EE
R
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Who’s On Our Side?
By Tom Chamberlain
F IGHTING F RINGE I SSUES
When we voted for annual leg-
islative sessions in 2010, we were
told that our elected leaders needed
another meeting to rebalance the
budget and address pressing issues
that couldn’t wait two years. It’s a
smart idea, and addressing any
budget shortfalls as soon as we know
about them probably saves a lot of
pain in the long run.
But last month, a few legislators
tried to use the short session to ad-
vance their fringe agendas.
Many good bills passed. Busi-
nesses can no longer stop unem-
ployed workers from applying for
open positions — giving everyone a
fair chance at getting good work.
Local transit agencies can spend a
little more to buy Made-in-America
buses, streetcars, trolleys, and trains,
if they want to. The budgets were
balanced and, unfortunately, state
workers and service providers are
facing more layoffs. But many more
layoffs were prevented. And our
workforce system will finally get a
thorough review to make sure that
we’re spending money on workforce
development wisely, and that we’re
preparing workers for jobs that will
really be around.
But the fringe-issue attacks were
relentless, and they seemed to come
from just a few legislators who let
ideology trump good policy. They
included:
W HAT THEY WANTED : A roll-
back of important cost-benefit analy-
sis requirements that make sure any
work that is contracted out really
saves money — and not just by pay-
ing hardworking people less.
W HY : A few legislators believe
that we should contract out work,
pay the same workers less, and allow
private business owners to pocket
the profits.
W HO IT WOULD HAVE HELPED :
Business owners who would have
bid on contracted-out work and
pocketed state money.
W HAT THEY WANTED : Evalua-
tions of teachers based on arbitrary
student performance measures, just
as we’re trying to overhaul our edu-
cation system and create a compre-
hensive system that makes sense for
students, teachers and parents.
W HY : Paying teachers less and
requiring them to teach to standard-
ized tests (at the expense of other
subjects) both undermine our public
school system. This proposal came
from the same legislators who gave
public-school money to online
schools last time the Legislature
met.
W HO IT HELPED : Private schools
and their funders.
W HAT THEY STOPPED : A bill
requiring state agencies to buy paper
made in Oregon, where our paper
mills employ hundreds of Oregoni-
ans, but sometimes have trouble
competing with heavily subsidized
imports.
W HAT THEY FORGOT : Buying pa-
per made in Oregon may cost a few
cents more in the supplies budget
line, but when you add up the costs
of those mills shutting and workers
going on unemployment, it’s a lot
cheaper for the state to spend money
locally.
W HO IT HELPED : International
paper corporations.
There are a few things we can
learn about these fringe conserva-
tives from their plans. First, there is
always someone looking to make
money out of the deal, and their
profits usually come at our expense.
Second, they value your work differ-
ently depending on who signs your
paycheck — a private sector worker
is somehow “better” than their union
brother or sister who does the same
work in the public sector. And third,
their plans are shortsighted — look-
ing for immediate gains at the ex-
pense of Oregon’s future.
As you listen to politicians gear
up for the primary election, look for
these ideals. No matter what politi-
cal party you belong to, it’s time to
stop these anti-worker wolves who
use phrases like “cost savings,”
“streamlining,” and “private-sector
profits” as sheep’s clothing for their
real goals.
The last two legislative sessions
have shown that they truly are not on
the side of working people, Oregon’s
middle class, or our future.
Tom Chamberlain is president of
the Oregon AFL-CIO.
Passenger service and reservation agents at
‘new United Air’ vote for Machinists Union
Passenger service and reservation
employees at the new United Airlines
voted to join the Machinists Union, re-
solving representation issues for one of
the biggest work groups at the world’s
largest airline.
In an election conducted by the Na-
tional Mediation Board (NMB), ballots
counted March 7 showed 8,305 votes
for the Machinists and 5,865 for no
representation.
“Voters had to overcome an aggres-
sive anti-union campaign that included
an attempt to have the votes of nearly
1,000 IAM supporters invalidated,”
said IAM District 141 President Rich
Delaney. “Despite United’s divisive
tactics, we will focus our efforts on
building a better airline and unite em-
ployees into a single force to face the
challenges ahead.”
Chicago-based United had 16,720
employees eligible to cast ballots. The
balloting followed the 2010 merger of
United Airlines parent UAL Corp. with
Continental Airlines Inc. and Conti-
Q UOTE OF THE W EEK
“Today, when a would-be U.S. president, Mitt Romney, is wealthier than
99.9975 percent of his fellow Americans, and wealthier than the last eight pres-
idents combined, there’s a global conversation raging about the rich, the poor, the
gap between them, and the role of vested interests in the significant widening of
that gap in advanced economies over the past three decades.”
W AYNE S WAN , A USTRALIAN DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER , T HE 0.01 P ER C ENT : T HE
R ISING I NFLUENCE OF V ESTED I NTERESTS IN A USTRALIA , T HE M ONTHLY , M ARCH 2012
PAGE 10
nental Micronesia.
The Machinists Union has repre-
sented United Airlines passenger serv-
ice and reservations employees since
1998, while Continental employees
were without a union. Continental Mi-
cronesia employees had been repre-
sented by another union.
The new company is United Conti-
nental Holdings Inc.
The Machinists Union also repre-
sents 14,800 ramp service and stock
and stores employees at the new
United. With the addition of the newly
acquired passenger service and reser-
vations bargaining unit, the IAM now
represents more than 31,500 employ-
ees at the combined airline.
“(This) win provides all IAM mem-
bers at United with the advantages of
size and strength that airlines them-
selves are seeking through consolida-
tion,” said IAM Transportation Gen-
eral Vice President Sito Pantoja.
NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS
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Mon-Fri 10-7:30 Sat 10-5:30 Sun 12-6
MARCH 16, 2012