Jan. 7, 2011:NWLP
1/4/11
9:59 AM
Open
Forum
Rioting in streets
won’t help cause
To The Editor:
In regard to the column written by
Oregon AFL-CIO President Tom
Chamberlain in the Dec. 17 edition of
the Labor Press, I would like to make a
few comments:
Next year I will have been a union
member for 50 years. I am retired now.
I’ve also been a registered Democrat all
my life.
I believe in unions because they
help the little people, but I think Mr.
Chamberlain is way off base by hint-
ing that people here should cause the
kind of trouble that those nuts over in
the U.K. and Europe are causing.
Rioting in the streets does not help
any cause, in my opinion.
John Schell
Bricklayers Local 1, Retired
Portland
Page 10
Thank you, Clackamas County
To the Editor:
As the head of an organization which
represents 15,000 construction workers
in the area, I recently attended a series
of three public hearings at Clackamas
County for a $5 vehicle registration fee
to help pay for the replacement of the
Sellwood Bridge. A now decrepit struc-
ture built in 1925, the bridge forms a
critical link in the region’s transportation
system and serves as an economic life-
line to many businesses in North
Clackamas County and is critical for the
future development of the area.
Aside from the urgent need to re-
place the bridge for safety reasons, there
is also an opportunity to spur the
county’s economy — both immediately
with the construction phase and into the
future by providing a viable transporta-
tion path into prime undeveloped com-
mercial and industrial property in the
county.
The hearings drew a crowd typical
of the times, with those against point-
ing out the bridge is outside Clackamas
County and would add to existing auto
registration fees. Those in favor of re-
placement were quick to show the
bridge lies only a mile outside the
county line, but most of the traffic on it
is to or from Clackamas County and the
economic benefits to the whole county
far outweighed the small cost. The price
Actions of Kulongoski, Nesbitt irresponsible
To The Editor:
AFSCME's Ken Allen is absolutely
right about Gov. Kulongoski’s attack
on public workers as he heads out the
door. It is very irresponsible, and it is
especially appalling that Kulongoski’s
sidekick in this attack is Tim Nesbitt,
former president of the Oregon AFL-
CIO and former officer of the Service
Employees International Union. Dues-
paying pubic workers paid Nesbitt’s
salary for many years. What a shameful
betrayal. I guess he misheard labor’s
anthem all those years and was singing
“Solidarity, whatever.”
Michael Funke
United Steelworkers
Bend
Top Laborers official responds to 9/11 bill
(Statement of Terry O’Sullivan, gen-
eral president of the Laborers’ Interna-
tional Union of North America, follow-
ing the passage and signing of the
James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Com-
pensation Act.)
“President Obama’s signature caps
off an incredible effort to make sure the
men and women who helped America
during some of her darkest hours, and
sacrificed so much in the process, re-
ceive the respect and support they de-
serve.
“Over 3,000 Laborers Union mem-
bers were involved in the response and
clean-up at the site of the World Trade
Center. Many now suffer daily and face
life-threatening illnesses due to expo-
sure to toxins at Ground Zero. Helping
them get the treatment they need is the
right thing to do, and we are grateful to
the leaders in Congress in both parties
who worked until the last minute to
make sure this bill became law.
“This bill has been a priority of La-
borers Union members for years. In re-
cent weeks, they made call after call,
and sent thousands of e-mails, to mem-
bers of Congress in a successful effort
to overcome an indefensible obstruc-
tion campaign mounted by a handful of
Senate Republicans. By keeping a spot-
light on this important issue, they
helped ensure success when many pre-
dicted failure.
“By helping these 9/11 heroes, we
have shown that America will help
those who help their country. This vic-
tory should show all of us why we must
continue fighting to support those who
build our country.”
NLRB proposes rule to inform more
workers of their rights on the job
WASHINGTON, D.C. (PAI) —
The National Labor Relations Board
(NLRB) voted 3-1 on Dec. 22 to pro-
pose a rule requiring businesses to post
permanent workers’ rights notices.
If approved, the permanent notices
would inform workers of their rights to
organize and bargain collectively, and
to be free of illegal employer interfer-
ence. The notices also would give ex-
amples of labor law-breaking that com-
panies should avoid.
Companies with federal contracts
now must post that notice with those
details, the NLRB said. And the NLRB
noted that employers must already post
notices regarding federal wage, job
safety and anti-discrimination laws.
