E
E
FR
Who’s On Our Side?
By Tom Chamberlain
A
s I watch the political pundits de-
cipher the Aug. 9 Wisconsin
election results to determine whether
it was a Democratic victory (because
the Democrats captured two Repub-
lican State Senate seats out of six, in
one of the few legislative recall efforts
in American history), or a Republican
win (because they were able to fend
off a massive grassroots attack and
hold onto four of the six seats), I can’t
help but wonder at the information
they ignore.
It appears that over $35 million
was spent on the recall campaigns.
While some was from labor, the lion’s
share came from the Koch Brothers,
conservative donors, and corpora-
tions.
The two victories in Wisconsin —
and I do believe they were victories
— are two small steps toward greater
victories to come, as long as we learn
the right lessons.
The Wisconsin battle was a grass-
roots workers’ battle against big dol-
lar contributors; the Koch Brothers
against Wisconsinites who get up
each morning and go to work, raise
their kids, pay their taxes, and hope
for a better future. And the magic of
Wisconsin is that community groups,
workers, students, and activists joined
together and fought for a common
goal. We finally realized that a work-
ers’ movement is larger than the union
movement.
While the union movement is an
essential and large component of a
broader workers’ movement, it isn’t
the only component. Community
groups, churches, progressive activist
organizations, and immigration
groups, just to name a few, more often
than not share the same goals and ob-
jectives as organized labor. They
work to create and maintain good
paying jobs in our communities and
they fight to protect workers and their
families from exploitation.
I hope Wisconsin begins a trans-
formation of the union movement,
away from the same sad tried and not-
so-true practice of giving hundreds of
millions of dollars to politicians and
political parties each election cycle so
that those same candidates who need
us can become politicians who kick
our middle class agenda to the curb in
favor of a corporate agenda.
We can’t forget that nationally, 73
percent of all Democratic contribu-
tions come from large corporations,
while about 76 percent of Republican
contributions are from corporations.
Wisconsinites created what could
become a permanent grassroots or-
ganization that can elect candidates
door by door, phone call by phone
call. It’s an organization that reaches
onto the shop floor and into the
church pew. It’s the kind of organiza-
tion that elects candidates and holds
them accountable.
This transformation is occurring
nationally within the AFL-CIO and
many of your unions. During the next
election cycle you will see less money
going to candidates and political par-
ties and more funds invested in states
that are ready to create a strong grass-
roots infrastructure.
It’s hard work, but we must deliver
our message one person at a time.
And we must work more closely with
our community partners, forging a
strong relationship that only comes
when we understand each other’s is-
sues and trust that whenever and
wherever possible we will be there for
each other.
This is more crucial now than ever
before.
The “Citizen United” Supreme
Court decision allows corporations to
spend limitlessly on political cam-
paigns. Wisconsin proved that we can
still win if we form coalitions and
fight back together.
The bottom line is: Wisconsin
proved that we have one weapon
more powerful than corporate money.
I think Oregon is ready to unleash that
weapon, and change the game.
That weapon is you.
Are you ready to be on the side of
a winning game?
Tom Chamberlain is president of
the Oregon AFL-CIO.
Changes at the NW Labor Press
Newspaper revamps web
site; has new printer and
mailer
The non-profit Northwest Labor
Press, in print since 1900, has been on-
line at nwlaborpress.org since 1997. By
the standards of the Internet, that’s an
eternity.
Internet search engines seem to have
caught on that nwlaborpress.org is a
bona fide “content” site. Because of
that, our site performs fairly well in
Google searches — for example, when
the search subject is a union, or an em-
ployer that has had a labor dispute. But
that’s also partly because we face too
little competition in reporting on the
subjects we write about. Corporate-
owned news media too seldom report
on organized labor or delve into issues
that impact working people — like em-
ployer abuses, NAFTA-style trade poli-
cies, or spiraling health insurance costs.
So when someone searches for those
things, our online articles come up.
That’s good, but it’s not good
enough. Each month our print edition
goes to more than 62,000 members of
82 local unions, but we think many
PAGE 6
more working people need to be ex-
posed to news from a labor union per-
spective. That’s why last month we un-
dertook a long-planned upgrade of our
web site.
For those interested in such things,
the new site is based on the WordPress
content management system. It enables
users to sign up for updates via e-mail,
RSS feed, Facebook or Twitter.
Readers can also comment on sto-
ries, though comments are moderated:
We want the site to be a place for build-
ing up the union movement, not a place
where anti-union “trolls” trash unions
as they do on other news web sites.
All the past articles are still online in
their same locations, accessible via
search engines as before.
Since web sites don’t have the space
and time limitations that print publica-
tions have, many articles will appear
online before they appear in print.
We’ve also begun providing daily
roundups on the site, with links to
union movement-related news that ap-
pears on other web sites. We hope these
things will make the Labor Press more
timely and valuable for our community.
Of course, not everything in our
print edition will be online, and not
everything in our online edition will be
in print. We don’t see the revamped
web site as a replacement for the print
edition. We see it as a way to reach out
to new readers, and as a supplement for
existing readers.
