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About Northwest labor press. (Portland , Ore.) 1987-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 6, 2012)
...YEAR IN REVIEW (From Page 9) garnishment in the multi-million dam- age award he owes to two unions for the pattern of ballot measure campaign fraud and forgery that led to that 2002 civil conviction on racketeering. • Allegations of personal misconduct dogged Oregon 1st District Congress- man David Wu in the first half of 2011, leading eventually to his resignation in August. In the special election Demo- cratic primary to replace him, Suzanne Bonamici outpolled Oregon Labor Commissioner Brad Avakian and State Representative Brad Witt, a former secretary-treasurer of the Oregon AFL- CIO and current union rep for United Food and Commercial Workers Local 555. Bonamici will face Republican Rob Cornilles in a Jan. 31, 2012, spe- cial election. • International Longshore and Ware- house Union, shut out of operating EGT’s new $200 million grain terminal in Longview, Washington, joined a fed- eral lawsuit by the Port of Longview, and ramped up protests beginning with a 1,200-strong rally in June. In July, work- ers entered the terminal and dumped grain into the yard. Then EGT took ILWU by surprise, signing a five-year deal for members of Operating Engi- neers Local 701 to operate the shipping terminal as employees of contractor General Construction Co. ILWU protests continued, however, with sev- eral episodes of mass civil disobedience on railroad tracks, halting grain ship- ments for a time. The legal cases and pressure campaign continue in 2012. Newly unionized workers at Dosha Salon rally for a first contract. The unit voted to join CWA in March. The company is putting up an expensive fight and workers still don’t have a collective bargaining agreement. In Oregon, several large employ- ers went union in 2011: • On Jan. 5 Service Employees Inter- national Union (SEIU) Local 49 won an election, by four votes, to represent 600 support staff at Central Oregon’s largest hospital, St. Charles Medical Center in Bend. It was Oregon’s biggest private sector union win in recent history. • A group of 155 workers at Dosha Salon and Spa voted in March to join Communications Workers of America Local 7901. But owner Ray Motameni hired former Oregon Republican Party chair Bob Tiernan and an associate to represent him in negotiations, and it’s not clear that workers are any closer to a first contract at the end of the year than EE R F they were when they started bargaining. • In June, a unit of 7,751 state-paid personal service providers voted to join SEIU Local 503, making it Oregon’s largest union. • A group of 160 workers at Planned Parenthood of the Columbia- Willamette voted in August to join SEIU Local 49. On the other hand, union-busting also went on all year long at employers all over, with union supporters fired at Rogue Ales, Dosha Salon Spa, MetroWest Ambulance, Grange Coop- erative, Georgia-Pacific, and numerous other employers. A local Starbucks barista, fired after wearing union pins, got a $10,000-plus settlement. In the second half of the year, U.S. Postal Service unions campaigned hard to oppose service cuts and post office closures, with rallies, and appeals for support from local and federal elected officials. USPS is proposing a major set of closures to cope with declining rev- enues and unusual retiree benefit pre- funding requirements imposed by Con- gress. In November, Washingtonians voted to privatize liquor sales, in a ballot measure bought and paid for by Costco. After the vote, Costco declared that the 1,000 soon-to-be-laid-off union mem- bers working at state liquor stores could apply for jobs at its big box warehouse stores. Two unions that represent liquor store employees — UFCW and the Teamsters — have filed a lawsuit to in- validate the election, claiming the meas- ure was unconstitutional because it vio- lated the state’s “single subject” rule. BARGAIN COUNTER 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 ‘78 BUICK REGAL, air, runs well, good condition. 1-541-468-2961(Spray, Oregon) ‘52 FORD 4dr, $2,500. 503-289-0066 ‘97 CAMRY, 284k miles, runs excellent, mint cond inside and out, one owner, $750. 1-360-225-1398 ’98 HARLEY DAvIDSOn, Fat Boy, only 3k miles, many custom extras, 80” EvO, 5spd, black, $10,995. 503-730-8967 H OUSING ROCKAWAY ocean front 503-777-5076 http://home.comcast.net/~rockaway.beach 5 bdrm, 2 bath, call for winter special LInCOLn CItY vacation rental, 3 bdrms, 2 bath, $100/night, slps 8, wi-fi, 2 blocks to beach, 4 blocks to casino. 503-804-7976 ROCKAWAY BEACH rental, 3 bed, 2 bath, sleeps 10, Jacuzzi, 5 min to beach/shops. vacationhomerentals.com/43026. YUMA ARIZOnA, well maintained winter home, illness forces sale, make offer. 503 771-7891 (check Craig’s List – 150 W Catalina Dr. #87) M ISCELLANEOUS tECHnICS mini component stereo sys- tem, AM/FM, cassette, CD, aux input and remote, exc cond, $75. 503-287-7535 eves 7 Ft DRAG SAW BLADE, $10; 5ft one- man cross-cut blade, $10; also want pellet gun. 503-668 5768 42X72 HOt tUB for two with 110, blue with PAGE 10 NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS lights, cover for low electric bill, $2,000, 1 yr old, used by 1 person. 503-637-5361 LEAtHER JACKEt, men’s w/zip liner for winter, size 44 tall, new condition, $75. 503-771-4543 WOOD LAtHE, 8 piece, turning tools qual- ity set, new in box, paid $280, asking $150 obo, made by Crown tool. 503-678-1696 S PORTING G OODS AvOn InFLAtABLE BOAt, w/trailer and 30 hp motor w/power tilt, $2,950 obo. 503- 629-8654 1968 HOnDA tRAIL 90, good condition, $1,195; Model 1917 Eddystone 30-06, needs front sight, $395. 503-307-3934 SIERRA BULLEtS, $11 box; 30 cal 150 & 180 gr, 38 cal 158 JHC, 22 cal 55gr #1380, 6 mm 75 & 85gr. 503-314-7001 (noon to 5) W ANTED OLD WOODWORKInG tools, planes, lev- els, chisels, handsaws, slicks, adzes, wrenches, folding rulers, leather tools, tool chests. 503-659-0009 MOtORCYCLES, quads, jet skis, boats, Rvs, guitars, amps, tractors, old stereo equip, cash, will pick up. 503-880-8183 COLLECtOR PAYS cash for older toys, older oil paintings and older American art pottery. 503 703-5952 LIFELOnG COLLECtOR buying US and world coins to add to collection, paying fairly, any amount welcome. 503-939-8835 HAM RADIO and short wave radio equip- ment, particularly older 1950s/60s equip- that uses tubes, 503-823-4577 US & MILItARY items from vietnam War, clothing, medals, flags, rifles, pistols, etc. 503-852-6791 PAYInG tOP dollar for old cast iron cook- ware, skillets, Dutch ovens, griddles, muf- fin pans, unusual pieces. 541-746-9456 OLD HOt ROD, “Deuce Coupe” type or Roadster, flathead v-8 engine, manual shift. thompsonsturbo@aol.com or 541- 602-9464 JANUARY 6, 2012
