O PEN
F ORUM
Kudos to AWPPW’s Sullivan for getting trade resolution passed
To The Editor:
I am writing to recognize the efforts
that long-time labor activist and Asso-
ciation of Western Pulp & Paper Work-
ers (AWPPW) lobbyist Mike Sullivan
put into passing an important fair trade
resolution in the Oregon Legislature
this session.
Introduced by State Senators Chip
Shields and Brian Boquist, Senate Me-
morial 201 passed the session with
overwhelming bipartisan support. The
measure recognizes the severe damage
caused to Oregon’s economy and its
democracy by past trade policies like
NAFTA, and calls on Congress to en-
act comprehensive trade reform legis-
lation called the TRADE Act.
Mike’s tireless efforts in Salem to
line up both Republican and Demo-
cratic support for this measure is what
convinced its sponsors to move for-
ward with it this year, and are what ul-
timately contributed to the measure’s
final passage. SM 201 simply would
not have happened without his leader-
ship on behalf of working people in
Oregon and throughout the country.
The Oregon Fair Trade Campaign
and our national partners will use this
bipartisan demand for a new model of
trade in our lobbying efforts in Wash-
ington, D.C. It provides much-needed
ammunition in our fight against bad
trade deals, and in favor of the ultimate
dismantling of the NAFTA model.
I deeply appreciate the strong work
Mike put into achieving this small, but
important, victory, and also want to ex-
press my gratitude to all other Labor
Press readers who contributed to it.
Arthur Stamoulis, Director
Oregon Fair Trade Campaign
Portland
Unionists to bowl
for MDA April 29
Mark your calendars and form a
team for Sunday, April 29, and the
23rd Annual Labor Bowl Challenge
to benefit the local Muscular Dystro-
phy Association (MDA).
This year’s western-themed event
will be held at Sunset Lanes, 12770
SW Walker Road, Beaverton. Regis-
tration starts at 11 a.m., with bowling
under way at “High Noon.”
Money for MDA is raised by indi-
vidual fundraising and a silent auc-
tion. The goal is to pre-register 30
five-member bowling teams repre-
senting more than 20 union locals.
In addition to bowling, there is a
silent auction, door prizes, pizza, and
soft drinks for participants. Prizes
will be awarded to the top fundraiser,
the top average (three games) and
lowest average bowler, plus a prize
for the best western outfit. Also, there
are prizes for incremental levels of
fundraising.
All proceeds benefit the local
MDA, which provides much needed
support to over 1,200 local individu-
als and families living with neuro-
muscular diseases. Money goes to
buy wheel chairs and braces for chil-
dren, as well as medical services, re-
search and summer camps.
Since its inception in 1989, the La-
bor Bowl — coordinated by the Na-
tional Association of Letter Carriers
(NALC) Branch 82, the Northwest
Oregon Labor Council, and other par-
ticipating Oregon labor unions has
raised $326,767 for MDA.
For more information, or to sign
up and receive fundraising packets
and instructions, call Jim Cook, presi-
dent of NALC Branch 82 at 503-493-
5903. To donate silent auction items,
call NALC’s MDA Coordinator
Debby Burbank at 971-404-5384.
MARCH 16, 2012
NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS
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