Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Northwest labor press. (Portland , Ore.) 1987-current | View Entire Issue (March 18, 2011)
NWLP-03-18-11:NWLP 3/15/11 10:16 AM Page 10 ...Recall effort underway in Wisconsin (From Page 1) state senators who favor stripping pub- lic employees of bargaining rights. Under Wisconsin law, elected repre- sentatives can face recall after one year in office. Recall supporters have 60 days to gather signatures from district residents who are eligible to vote. They must gather a number equal to 25 per- cent of votes the district cast for gover- nor in the most recent election. That works out to 15,000 to 20,000 valid sig- natures in each district. The campaign filed papers March 3 to begin the recall of all eight Republican senators who have been in office a year. Five of the eight are in strongly Re- publican districts, but the other three won office by small voter margins. If just three are recalled, the Republicans would lose their majority in the Senate. Within days, MoveOn.org and Pro- gressive Change Campaign Committee had collected up to $2 million to fund the recall. The donations are funding television ads in Wisconsin and paying for a door-to-door signature gathering effort. In every one of the eight districts, recall campaign offices have opened and canvasses are under way. A web site, recalltherepublican8.com, helps coordinate support. Once the campaigns meet signature- gathering targets, it would take elections officials about a month to check signa- tures and set an election date. Those seeking the recall will also have to put forward their own candidates. The re- call elections would likely occur mid- summer. Taking back the Senate would be only the first step. It would be enough to stop Walker from passing more of his agenda, but not enough to reverse what- ever Republicans are able to pass before then, because Republicans would still control the state assembly. Walker himself can be recalled in early 2012, and opponents are already planning for that. That campaign can’t start officially until Jan. 26, 2012, but organizers are signing up people now who are willing to sign petition then. On March 9, Wisconsin Republicans mounted a surprise attack. All along, Gov. Walker and supporters insisted that taking away collective bargaining rights was a measure needed to balance the state budget, because only then could unilateral cuts be made to public employee wages and benefits. Senate rules require a three-fifths quorum to vote on bills that have a fiscal impact, but only a simple majority quorum on bills that don’t. Republican leaders stripped the pension and health care cuts from the original bill, and reintro- duced just those provisions stripping bargaining rights, saying it didn’t have a fiscal impact after all, and therefore did- n’t require the missing Democratic sen- ators to be present. Without hearing or public notice, the new bill quickly passed. As many as 7,000 protesters charged to the Capitol by nightfall. The state assembly would have to vote to concur, but on March 10, they had trouble getting into the Capitol, be- cause it was surrounded by protesters and locked down by police. Eventually, assembly Republicans held the vote, and passed it over howls of protest by Democratic assembly members. Democratic senators began returning from Illinois. And protests roared back, culminating in the biggest-yet rally in Madison of over 100,000 March 12. About 200 farmers joined in, with 50 tractors parading down the streets of Madison. Walker signed the legislation. But for it to take effect, it must be published by the Wisconsin secretary of state. De- mocrat Doug LaFollete has up to 10 business days to do that. It’s expected the law will take effect March 25. When that happens, unions repre- senting nurses at the University of Wis- consin hospital and University of Wis- consin graduate assistants will no longer be legally recognized. Union dues for all public employees will be- come voluntary. And the state will stop collecting union dues, whether mem- bers want to pay them or not. The first annual elections will then be held in April in all 30 state