Inside
Official
Meeting Notices
See
Page 6
Volume 112
Number 21
Nov. 4, 2011
Portland, Oregon
Labor marches in solidarity with Occupy Portland
By DON McINTOSH
Associate Editor
Organized labor was back in the
streets Oct. 26 to show support for Oc-
cupy Portland. In a 1,000-strong rally
and march organized by the Oregon
AFL-CIO, Oregon AFSCME and oth-
ers, the message was of solidarity and
gratitude — for the protesters who
have camped across from City Hall
since Oct. 6.
Occupy Portland is one of hundreds
Organized labor was back in the streets Oct. 26 to show support for Occupy Portland. In a 1,000-strong rally and
march organized by the Oregon AFL-CIO, Oregon AFSCME and others, the message was of solidarity and gratitude
for the protesters who have camped across from City Hall since Oct. 6.
of occupations around the country in-
spired by Occupy Wall Street.
In recent days and weeks, news out-
lets that ignored earlier labor marches
of thousands have swarmed all over the
Occupy Portland camp, but sometimes
have reported more on what protesters
wear and what they smoke than what
they have to say or why they’re there.
Much of the reporting has focused on
homeless and mentally ill people
who’ve joined the encampment, con-
cerns about damage to the park, criti-
cisms of the “illegality” of camping in
parks, and details of internal disputes
and disorganization.
Labor’s Oct. 26 march was intended
to demonstrate that the Occupy cause
has broad popular support, and to insist
that the focus return to what motivated
the protests to begin with — anger over
the capture of the U.S. political system
by a financial elite, and the wreckage
they’ve made of the economy which
the other 99 percent of Americans rely
upon.
“Some people in the media say that
there’s concerns about safety, about
this, that and the other thing,” Toby
Green — an organizer for Laborers Lo-
cal 483 — told rally-goers. “I want to
applaud the occupiers, because they
have made everyone down there feel
welcome.”
Green, echoing a call his national
union has been making since 2008,
said America needs a national jobs pro-
gram to put people back to work —
and should pay for it by taxing the rich
investment firms to pay their fair share.
“I’m proud of you, Occupy Port-
land,” declared Ken Allen, executive
director of the 25,000-member public
sector union Oregon AFSCME Coun-
cil 75. “If we’re going to take back our
future, our first step is to show that
we’re pissed off.”
While several local union activists
have camped at the Occupy Portland
site, the encampment’s labor liaison is
Toby Zilka, a 20-year-old singing
busser on the Portland Spirit river
cruise ship. Zilka told ralliers that the
union example is one of the inspira-
tions of the Occupy movement.
“We’re a coalition of freedom fight-
ers,” Zilka said. “We are here to fight
for you.”
Tom Chamberlain — president of
the 112,000-member labor union fed-
eration Oregon AFL-CIO — said the
energy of the Occupy movement
brought to mind memories of the 2008
presidential campaign.
“We were promised change we
could believe in,” Chamberlain said.
“We fought hard. We got people
elected. We were told things were go-
ing to change. They didn’t change, did
they?”
“What’s exciting about this move-
ment is this: We’re scaring the hell out
of those elected leaders today,” Cham-
(Turn to Page 3)
Daimler Trucks to add 350 union jobs at Swan Island
It seems the union workforce at Portland’s
former Freightliner truck plant is
competitive after all
Daimler Trucks North America is hiring again at its Portland
truck plant, after laying off 1,000 union members there in 2007 and
2009.
The company announced Oct. 20 that its Portland plant will hire
350 shop workers by the end of 2012, as well as 20 engineering and
support workers. Its plant, located in the Swan Island Industrial
Park, produces heavy-duty Western Star brand trucks for use in min-
ing, logging, oil field and construction, plus on-highway trucks and
specialized vehicles. It currently employs around 700 unionized
shop workers and 50 nonunion engineers, managers and support
staff, plus nearly 2,000 nonunion white-collar workers at Daimler’s
nearby headquarters.
Daimler began taking online applications Oct. 21 at dtna.jobs.
The largest group of new hires — assemblers — start at $12 an hour
and rise to $23.25 over four-and-a-half years.
Daimler is filling 190 assembler positions and an unspecified
number of maintenance mechanic positions; these will be members
of Machinists Lodge 1005. Daimler is also hiring 38 material han-
dlers, who are represented by Teamsters Local 305. [For painter and
janitor positions, represented by Sign Painters and Paint Makers
Local 1094 and Service Employees Local 49, the company has been
recalling laid-off workers.]
All the jobs come with health and retirement benefits.
This first round of hiring is expected to be completed by mid-
December. Once new hires are trained, the company will start a sec-
ond shift at the plant, likely in January. A second wave of hiring is
planned for next summer.
“This decision [to hire] is a credit to the quality of the work our
members do,” said Machinists District Lodge W24 business repre-
sentative Joe Kear.
It’s also quite a comeback for a plant that Daimler, less than three
years ago, said it was planning to close. Daimler learned it would
incur substantial “legacy” costs to its union workers if it closed, and
subsequently decided to keep the plant open.
This year, the company reports, Western Star orders have risen
steadily, and forecasts are for continued growth in 2012.
Daimler first recalled laid-off workers, then announced in June
that it would add 155 jobs starting September. That timetable may
have been delayed, Kear said, while a consultant firm worked to
find production efficiencies using “lean manufacturing” methods.
Now, it appears Daimler is racing to catch up with orders: Since
early October, Daimler has instituted mandatory overtime: nine
hour days, and one Saturday a month.
The addition of jobs in Portland is part of a global expansion re-
cently announced by the German-based company. Daimler’s truck
manufacturing plant in Mount Holly, North Carolina, will take on
a second shift as it adds 535 unionized (United Auto Workers) man-
ufacturing jobs and 37 administrative jobs. A plant in Saltillo, Mex-
ico, will add a third shift as it hires 479 nonunion manufacturing
workers and 32 staff workers, and a truck parts plant in Gastonia,
North Carolina, will add 124 workers who will be represented by
UAW.