR ML-4194WA 510-MB-30380 Our Legal Staff are Proud Members of UFCW Local 555 503-288-5537 360-694-7272 or 1-866-684-7272 CHANGE OF ADDRESS NOTICE: Three weeks are required for a change of address. When ordering a change, please give your old and new addresses and the name and number of your local union. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS, P.O. BOX 13150, PORTLAND, OR 97213-0150 205 East 11th Street, Suite 104, Vancouver, Washington NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS SEPTEMBER 19, 2008
