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About Northwest labor press. (Portland , Ore.) 1987-current | View Entire Issue (June 15, 2012)
IN MEMORIAM K EITH J OHNSON , a former president of Portland-head- quartered International Wood- workers of America (IAW) died at his home in Portland May 28 following a lengthy illness. He was 81. Johnson served as president of the international union from 1973 to 1987. He was the last presi- dent of IWA, which in 1987 split along national boundaries to create IWA-USA and IWA-Canada. IWA- USA merged with the International Association of Machinists in 1994 and IWA-Canada merged with the Steelworkers Union in 2004. After the union split, Johnson went to work as a special represen- tative of labour in the Canadian gov- ernment’s overseas market develop- ment program for timber products. He retried in 1990, remaining in Portland. K EITH W ILLIAM J OHNSON was born in Edmonton, Alberta, on July 20, 1930. He served in the Canadian Navy for five years, seeing extensive com- bat duty in the Korean War. Follow- ing his stint in the military, Johnson returned to Alberta and worked in a plywood mill. He helped organize the mill into the IWA and subse- quently was elected plant chairman and a vice president of the local. He worked his way up the ranks of the local, going from assistant business agent in 1957, to elected fi- nancial secretary in 1960, to elected president in 1962. He served on the IWA Western Canadian Regional Council Execu- tive Board from 1960-64, then was elected to the inter- national union’s Executive Board. Johnson moved to Port- land in 1967 after being elected international vice president and director of or- ganizing. In 1969 he was tapped first vice president and in 1973 he was elected international president. At age 43, he was one of the youngest international union leaders in the country. In 1974 he was elected a vice president of the AFL-CIO’s Indus- trial Union Department, a post he held until his departure from the IWA in 1987. Johnson served as a workers’ rep- resentative on woodworking and forestry-related matters at Interna- tional Labor Organization (ILO) meetings in Geneva, Switzerland, and was active in the National Labor Committee in Support of Democracy and Human Rights in El Salvador. He also was part of the first Ameri- can trade union delegation to tour China following normalization of re- lations with the U.S. Johnson was inducted into the Northwest Oregon Labor Council Re- tirees Association Labor Hall of Fame in October 1997 and has twice been recognized for his work by the Pacific Northwest Labor History Association. Johnson is survived by his wife, Linda; children, Catherine, Brenda, Christopher, and Keith; Linda’s chil- dren, Barbara, Brian, and Richard; eight grandchildren; and four great- grandchildren. Caught leaking confidential info, NLRB’s Flynn resigns Terence Flynn announced his resig- nation from the National Labor Rela- tions Board (NLRB) May 27, two months after it was revealed he leaked confidential government legal infor- mation to Mitt Romney’s presidential campaign. The NLRB has two parts: an office that administers unionization elections and investigates labor law violations, and a five-member board that judges disputes over the enforcement and in- terpretation of the law. Flynn, who re- ceived a recess appointment in January from President Obama, was a Republi- can member of the Board. [By law, three members are from the party in the White House, and two from the op- posing party.] But the NLRB’s inspector general revealed March 19 that before Flynn’s Board appointment, while Flynn was chief counsel for Republican NLRB member Brian Hayes, he repeatedly leaked draft Board decisions and de- tails of internal deliberations to two JUNE 15, 2012 former Republican Board members, including one who had gone to work as a labor adviser to Romney’s cam- paign. The leaks violated NLRB ethics rules because they revealed confiden- tial information about pending cases, and they improperly converted sensi- tive government information for the private benefit of former Board mem- bers and their clients, including the Na- tional Association of Manufacturers. After the inspector general released his report, labor leaders and Democrats in Congress called upon Flynn to re- sign. Flynn’s resignation takes effect July 24, but he immediately withdrew from all pending NLRB cases. His staffers were reassigned, and his workload was redistributed among the remaining members of the Board. Former Board member Peter Schaumber also resigned from Rom- ney’s campaign in December when it was learned Flynn was under investi- gation. Tim Frew re-elected at IBEW Local 280 substation and transmis- TANGENT — Members sion line upgrades. of International Brotherhood Right now, the biggest of Electrical Workers local job is the Facebook (IBEW) Local 280 re-elected data center going up in Tim Frew as business man- Prineville, where up to ager in a June 1 union elec- 110 members are cur- tion. Frew received 180 votes, rently employed. Frew is outpolling challengers