...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
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A UTOMOTIVE
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‘97 CAMRY, 284k miles, runs excellent,
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’98 HARLEY DAvIDSOn, Fat Boy, only 3k
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H OUSING
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YUMA ARIZOnA, well maintained winter
home, illness forces sale, make offer. 503
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M ISCELLANEOUS
tECHnICS mini component stereo sys-
tem, AM/FM, cassette, CD, aux input and
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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-
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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-
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wrenches, folding rulers, leather tools, tool
chests. 503-659-0009
MOtORCYCLES, quads, jet skis, boats,
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COLLECtOR PAYS cash for older toys,
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pottery. 503 703-5952
LIFELOnG COLLECtOR buying US and
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HAM RADIO and short wave radio equip-
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US & MILItARY items from vietnam War,
clothing, medals, flags, rifles, pistols, etc.
503-852-6791
PAYInG tOP dollar for old cast iron cook-
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OLD HOt ROD, “Deuce Coupe” type or
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shift. thompsonsturbo@aol.com or 541-
602-9464
JANUARY 6, 2012