August 21, 2009:NWLP
8/19/09
11:26 AM
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Labor Day Picnics
Monday, Sept. 7, 2009
Bend — Labor Day Picnic at Pioneer Park in Bend. Noon – 5 p.m. Spon-
sored by the Central Oregon Central Labor Council. Contact Steve Williamsen at
541-647-2350 or Jerry Fletcher at 541-350-0265 for more information.
Eugene/Springfield — Labor Day Picnic at Jasper Park in Spring-
field/Pleasant Hill. 12 Noon. Sponsored by the Lane County Central Labor Coun-
cil. Contact Pat Riggs-Henson at 541-914-6928 or Cj Mann at 541-913-0056
for more information.
Medford — Labor Day Picnic at TouVelle State Park in White City. 11 a.m.
– to dusk. Sponsored by the Southern Oregon Central Labor Council. Call Kathy
McUne at 541-664-0804 for more information.
North Bend — Labor Day Picnic at Ferry Road Park in North Bend. 11 a.m.
– 2 p.m. Sponsored by the Southwestern Oregon Central Labor Council. Call
Shawn Jennings at 541-396-3244 or e-mail at shawngj@msn.com for more in-
formation.
Portland — Labor Day Picnic at Oaks Amusement Park in Southeast Port-
land. 10 a.m.–5 p.m. The Labor Council will sell food scrip for 25 cents each.
Three scrip will get you a hot dog and chips, two scrip a soda pop, and six scrip
a beer. A deluxe bracelet for carnival rides costs $8.75. The ride bracelet also in-
cludes admission to the roller skating rink. Guest speakers from 1 to 2 p.m. and
pro wrestling matches will be featured throughout the day. Sponsored by the
Northwest Oregon Labor Council. Call 503-235-9444 for more information or to
order scrip.
Court backs newspaper
employees in e-mail case
By JAMES PARKS
It took nine years, but workers at the Eugene
Register-Guard newspaper finally won the right
to use company e-mail to discuss union busi-
ness.
In a sharply worded ruling, the U.S. Court of
Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit on
July 7 overturned a National Labor Relations
Board (NLRB) decision that the company did
not break federal labor laws in 2000, when man-
agement disciplined the president of The News-
paper Guild Local 37194 for using the com-
pany’s e-mail system to send three e-mail
messages about Guild business. The messages
were sent after work hours.
Local 37194 is an affiliate of Communica-
tions Workers of America.
The Guild filed unfair labor practice charges,
but the then Bush-dominated NLRB sided with
the company regarding two of the e-mail mes-
sages. The appeals court overturned that ruling.
The company claimed that e-mail could only
be used for business purposes, but the Guild
showed that the company’s e-mail system was
used by both employees and managers for a
wide assortment of news — from baby shower
invitations to requests for United Way volun-
teers.
The appellate judges had some sharp words
for the Register-Guard’s union-busting lawyer
Michael Zinser. The decision characterized
Zinser’s arguments as “simply more distortion
than the words can bear.”
The judges also criticized the NLRB, saying
its rationale smacked of “a post hoc invention.”
Union President Bernie Lunzer applauded
the ruling. “The court’s decision made it clear
that the company had discriminated based on
union activity. I was at the Court of Appeals
when Michael Zinser presented his case, and a
jury of kindergarteners could have seen through
it. He tried to argue that the union was a special
case and could be barred from communicating
by company e-mail, even though everyone else
was allowed to use it freely.”
(Editor’s Note: James Parks writes for the na-
tional AFL-CIO Now BlogNews.)
Largely because of rising costs, nearly 50 million people in the United States —
including 8.7 million children — have no health coverage at all.
More than one-third of people who have insurance worry about losing it. Even
union workers, who have led the way in securing health benefits for working
people, are in danger of losing health coverage because of out-of-control costs.
Salem — Oregon State Fair. The Oregon AFL-CIO labor booth in the central
canopy area continues to be staffed with union volunteers during the entire two
weeks of the fair, including Labor Day.
Facts About Americaʼs Broken
Health Care System, AFL-CIO
PAGE 8
Facts About Americaʼs Broken Health Care System,
AFL-CIO
NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS
AUGUST 21, 2009