Northwest labor press., April 01, 2011, Page 7, Image 7

APRIL 1, 2011:NWLP
3/29/11
10:10 AM
Page 7
Oregon Legislature passes
unemployment extension
SALEM — Oregon Gov. John
Kitzhaber signed two bills March 24
that will extend unemployment bene-
fits to Oregonians still looking for
work.
Senate Bill 637 passed unanimously
in both the House and Senate. It allows
Oregon to use $225 million in federal
funds to extend unemployment benefits
for 20 weeks. Nearly 50,000 Oregoni-
ans will be eligible to receive the addi-
tional benefits by the end of the year.
SB 638 passed the Democratic-
controlled Senate 26-4 and the evenly
split House (30 Democrats and 30 Re-
publicans) by a 49-9 margin. The bill
taps $26 million from the State Unem-
ployment Trust Fund to extend benefits
for six additional weeks. This money
will go to an estimated 17,500 Oregon
workers whose benefits would other-
wise expire this month.
Both bills were supported by organ-
ized labor.
State Rep. Brad Witt (D-Clatskanie),
a union representative of United Food
and Commercial Workers Local 555,
gave an impassioned speech on the
House Floor in favor of the bills.
Witt said he was moved to speak af-
ter remarks from opponents of the bill
who questioned the willingness and
ability of unemployed Oregonians to
find work, stated that many lack the
skills necessary to earn a job, referred
to unemployment checks as handouts
and speculated that some recipients of
unemployment benefits are drug users.
“I represent a district which is by-
and-large rural and working class in na-
ture,” Witt said. “The people who live
there define themselves as individuals,
define their own personal dignity and
define their family heritage as workers
and working class. If there was work to
be had, they would be doing that.
“It is not a matter of not wanting to
work,” Witt continued. “There is sim-
ply not enough work for those who
want it. That is why we have an unem-
ployment system, and I am grateful for
those of you who support it.”
Last month, 9,800 private sector
jobs were added to the Oregon econ-
omy, but the unemployment rate still
lingers above 10 percent statewide, and
in the high teens in many rural coun-
ties.
“Although we are on the path to
economic recovery, there are thousands
of Oregonians who are still struggling,”
Kitzhaber said. “Extending unemploy-
ment benefits is a lifeline to people in
need right now.”
Unions raise $15,995 for MDA
All tallies are in, and union members collected a whop-
ping $15,995 for the Muscular Dystrophy Association at the
22nd annual Labor Bowl Challenge. Since the event’s in-
ception in 1989, union members have donated $327,823.75
to MDA.
Money is raised through pledges and from a silent auc-
tion and goes to buy wheelchairs and braces for children, as
well as for research and summer camps. Muscular dystro-
phy is a hereditary condition marked by a progressive weak-
ening and wasting of the muscles over time.
This year’s event on Sunday, March 13, was “Funky Hat”
bowl. A record 123 bowlers — many wearing crazy looking
hats — helped form 25 teams.
The top individual fundraiser was Cal Eddy, a retiree
from Portland Firefighters Local 43, with $1,000.
NALC Branch 82 topped
all unions in money raised,
with various stations con-
tributing a total of $6,461.
This year’s auction took
in $1,833.
Kurt Millspaugh of Inter-
national Longshore and
Warehouse Union Local 8
captured high bowling series,
with a 190 average.
Also participating in the
event were Bricklayers Local
Bruce Menzies of NALC 1, Machinists Lodges 63 and
Branch 82 gets ready to 1432, Bakers Local 114, the
bowl. This year’s theme District Council of Laborers,
was funky hats.
and NW Priority Credit
Union.
(ABOVE) Oregon MDA ambassador Quinnelle
Flanagan gets a bowling tip from Katie Raabe and
Sean Fogarty of Fire Fighters Local 43. (BELOW)
Flanagan and Fogarty celebrate a spare.
Donations accepted for Workers’
Memorial Scholarship fund
Each year, children in Oregon must cope with a parent being taken from their
lives through a workplace death. The loss can have a profound effect on a family’s
ability to finance higher education.
The Workers’ Memorial Scholarship fund was established by the 1991 Legisla-
ture at the request of the Oregon AFL-CIO to help surviving family members reach
their educational goals.
Private donations to the fund can be accepted, but are not solicited by Oregon
OSHA. Please make checks payable to “DCBS Workers’ Memorial Scholarship
Account” and mail your donation to Oregon OSHA, c/o Melanie Mesaros, P.O.
Box 14480, Salem, OR 97309.
APRIL 1, 2011
NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS
PAGE 7