Union families celebrate Labor
Day at picnics in Oregon
Jobs and the economy were on the minds
of many attending union-sponsored Labor Day
picnics in Oregon.
An estimated 20,000 people showed up at
Oaks Park in Southeast Portland for a gather-
ing sponsored by the Northwest Oregon Labor
Council. Among the crowd was U.S. Sen. Jeff
Merkley, Portland Mayor Sam Adams, Mult-
nomah County Chair Jeff Cogen, Attorney
General John Kroger, and State Treasurer Ted
Wheeler.
Numerous other elected officials and polit-
ical candidates used the day to mingle and in-
troduce themselves to union members.
The message labor delivered to politicians
at every picnic in the state was to get some
backbone and start standing up vocally for
public- and private-sector workers, who con-
tinue to take the brunt of the blame for the poor
economy.
“The answer to what ails this country is a
good-paying job with benefits,” said Oregon
AFL-CIO President Tom Chamberlain. “A job
is the answer to the low-income housing short-
age; it is the path to quality education; a job de-
creases the crime rate; and a job will increase
revenue for the state and city so that we
can afford to provide vital services.”
At Oaks Park, Sen. Merkley said the time is
ripe for investing in infrastructure. “Infrastruc-
ture is jobs. We need to do a lot more nation
building here in America, and if that means do-
ing a lot less by ending the war in Afghanistan
and bringing those funds home, that’s what we
need to do. Less nation building abroad and
more nation building at home.”
But the day wasn’t all about politics. Many
people came for the grilled hamburgers, hot
dogs and chicken, music, bingo, horseshoes,
raffles, face painting, dunk tanks, and carnival
rides.
Picnics were held at Ferry Road Park in
North Bend sponsored by the Southwestern Ore-
gon Central Labor Council; at Jasper Park in
Pleasant Hill arranged by the Lane County Labor
Council; at Tou Velle State Park in Central Point
sponsored by the Southern Oregon Central Labor
Council; at Riverfront Park in Salem organized
by the Marion-Polk-Yamhill Central Labor Coun-
cil; at Sorosis Park Shelter in The Dalles spon-
sored by the Mid-Columbia Central Labor Coun-
cil; and at Pioneer Park in Bend hosted by the
Central Oregon Central Labor Council.
Letter carrier Jamie Partridge gathers signatures at Oaks Park for petitions calling on
Congress and the U.S. Postal Service and its Board of Governors to “Save Our Postal
Service” and six-day delivery. One of the petitions seeks Congressional approval of HR
1351, a bill that would correct the overfunding of the Postal Service’s pension accounts
and bring the Postal Service into financial solvency, with no use of taxpayer money.
Portland mayor Sam Adams took
a turn in the dunk tank at Oaks
Park to raise money for Labor’s
Community Service Agency.
The Oregon AFL-CIO held a
press conference under the
Sellwood Bridge following
speeches at the Labor Day picnic
at Oaks Parks to discuss the need
to focus on job creation projects.
At the podium is Melinda Clark,
an unemployed member of Sheet
Metal Workers Local 16. Behind
her is U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-
Ore.), who called for greater
spending on the nation’s in-
frastructure. “We need to do a
lot more nation building here in
America, and if that means
doing a lot less by ending the
war in Afghanistan and
bringing those funds home,
that’s what we need to do,”
Merkley said.
PAGE 6
NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS
Gene Thrasher, a school
bus driver in Bend, flips
burgers at Solidarity Day
picnic at Pioneer Park.
A crowd of nearly 200 turned out for
the second annual Labor Day picnic at
Riverfront Park in Salem hosted by the
Marion-Polk-Yamhill Labor Council.
Guest speakers were State Sen. Peter
Courtney and State Rep. Betty Komp.
P HOTO BY D ONNA N YBERG
The mother and daughter duo of Tami and Sarah Marston (photo left)
performed labor songs at Tou Velle State Park. The picnic, which drew
more than 200 people, was sponsored by the Southern Oregon Central
Labor Council. (Photos by Wes Brain)
SEPTEMBER 16, 2011