JUNE 5, 2009:NWLP
6/2/09
10:18 AM
Page 10
...Potential danger of job loss
(From Page 1)
Bob Baugh, executive director of
the national AFL-CIO’s Industrial
Union Council, said framers of the
bill took seriously union concerns that
the response to global warming not
lead to further offshoring.
Waxman held a series of hearings
on the bill in late April, and invited
testimony from representatives of or-
ganized labor, including United Auto
Workers, United Steelworkers, United
Mine Workers, and the union-backed
groups Apollo Alliance and Blue-
Green Alliance. [The Blue Green Al-
liance is a coalition of United Steel-
workers, the Sierra Club, the Laborers
Union, the Natural Resources Defense
Council (NRDC), the Communica-
tions Workers of America (CWA), and
the Service Employees International
Union (SEIU).]
“Global warming is already de-
stroying the livelihood of workers
everywhere,” testified Yvette Pena, di-
rector of legislation at the Blue Green
Alliance. “For example, thousands of
Steelworkers who used to make alu-
minum in the Pacific Northwest have
lost their jobs because years of declin-
ing snowfalls in the Cascade Moun-
tains meant less water in reservoirs
and higher-cost electricity from the
mighty dams that Henry Kaiser built
more than 60 years ago.”
But Pena cautioned members of
Congress that any action to restrain
greenhouse gas emissions has to do
something to prevent polluting indus-
try from simply jumping borders.
“A ton of steel manufactured in the
U.S. today results in one ton of carbon
emissions,” Pena said. “A ton of steel
manufactured in China results in 2.5
tons of emissions. It would be a
tragedy for both workers and the envi-
ronment if our solution to global
warming resulted in closing U.S. steel
mills and importing needed steel
products from China.”
Baugh said the bill ended up listen-
ing to that concern, and incorporating
a number of provisions important to
working people, including some taken
directly from drafts written by AFL-
CIO staff.
• To guard against competition
from countries that aren’t limiting
greenhouse gas emissions, 15 percent
of the allowances would be given to
companies in trade-sensitive indus-
tries; proceeds from the sale of these
allowances would pay to install tech-
nology to reduce emissions. Also, im-
porters of energy-intensive products
made in countries that don’t have
equivalent greenhouse gas limitations
would have to purchase allowances
before selling into the U.S. market.
• Workers who lose jobs as a result
of the law would get up to three years
of benefits, including 70 percent of
their wages and 80 percent of the cost
of their health benefits; this would be
funded by giving the Department of
Labor 0.5 percent of the greenhouse
gas emission allowances, which
would be sold into the new carbon
market, earning $400 million to $800
million a year.
• A “cash for clunkers” program
would incentivize consumers to scrap
older, less fuel efficient vehicles and
purchase new vehicles with better fuel
economy.
• The federal government would
make major investments into research
and development of “carbon capture
and sequestration” — technology to
catch carbon dioxide exhaust and bury
it underground.
• Private construction projects get-
ting public subsidy would pay work-
ers the federal “prevailing wage.”
The bill’s sponsors also heeded
AFL-CIO cautions about creating an
unregulated market in greenhouse gas
allowances — the “trade” part of “cap
and trade.” Instead the market would
be regulated to prevent speculative
abuses.
The bill passed the House Energy
and Commerce May 21 and is ex-
pected to go to the House floor this
month.