employee bargain- ing units — to see if workers want to go nonunion. Under the new law, unions will be able to bargain only over wages, and can not bargain increases higher than the increase in the cost-of-living. Up to now, Walker has not engaged in any bargaining with unions. There’s been some talk of general strike, but thus far, there’s been no sig- nificant call for one. Dominique Paul Noth, editor of the Milwaukie Labor Press, says the concern is that a general strike might play into Walker’s hands if it gets too chaotic. The closest thing so far is a call by the president of Commu- nications Workers of America, endorsed by the AFL-CIO Executive Board, for a “movement-wide dramatic action” April 4, the anniversary of the death of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Readers wishing to support the Wis- consin fightback struggle can make do- nations online at www.wisaflcio.org or send checks to the Wisconsin State AFL-CIO Defense Fund, 6333 W. Blue Mound Rd., Milwaukee, WI 53213. On the memo line write: STAND WITH WISCONSIN. BARGAIN COUNTER EE R F 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 LEER CANOPY fits 1998 Dodge slt col. driftwood like new w/ port, ladder rack $750 obo. 503-653-1044 ‘96 FORD EXPLORER, loaded, new tires, new trans, runs excellent, $3,695 obo. 503- 657-1206 ALLOY RIMS, factory GM, 16”- 6-hole, like new, $100. 503-349-5005 ’47 CHEV 4 dr, $2,000; ’52 Ford, 4dr, $3,500. 503-289-0066 H OUSING LINCOLN CITY vacation rental, 3 bdrm, 2 bath, $95/night, sleeps 8, wi-fi, 2 blocks to beach, 4 blocks to casino. 503-804-7976 ROCKAWAY BEACH vacation rental, 3 bed, 2 bath, sleeps 10, 4 blocks to beach/shops. 503-754-6101 or 236-7004 GOLF ANYONE? Bandon, OR vacation rental, 3 bedroom 2 bath, 2 blocks to beach $150/night 541-391-9918. ROCKAWAY ocean front, 503-777-5076, right on the beach, only sand and surf, 5 bdrms, 2 bath, call for winter special WHAT WOULD YOU DO if you won a home? contest runs until March 31, go to winhomeforalaugh.com. 206-497-5216 LEASE HOUSE, 4 bed, 2 bath, yard, garage, pets okay, Reed College area, de- posits, $1,950/month. 503-502-1266 M ISCELLANEOUS 15 FT SYLVAN YUKON, 30hp Honda 4st tiller elect start, 46 lb Minn Kota, 2 batt, bi- mini, lights, $5,200, 503-658 5043 ELECTRIC MOTOR single PH, new 3450 RPM, 5 hr, $240 - $495. 503 643-6897 FLOOR JACK, 2 spd screw drive w/telescoping rods for cranking, $30; Delco electric motor, 1725 RMP, 3 amp, 47.50. 503 753-1714. SONY 7.1 channel home theatre receiver; Venturi speakers (left, right, cen- ter),Yamaha subwoofer, $450. 503-669- 5324 W ANTED MOTORCYCLES — dirt, street, mopeds, quads, parts, cash paid, will pick up. 503- 880-8183 JUNK CARS, removal of unwanted cars and pickups. 503-314-8600 COLLECTOR PAYS cash for Indian blan- kets, older toys, oil paintings, art pottery, and unique items. 503-703-5952 OLD WOODWORKING tools, planes, lev- els, chisels, handsaws, slicks, adzes, wrenches, folding rulers, leather tools, tool chests. 503-659-0009 SILVER COINS, US and Canadian, union brother collector pays top money for all small amounts. 503-806-6287 COLLECTOR, WWII German or Japan- ese military items, helmets, uniforms, swords, daggers, rifles, pistols, etc. 503 852-6791 S PORTING G OODS ‘86 BAYLINER CAPRI, 16 ft, 4 cyl, 3.0 130 hp, always maintained, great gas mileage fishing or pleasure $3,200. 503-701-3627 ELECTRIC DOWNRIGGER Cannon Digi- Troll II, used once, incl ball and boat mount, $500 OBO. 503 252-2136 16’ CLIPPER CRAFT boat, 2 28hp elec- tric start Evinrudes, w/EZ lift trailer, $1,500. 503 245-2026 F OR T HE H OME DESERT ROSE, Franciscan china, USA backstamp, pink roses, over $2,000 worth, sell for $1,000. 503 286-3258 KOHLER CAST iron tub, sink, and toilet, mauve, like new, Moen Hardware, $600. 360-849-4544 • Investment Consulting/Monitoring for Union Pension Plans only. • Many years of experience actually managing Pension Fund money. • Providing tactical asset allocation. Asset allocation produces 80% of the investment return in your Fund. 503-227-2895 T ERRY G. H ANNON P RESIDENT PAGE 10 NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS E-Mail: solidarity2@earthlink.net MARCH 18, 2011