As for the print edition, for the past
seven years the newspaper has been
printed and mailed at Oregon Catholic
Press, a multi-union shop in Portland
that produces the Catholic Sentinel for
the Archdiocese of Portland. Last
month OCP discontinued its commer-
cial offset web press and shopped out
the Sentinel to a nonunion printer. Our
search for a unionized printer took us
to Kent, Washington, where — starting
with the Aug. 5 edition — the Labor
Press is being printed at Rotary Offset
Press. Our new mailer is Morel Ink, an
all-union sheet-fed print and mail shop
in Portland that used to operate under
the name Whitham and Dickey.
We hope you’ll like the changes.
Feel free to comment and drop us a line
with feedback and suggestions. And of
course, we welcome financial contribu-
tions to support our work creating an
online antidote to the anti-union media.
That too, you can do online at our im-
proved site, nwlaborpress.org.
NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS
BARGAIN COUNTER
Free classified ads to subscribers
DEADLINE: Friday prior to publication
Published 1st and 3rd Fridays
Now accepting e-mail
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
s poRting g oods
’08 ChevY SIlverado 1500, 14K miles, alloy
wheels, tow package, line-x, 6 cylinder, rWd
$10,000 firm. 503-380-7487 (Charlie)
‘89 dodge ram 250, 3/4 ton PU, 2wd, lWB,
aT/PB/PS, 87.5k mi, strong v-6, bed liner, snow
tires, good condition, $1,995. 503-642-2854.
TIre ChaInS new, never been used, fits 12:50
x 15:00-12:50 x 16:50, $50 360-213-9540 Se
vancouver
’72 Chev ¾ T, 2Wd, lWB, 350-8, aT/PS/
PB/aC, Cheyenne package, straight, runs
great, $3,500 cash. 503-568-6159
drIFT BoaT, aluminum, 16ft 6in, 6 ft
wide, use motor bracket or oars, seats 3
adults, $2,000 obo. 530-774-3559
rIFle magazIneS, all new, aK style; 3-
30 rnd $10 ea; 2-5 rnd $2 ea or free with
30 rounders. 360-213-9540
15FT SYlvan YUKon 30 honda 4
stroke, elect tiller, Shorelander galv trailer
happy Troller, $5,200. 503-658 5043
golF PUll CarT, 3-wheel, excellent
condition, $40. 503-669-5324
H ousing
lInColn CITY vacation rental, 3 bdrm, 2
bath, $115/night, slps 8, wi-fi, 2 blocks to
beach, 4 blocks to casino. 503-804-7976
roCKaWaY BeaCh rental, 3 bdrm, 2 bath,
sleeps 10, Jacuzzi, 5 min to beach and shops.
vacationhomerentals.com/43026, 503-754-6101
For renT, 2 bdrm, patio and small yard, lents
area Portland, bus & max close by, $650/mo.
503-637-5361
YUma, az. moBIle home in 55+ park for sale,
$16,000, super clean/updated, pool w/clubhouse,
no pets, rents for $300/ mo. 360-256-1449
mIlW-gladSTone, 3bdrm, 2.1bth, mas-
ter w/walk-in, 3,000 sqft, fenced yard,
shop, sunroom, $245,900. 503-758-7512
m iscellAneous
green IgUana, 2 years old, experienced han-
dler, $30. 503-254-1542
v-eleCTrIC motor, 5hr Buldor single
phase, 3450 rPm, $395. 503-643-6897
(dale)
Portland pub
goes union
Workers at The Guild Public House
signed union recognition cards Aug. 13
to become members of Communica-
tions Workers of America Local 7901.
It is the only unionized restaurant in
Oregon not attached to a hotel.
There are six people in the bargain-
ing unit.
The Guild, located at 1101 East
Burnside St., Portland, is owned by
Jesse Cornett and Molly Aleshire. The
pub serves high quality food, micro-
brews and cocktails. It is open from 4
p.m. to midnight Monday through Sat-
urday. The Guild rents the entire pub
for private events daily until 3 p.m., and
can accommodate groups up to 35
most nights.
For more information, call Jesse at
503-233-1743.
W Anted
old WoodWorKIng tools, planes,
levels, chisels, handsaws, slicks, adzes,
wrenches, folding rulers, leather tools,
tool chests. 503-659-0009
moTorCYCle ParTS, quads, scoot-
ers, boats, vW’s, guitars, riding lawn-
mowers, cash paid, will pick up 503 880-
8183
ColleCTor PaYS cash for older toys,
older oil paintings and older american art
pottery. 503 703-5952
SIlver CoInS, US and Canadian, 1964
and older dimes, quarters, half-dollars and
dollars for top silver prices. 503-806-6287
moTorCYCleS, running or not, quads,
scooters, minibikes, riding lawnmowers,
boats, cash, will pick up 503-880-8183
Small eleCTrIC lawn mower, in good
condition. 503-473-4706
looKIng For parts for 1938 Ford
pickup, fenders, bumper, headlight ring,
etc. 503-887-3388
roUnd SlIde trays for Kodak projector.
360-263-3324
T/C ConTender w/.357 maX 10” or 12”
Bbl, mint, used only. 503-658-6108
lIFelong ColleCTor buying US &
World coins, paying fairly, any amount
welcome. 503-939-8835
Broadway Floral
for the BEST flowers call
503-288-5537
1638 NE Broadway, Portland
AUGUST 19, 2011