“The intended effects of this action
are to increase knowledge of the
PAGE 10
NLRA (National Labor Relations Act)
among employees, to better enable the
exercise of rights under the statute, and
to promote statutory compliance by
employers and unions,” the Board said.
“Private-sector employers, includ-
ing labor organizations, whose work-
places fall under the NLRA would be
required to post the employee rights
notice where other workplace notices
are typically posted. If an employer
communicates with employees prima-
rily by e-mail or other electronic
means, the notice would be posted
electronically as well,” the NRLB
added.
Employers who knowingly refuse to
post the notices would be guilty of an
unfair labor practice, but would face no
penalties.
The Board’s proposal is far from the
last word on the issue. The NLRB
opened the rule for public comment un-
til Feb. 22. The dissenter on the deci-
sion, former Republican Senate Labor
Committee staffer Brian Hayes, said
the agency “lacked the statutory au-
thority” to even propose the notice-
posting rule.
AFL-CIO President Richard
Trumka called the proposal “a com-
mon-sense policy needed in today’s
workplace. Every working person de-
serves to know his or her rights ... It is
necessary in the face of widespread
misunderstanding about the law and
many workers’ justified fear of exercis-
ing their rights under it.”
NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS
of a cup of coffee a year, as one person
put it.
Torn between two responsibilities,
commissioners voted 4-0 in favor and
added a resolution that, among other
things, caps the amount to be con-
tributed ($22 million), confines the pur-
pose (Sellwood Bridge replacement
only), and requires labor and materials
to be as locally sourced as legally pos-
sible.
E
E
FR
The Columbia Pacific Building and
Construction Trades Trades Council
supports the decision by the commis-
sioners to pass the vehicle registration
fee and congratulates them for the at-
tending resolution limiting the cost and
intent while creating thousand of jobs.
Paul Riggs
Secretary-Treasurer
CPBCTC
Portland
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
A UTOMOTIVE
1982-3 XT YAMAHA front end, rear and
front wheels with brakes, axles, frame, 650
Triumph gaskets, TT pipes. 503-623-8873
Dallas Ore.
’86 BMC SUBURBAN, 4x4, lifted, rebuilt
454 fuel injected, new tires, barn doors, all
or parts, $1,000. 503-437-1890
’47 CHEV 4dr, $2,000; ’52 Ford 4dr,
$4,000. 503-289-0066 (Ed, Sr.)
trailer, air, newer tires, no leaks or bad floor,
excellent shape, $2,500. 503-852-6791
M ISCELLANEOUS
GENERATOR TRANSFER switches, 200
amp, 60 amp, or 30 amp, transfer panel,
reasonable. 503-324-3941
AIR COMPRESSOR, Ingersoll T-30, 5hr
S. phs, vertical, like new w/new single ph
motor, $1,450. 503-643-6897
H OUSING
LINCOLN CITY vacation rental, 3 bdrm, 2
bath, $90/night, sleeps 8, 2 blocks to
beach, 4 blocks to casino. 503-804-7976
ROCKAWAY ocean front 503-777-5076
http://home.comcast.net/~rockaway.beach
5 bdrms, 2 bath, call for winter special!
ROCKAWAY BEACH vacation rental, 3
bed, 2 bath, sleeps 10, 4 blocks to
beach/shops. 503-754-6101
HUGE 1 BED basement apt, all utilities, no
smoke/pets, really nice, 1st and last, $600.
503-285-9857 or jjburns@q.com.
BANDON, OR vacation rental, 3 bedroom,
2 bath, 2 blocks to beach, $150/night. 541-
391-9918
S PORTING G OODS
30-FOOT 1976 HOLIDAY RAMBLER
W ANTED
JUNK CARS, cash for some, 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
MOTORCYCLES street, dirt, parts, maga-
zines, cash paid. 503-880-8183
COLLECTOR PAYS cash for older toys, oil
paintings, art pottery, taxco silver and
unique items. 503-703-5952
SILVER COINS, US and Canadian, union
brother collector pays top money for all
small amounts. 503-806-6287
US, GERMAN, Japanese military items,
hats, uniforms, medals, rifles, pistols, flags,
etc, Civil War to Vietnam. 503-852-6791
JANUARY 7, 2011