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10:12 AM
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Friend of labor tapped for NLRB chair
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Wilma
Liebman has been designated by Presi-
dent Barack Obama to chair the Na-
tional Labor Relations Board (NLRB).
As an NLRB member over the past
eight years, Liebman has challenged the
Bush Administration on workers’ rights.
“The Board’s Republican majority
made it harder to form unions through
majority sign-up, limited the ability of
illegally fired workers to recover back
pay, and allowed employers to discrim-
inate against union supporters in the hir-
ing process,” said AFL-CIO President
John Sweeney.
Liebman was first appointed to the
NLRB by President Bill Clinton in
1997. Her current term expires in 2011.
Before joining the NLRB, Liebman
served from 1994 to 1997 at the Federal
Mediation and Conciliation Service,
first as special assistant to the director
and then as deputy director. She began
her legal career as an NLRB staff attor-
ney in 1974, then served on the legal
staff of two unions: the Bricklayers and
the Teamsters.
Professional Firefighters
of Clackamas County Local 1159
We are looking for
Board of Directors candidates
for the Estacada Fire District.
These positions are elected every 4 years;
they provide direction and accountability
to the Fire District for the taxpayers
in the Estacada Fire District.
Requirements: You must own property in the
Estacada Fire District, attend monthly meetings
and ensure oversight of budget, employment
and tax laws.
Please, if you’re interested, contact
IAFF Local 1159 Vice President Burke Slater
at 503 351-9904
Or email at: bslater@local1159.com
More information is available at the
Clackamas County Elections Office,
1710 Red Soils Ct., Suite 100, Oregon City, OR 97045
or at: www.clackamas.us/elections
The filing deadline for
Board Positions 1 and 4 is March 19, 2009
Congress passes Lilly
Ledbetter ‘fair pay’ bill
WASHINGTON, D.C. (PAI) — By
a 61-36 vote, the U.S. Senate on Jan. 22
passed the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Bill.
The legislation overturns a 2007
Supreme Court ruling that said workers
who are discriminated against in pay
could sue only within the first 180 days
of being hired. In practical terms, advo-
cates said, that barred all pay discrimi-
nation cases, since workers often do not
discover the discrimination until long af-
terwards.
In the case of Lilly Ledbetter, the
gray-haired grandmother from Gads-
den, Ala., did not discover her pay-
checks as a supervisor in the Goodyear
Tire and Rubber Co. plant had been
shorted until near the end of her 19-year
career. She sued and won $3.5 million
in back pay and damages.
Appeals lowered the damage payout,
but the high court — on a 5-4 vote —
threw out the case entirely.
The five justices, all men appointed
by Republican presidents, including two
named by George W. Bush, said anti-
discrimination law allows suits only
within 180 days of being hired, or 300
days in some cases. Any time after that,
and workers can’t file a lawsuit.
Ironically, Ledbetter told Press Asso-
ciates Inc. during a congressional hear-
ing that rank-and-file female workers at
the plant suffer little or no pay discrimi-
nation because they are covered by a
Steel Workers Union contract. As a su-
pervisor, she was not.
“The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act is a
modest and targeted response to a harm-
Marion, Polk,
Yamhill CLC elects
Munger president
SALEM — Joe Munger of Steel-
workers Local 8378 has been elected
president of the Marion, Polk, Yamhill
Counties Central Labor Council. He
succeeds Dave Tischer of the Laborers
Local 320, who did not seek re-election.
Richard Swyers of AFSCME Local
2067 was re-elected secretary-treasurer
and Rosalie Pedroza of Service Em-
ployees Local 503 was re-elected vice
president.
Terms of office are three years.
ful and unjust ruling that made it just
about impossible for victims of pay dis-
crimination to seek justice in the courts,
no matter how severe the discrimination
they face,” said Debra Ness, president of
the National Partnership for Women and
Families, one of the lead organizations
that lobby for fair pay and female work-
ers’ rights.
All 36 Senate votes against the bill
came from male Republicans. The GOP
also provided the entire opposition in the
House, which passed the bill soon after
the Democratic-run 111th Congress
opened.
Senate Democrats of both sexes
voted unanimously for the bill. They
were joined by the four female Senate
Republicans and Sen. Arlen Specter of
Pennsylvania.
President Barack Obama has signed
the legislation into law.
Officers elected
at labor council
in Vancouver
VANCOUVER — Mike Carnahan
of Electrical Workers Local 48 was re-
elected secretary-treasurer of Clark,
Skamania, West Klickitat Counties
Central Labor Council in an election
held Jan. 22.
Shannon Walker of Office and Pro-
fessional Employees Local 277 was
tapped president; Judy Kuschel of AF-
SCME Local 313 was elected vice
president; and Rick Thompson of Ma-
chinists Lodge 63 was re-elected ser-
geant-at-arms.
Walker succeeds Cager Clabaugh of
International Longshore and Ware-
house Union (ILWU) Local 4. He did
not seek re-election.
Elected to the Executive Board were
Lucy Carrier of United Food and Com-
mercial Workers Local 555, Roy Jen-
nings of Amalgamated Transit Union
Local 757, Roben White of Painters Lo-
cal 10, and Scott Orrell of ILWU Local
4. Mark Rauchenstein of International
Federation of Professional and Techni-
cal Engineers Local 17 was re-elected
a trustee.
Zachary
Zabinsky
• Social Security
• SSI - Disability Claims
Personal Attention To Every Case
Working For Disability Rights
Since 1983
NO FEE WITHOUT RECOVERY
621 SW Morrison, Portland
223-8517
FEBRUARY 6, 2009
NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS
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