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About Northwest labor press. (Portland , Ore.) 1987-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 20, 2009)
NWLP-2-20-09:NWLP 2/17/09 10:09 AM Page 8 ...Stimulus bill includes ’Buy American’ provision (From Page 1) spending side, put together by the House-Senate Conference Committee, runs 136 pages long. For the most part, it puts new money into existing formu- las to increase the local economic im- pact of federal spending. And it em- barks on a federal government building boom and buying spree to stimulate de- mand for goods. Under the package, unemployment insurance benefits will go up by $25 a week. Social Security recipients will get a one-time $250 bonus. Food stamp benefits will increase 14 percent. All those funds will be spent locally. More people will be made eligible for Medicaid, the government-paid health insurance program for the poor. A House-passed provision to let un- employed workers get into Medicaid was scrapped in the final version. In- stead, the government will pick up the tab for 60 percent of COBRA premi- ums. COBRA is the acronym for the law that lets laid-off workers keep em- ployer-sponsored health coverage — by paying for it themselves. Problem is, monthly premiums average $388 for in- dividuals and $1,069 for family cover- age, while monthly unemployment ben- efits average $1,278. Odds are that Local Motion January 2009 Union certifications and decertifications in Oregon and Southwest Washington, as reported by the National Labor Relations Board and the Oregon Employment Relations Board Recognition elections Results: Name of employer Date Name of union Location Union Union Yes No Crook County Sheriff’s Department 1/6 CC Deputy Sheriffs Assn. Prineville 16 0 White Bird Dance 1/7 IATSE Local 28 8 0 14 2 2 1 0 7 Kaiser Foundation Hospitals 1/9 SEIU Local 49 Portland Clackamas Albertsons (lobby) 1/21 UFCW Local 555 Roseburg Mercy Flights ( DECERTIFICATION ) 1/30 Teamsters Local 962 Medford many of the jobless still will be unable to afford the insurance. The package also contains: $100 bil- lion for local education grants; $15.6 billion for Pell Grants for college tu- ition; $4 billion for job training; $16.8 billion for energy efficiency and renew- able energy; $11 billion for medical re- search; $7 billion for scientific research; $300 million to buy domestically pro- duced hybrids for the federal govern- ment vehicle fleet; and $1 billion for checked baggage explosives detection systems in airports. It increases the borrowing authority of Bonneville Power Administration by $3.25 billion, which the federal power agency will use for new electricity in- frastructure in the Pacific Northwest. It provides $515 million funding for a “Jobs in the Woods” program to pre- vent forest fires by thinning overgrown second growth forests. Oregon is likely to get a good share of those funds, and the thinning will make merchantable timber available for milling. There’s $27.5 billion for highway and bridge work; $8 billion to build high-speed rail; $7 billion for water projects; $6.9 billion for mass transit; $6 billion for environmental cleanup at for- mer weapon production and energy re- search sites; $4.7 billion to bring broad- band internet to rural areas; $4.6 billion for Army Corps of Engineers work; $4.5 billion to convert federally owned buildings to High-Performance Green buildings; $4 billion to retrofit public housing; $1 billion to construct and ren- ovate research facilities, and on and on. In each case, federal agencies are ex- pected to spend the money on projects that can begin quickly and result in high, immediate employment. And all iron, steel, and manufactured goods used in any infrastructure project funded by the package will have to be produced in the United States — thanks to a “Buy America” provision that unions, partic- ularly the United Steelworkers, fought hard for. Labor leaders applauded Congress for taking action, but warned that more will be needed. Laborers International Union President Terence O’Sullivan said the package provides “only a frac- tion of the $2.2 trillion our transporta- tion systems, energy systems and schoolhouses need. The plan is a leap forward, but it cannot become a ‘we al- ready gave’ sign that blocks sorely needed resources, leading to continued deterioration of the basics of our coun- try and our economy.” U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) put it this way at the Feb. 16 press confer- ence: “If you’re a worker and you’ve been laid off, you’re not in a downturn, you’re in a free-fall. This may not show us where the bottom is, but it definitely stops the free-fall.” Business-labor-group to hold lobby day in Salem for LNGs SALEM — Energy Action North- west, an alliance of business and labor groups formed last year to advocate for responsible energy development in Oregon and Washington, will hold a “Day at the State Capitol” Friday, March 6, in Salem. Display booths will be set up in the Capitol’s Galleria, and union members will have an opportunity to lobby law- makers and leaflet passersby about the need for job creation through invest- ment in energy infrastructure projects. Energy Action Northwest is a pro- ponent of proposed liquefied natural gas terminals and pipelines, including one at Bradwood Landing near Astoria. “We have ample space for any num- ber of unions that wish to participate in the lobby day,” said Tom Ivancie, di- rector of public affairs. To set up a union booth or to register to lobby, call Ivancie at 503-595-1232 or e-mail him at tivancie@EnergyActionNW.org. Members of Energy Action argue that building the LNG terminal in As- toria will provide significant short-term economic stimulus without any tax- payer dollars. Additionally, the project will assure continued access to reli- able, reasonably priced supplies of nat- ural gas to power the electric grid, the manufacturing sector, and to heat homes. The lobby day is part of Energy Ac- tion’s “Truth Offensive” campaign to rebut claims by environmental groups that LNG plants are unnecessary. Requests for recognition election Name of employer Name of union Petermann ( DECERTIFICATION ) Teamsters Local 58 Safeway United Food & Commercial Workers Local 555 Location Number of employees Battle Ground 146 Burns 46 First Student Teamsters Local 962 Medford 117 Aramark Linen Service Teamsters Local 962 Medford 11 Hoodview Vending Association of Western Pulp and Paper Workers Tualatin 10 Vancouver Southwest Washington Medical Center (surgical techs) 117 Office & Professional Employees International Union Local 11 Pro-Tec Fire Service Teamsters Local 962 Medford 117 Providence St. Vincent Medical Center Oregon Nurses Association Portland 200 PAGE 8 NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS FEBRUARY 20, 2009
