August 21, 2009:NWLP
8/19/09
11:26 AM
Page 5
Republican Party leader Steele steals
Steelworkers identity on Facebook
Congressman pays tribute to O’Connor
Oregon Congressman David Wu made a surprise visit to the offices of the
Northwest Oregon Labor Council Aug. 11 to present a plaque to Executive
Secretary-Treasurer Judy O’Connor that contained a statement he read into
the Congressional Record July 21 honoring her service to the Oregon labor
community. O’Connor is retiring at the end of August after 11 years at the
helm of the state’s largest central labor council. She is a 27-year member of
Office and Professional Employees Local 11. Wu’s tribute described
O’Connor as a “tireless activist for union causes. She volunteered for political
campaigns, coordinated the council's Speakers in the Schools program, and
appeared before the Oregon Legislature to testify for improved job safety.
During her tenure she has led over 100 constituent unions in promoting
workers’ rights through times of economic growth and decline.”
Labor is accustomed to phony
claims from phony marketers assert-
ing their union ties without justifica-
tion.
But Rich Kline, president of the
AFL-CIO’s Union Label and Service
Trades Department, finds it somewhat
astounding that Republican National
Committee Chairman Michael Steele
has usurped the United Steelworkers’
identity and set up an RNC fundrais-
ing page on Facebook claiming to be,
get this, the United STEELE Workers
Union. He even has a hardhat donning
an American flag sticker prominent on
the page.
“Here’s the head of the famously
anti-union Republican Party posing as
the Steelworkers Union,” Kline says.
“Is this a case of mistaken identity? A
case of identity theft? Wishful think-
ing? A psychological aberration?”
Kline says that if Michael Steele
wants to be a union wannabe, let him
speak up for the Employee Free
Choice Act. Let him lend his weight
and his prodigious verbal talents to
the campaign for universal health
care. Let him call for the dismissal of
former President Bush’s holdovers in
the Labor Department who still want
to undermine worker safety and health
provisions and want to discredit labor
organizations.
Steele’s so-called workers’ union
has these aims:
• To help Steele “get the GOP
moving for the 2010-2012 elections
and beyond.”
• To be a grassroots force ready “to
answer the call from Mr. Steele.”
• To organize.
• To campaign.
• To “fight to win our country
back.”
What?! They will fight to win their
country back. “Aren’t they the people
who ran the country into the ground?”
Klines asked. “Didn’t they and their
cronies engineer the disassembly of
the social safety net, economic stabil-
ity, international reputation and finan-
cial integrity of the United States?”
Kline and the AFL-CIO maintain
that Steele and his crowd shouldn’t be
entrusted with the management of a
sandbox. And they shouldn’t be al-
lowed to commandeer the name of a
proud labor organization.
JC Penney ‘American Made’
T-shirts actually made in Mexico
Most union members would assume that a T-shirt lettered “AMER-
ICAN MADE” across its chest would be made in America. But that’s
not the case with JC Penney’s T-shirts so decorated. It’s made in Mex-
ico, reports Rich Kline, president of the AFL-CIO’s Union Label and
Service Trades Department.
When a 78-year-old retired clothing manufacturer discovered this,
he was incensed. It seems that Joe Allen’s company was driven out of
business by unfair foreign competition.
Allen brought the matter to the attention of the Alliance for Amer-
ican Manufacturing, which contacted JC Penney.
Penney’s spokesperson replied to the AAM that “American Made”
refers to the wearer of the garment, not the shirt.
JC Penney told Business Week the shirt will remain on store
shelves throughout the summer. Penney’s says the T-shirt is “intended
to evoke our American lifestyle and pride in being American.” Huh?!
If you want to share your views on this with JC Penney, please call
Kelly Sanchez at 972-431-3961 or email her at ksanch18@jcpenney.
com. If you prefer, contact Myron Ullman, JCPenney CEO, at 972-
431-8200.
Call 503-288-3311
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