Inside
MEETING
NOTICES
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Page 4
Volume 113
Number 12
June 15, 2012
Portland
Motorcycle poker run donates
$55,000 to Doernbecher kids
The 10th annual Unions for Kids motorcycle poker run donated a
record $55,000 to Doernbecher Children’s Hospital. The event was held
June 9 in Portland. Displaying the check in the photo inset above is
Ashley Schmidt of the Doernbecher Foundation. A large portion of the
fundraiser comes from a raffle for a new Harley Davidson motorcycle.
This year’s winner is Larry Fisher of Lebanon, Oregon. Fisher is a
member of IBEW Local 280. A more complete report on the poker run
will appear in the July 6 edition of the Labor Press.
Petition circulating to give
corporate kicker to K-12
With the July 6 signature gathering
deadline nearing, 2012 looks to be an-
other busy year for Oregon ballot
measures.
Up to eight initiatives could qualify
for the November ballot, including one
petition sponsored by the union-backed
non-profit Our Oregon. That initiative
would eliminate the corporate “kicker,”
and instructs the Legislature to spend
those funds instead on K-12 education.
Oregon is the only state with the
provision known as the kicker. When
the Oregon Legislature develops the
two-year state budgets, the state econo-
mist makes a prediction about future in-
come tax revenue. If actual revenues
later exceed that prediction by more
than 2 percent, the state rebates the sur-
plus to taxpayers. That has happened
five times in the last 20 years, with cor-
porate kickers totaling $18 million in
1991-93, and $344 million in 2005-07.
The Our Oregon initiative would
continue the individual income tax re-
bates, but end the corporate income tax
rebates, most of which go to out-of-
Homeless camp gets union sponsors
But City of Portland
fines are mounting for
Right 2 Dream Too
By DON McINTOSH
Associate Editor
A downtown Portland encampment of
homeless people now has union sponsorship.
Laborers Local 483, Painters and Drywall
Finishers Local 10, and the International Al-
liance of Theatrical Stage Employees
(IATSE) Local 28 contributed at least $100
each as part of a “paint-a-door” fundraiser
for Right 2 Dream Too, a self-regulated
camp at NW Fourth and Burnside. Then as
part of the fundraiser, union members visited
on June 2 and painted union logos on the sal-
vaged doors that have been repurposed as the
camp’s south-facing wall.
“Housing should be a human right for
everybody,” said Painters Local 10 Vice
President Wyatt McMinn. “Any of us could
be in this position at any time.”
Its organizers call their camp a “rest area.”
But whatever it’s called, a tour given to union
volunteers gives the impression of a well-or-
ganized operation. Right 2 Dream Too has
port-a-potties, trash service, a communal
kitchen, a clothing closet, bike storage, and a
designated smoking area. Tents are neatly
lined up on platforms constructed of ship-
ping pallets to keep them dry. Computers —
donated by Free Geek — are being set up in
a shed so residents can look for jobs. Unlike
other shelters, Right 2 Dream Too allows
pets, and lets couples stay together. The
camp has tents designated for couples, and
a large group tent for single women. From
40 to 90 people sleep there each night.
Sleep and safety are major concerns
when you live outdoors, says camp co-
founder Ibrahim Mubarak. So residents have
prioritized keeping the camp safe and rest-
ful. No one may enter after 10 p.m. so that
those staying can get to sleep. Visitors sign in
and agree to camp rules prohibiting drugs,
alcohol or violence of any kind. After three
days, they’re expected to volunteer. Weekly
meetings are mandatory. The camp’s south-
ern and western perimeters are protected by
walls made of doors donated by the Re-
building Center, and the camp’s entrance is
guarded 24-hours a day by volunteers.
The camp has been under way since
“World Homeless Day,” Oct. 10, 2011. It’s
on a vacant lot, and was set up with the per-
mission of landowner Michael Wright.
But the City of Portland’s Bureau of De-
velopment Services (BDS) has begun fining
the owners, saying the camp is in violation of
state law and administrative rules, as well as
the Portland Zoning Code. BDS spokesper-
son Ross Caron says the bureau received a
citizen complaint, investigated, and deter-
mined late last year that a recreational camp-
ground was being operated at the site with-
out a campground permit.
“There’s nothing recreational about being
homeless,” counters camp leader Claudia
Long, aka “Mama Chewy.”
Long and Mubarak say the group hasn’t
applied for a permit because to obtain one,
they’d have to make changes that aren’t fea-
sible, like a functioning restroom that’s
hooked up to the city sewer system —
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state corporations.
A Constitutional amendment, the
initiative — Initiative Petition 35 —
needs 116,284 valid signatures of reg-
istered voters by July 6 to qualify.
Defend Oregon outreach coordina-
tor Jennifer Keenan told the Executive
Board of the Northwest Oregon Labor
Council June 11 that 140,000 signa-
tures have been collected, and that the
goal is to add another 30,000 before the
filing deadline.
Supporters can download and sign
the petition at the Web site ourore-
gon.org.
Seven other initiatives may end up
getting enough signatures to get on the
ballot. They include a pair of initiatives
to permit development of a private non-
tribal casino at a former greyhound
track; an initiative to abolish Oregon’s
estate tax; a constitutional amendment
banning local governments from pass-
ing new taxes on real estate transac-
tions; an initiative banning gillnetting
of salmon; and a pair of initiatives to
decriminalize marijuana.
Wyatt McMinn, vice president
of Painters Local 10, and
Becca Lewis of IATSE Local
28 get ready to paint their
unions’ logos at Right 2 Dream
Too, a self-sustaining homeless
encampment on an unused lot
in downtown Portland.