In Oregon, one group of union
workers may be especially vulnerable
— the 80 or so members of Interna-
tional Brotherhood of Electrical
Workers (IBEW) Local 125 who
work at PGE’s 550 megawatt coal-
fired electricity plant in Boardman,
Oregon. It’s an old plant by industry
standards, built in the mid 1970s. To
comply with already-existing Clean
Air Act requirements, PGE has to
make a decision — close the plant, or
install hundreds of millions of dollars
worth of scrubbers. The company says
it is reluctant to install scrubbers if a
new framework on greenhouse gases
might make the plant too expensive to
(Turn to Page 12)
E
E
FR
BARGAIN COUNTER
Free classified ads to subscribers
DEADLINE: Friday prior to publication
Published 1st and 3rd Fridays
Now accepting e-mails
Send to: Michael492@comcast.net
Mail to: NWLP, PO Box 13150, Portland OR 97213
(Please include union affiliation)
• 15-20 words • No commercial or business ads • 1 ad per issue
• All lower case (NO CAPITAL LETTERS, PLEASE) •
Ads MUST include area code or they will not be published
Automotive
1988-92 HOOD for F250 truck $100; sway
bar, 1988 F250 Ford truck, $80. 503 761-
1190
Housing
ROCKAWAY OCEAN FRONT, 5 bdrms, 2
ba, best rental on the coast! 503 777-5076
http://home.comcast.net/~rockaway.beach
SEASIDE VACATION rental, 2bdrm, 1
bath, sleeps 6, fully equipped, summer
pricing $125/nite + dep. close to beach/ at-
tractions, call Mike 503 667-4097
ROCKAWAY BEACH house, 3 bd, 2 bath,
sleeps 10, Jacuzzi tub, all amenities. 503
236-7004 or 1 503 355-2136
ROCKAWAY BEACH vacation home, 3
bed, sleeps 8, beachfront, all amenities,
$200/nite. 503 842-9607
Wanted
ELECTRONIC PINBALL machines
wanted, call 503 649-2951 with what you
have.
MOTORCYCLES, running or not, also mu-
sical instruments, cash paid 503 880-8183
JUNK CARS, free removal of unwanted
cars and pickups. 503 314 8600
OLD WOODWORKING tools, planes, lev-
els, chisels, handsaws, slicks, adzes,
wrenches, folding rulers, leather tools, tool
chests. 503-659-0009
COLLECTOR PAYS cash for older unique
and unusual items, antiques. 503 653-
1506
For the Home
ENTERTAINMENT CENTER, 2 storage
compartments w/doors, component
shelves w/glass door, on casters. excellent
cond. $35. 503 775-0379
TROY-BILT horse garden tiller, 7hp Kohler
engine, 20" tilling width, $600. Call Jim,
503-706-4557
RATTAN PATIO SET, glass top, $50 or of-
fer. 503 956-1022
TWIN SIZE hide-a-bed, tan, good condi-
tion, $100. 360 687-3385
SOFA, COFFEE and end tables, glass
tops, fruit wood, you haul, $175. 503 254-
3587
Sporting Goods
2005 JAYCO JAYFLIGHT 5th wheel, 28.5
RLS, has big slide, used only 8 times.
$19,000 obo. 503 646-9802
’72 CAVEMAN CAMPER, 2 extra rebuilt
jacks, $350. 541 544-2030
’84 KOMFORT TRAVEL trailer, 22/8, well-
maintained, $2,000 (firm). 360 887-1142
GOLF CLUBS, Top Flite, left-handed, pull
cart, bag, putter, $75. 503 669-5324
Miscellaneous
Rain Forest Boots
Made in America!
Try a pair on, you’ll like them.
Tough boots for the Northwest.
ALʼS SHOES
5811 SE 82nd, Portland 503-771-2130
BOYSENBERRY PLANTS, $3 each, call
Dan at 360 910-0868 or 360 737-2398
STAMP ALBUM,”The all American stamp
album,” new not used, also numerous
loose stamps, both American and Cana-
dian, $25. 503 771-4543
MILLERMATIC TIG 200, tank and gauges,
ready to weld, $1,125. 503 643-6897
ARMSTRONG VERNAY style self-stick
vinyl floor tile, 450 square feet, 12 x 12, 10
ctn lot, $55. 503 246-2737
Mon-Fri 10-7:30 Sat 10-5:30 Sun 12-6
HEMORRHOIDS
The Non-Surgical Treatment
Keesey Technique Since 1954
THE SANDY BLVD. CLINIC PORTLAND
503-232-7609 or toll free @ 888-750-1432
Visist us @ www.sandyclinic.com • E-mail: sandyclinic@aol.com
Steven G. Cranford, DC, ND
We also treat anal fissure’s fistula/absess disease and severe itching.
2026 NE SANDY BLVD., PORTLAND, OR 97232
PAGE 10
NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS
JUNE 5, 2009