Tim hopeful other data centers Nicol (70) and Bob Sapp will follow. Apple pur- (18). chased 160 acres across Headquartered about the street from the Face- seven miles south of Albany, TIM FREW book site, and is likely to Oregon, in Tangent, Local 280 represents 1,125 electricians in con- be next. Central Oregon is a prime lo- struction and sound and communica- cation for data centers because of cheap tions in nine counties in Central Ore- land and electricity and because its dry gon and the Southern Willamette and cool climate cuts down the expense Valley. Business manager, a full-time of cooling. As business manager, Frew touts the job, is responsible for overseeing the lo- benefits of unionization, to workers and cal’s five-person staff. For his second three-year term, contractors. One selling point, he says, Frew, 54, said he’ll be focused on get- is the collaborative relationship Local ting members back to work. Right now, 280 has developed with the National of the Local’s 928 journeyman inside Electrical Contractors Association wiremen, about 260 on are on the out- (NECA). Frew said he emphasizes the of-work list. Many members have trav- partnership role, and helps contractors eled to other local jurisdictions to find find work. Plus, access to the union hir- work, shacking up together in the Port- ing hall lets contractors staff up quickly land area, for example, to work at Intel, when they get work on large-scale proj- or fanning across Oregon to work on ects. And many Local 280 members are trained in solar installation, through the Local’s NECA-partnered training cen- ter. Besides data centers, Frew said the local looks to solar arrays, electric ve- hicle charging stations, and a proposed hydroelectric dam on the Crooked River as sources of future work. Frew also serves on the Executive Board of the Oregon AFL-CIO, on the Oregon Electrical and Elevator Board, and on the Construction Industry En- ergy Board. Local 280 members also elected of- ficers, all of whom ran unopposed: John Close, president; Jeremy Bate, vice president; Larry Fisher, recording secretary; Timothy Miller, treasurer; and Julie Emmett and Matt Forsberg, Executive Board members at large. The elections of Bate and Forsberg, Frew said, are a success for the local’s efforts to involve younger members: Their election took place 10 days after they became journeymen. Five candidates vied for seats on the local’s three-member Examining Board, which reviews applicants for membership. The top three vote-getters were Mike Eastland, Travis Johnson, and Jeremy Kroon. Who’s On Our Side? By Tom Chamberlain Political cartoons, talk radio, and all the pundits have dedicated count- less hours to interpreting the Wiscon- sin recall outcome. I think it’s simpler than many of them make it out to be: Corporate donors spent between $50 and $85 million directly and indi- rectly to win an election by 6 points — or 171,665 votes. Unions and pro- gressive groups mounted an impres- sive field campaign that contacted voters in the workplace, at the door- step, and on the phone; but Walker backers also mounted an effective field campaign that got their voters to the polls. The analysis of this election can teach us a few valuable lessons. 1) Recall elections are difficult at best. Since 1921 only three governors have faced recall. Sixty percent of Wiscon- sin voters believed that recalls should be limited to acts of misconduct — they were voting on the election, not the candidate. 2) 1%ers — from the Koch brothers, building contractors associations, and hedge fund man- agers, to telecommunication execu- tives and manufacturing giants like Caterpillar — will spend vast amounts to deepen their influence at the local, state, and federal govern- ment. The June 5 Wisconsin election results will embolden their thirst for greater conquests. 3) An effective analysis can’t focus on Wisconsin, without looking at the Ohio Novem- NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS ber 2011 referendum. Last Novem- ber, by a vote of 2-to-1, Ohio voted to overturn legislation that took collec- tive bargaining rights away from pub- lic workers. Again, 1%ers spent mil- lions, while unions and their allies hit the street. That puts the count at 1-1. And finally, 4) While most projec- tions for Wisconsin turnout pointed to 65 percent, the final tally of 58 per- cent was far short of what was needed to win. Despite turnout machines on either side, it appears that communi- ties of color and low-income voters did not vote. Ultimately, that is what made the difference. Low voter turnout means the poor, the middle class, women, communi- ties of color, the LGBT community, children, you and I – anyone who does not benefit from corporatist poli- cies — lose. When we don’t vote, the 1%ers move a step closer to their vi- sion of America. It’s a vision of an America where social programs such as Social Security, Medicare, Medi- caid, education, and health care, are designed to put more money in their pockets instead of prioritizing assis- tance for our people. It is an America where workers’ competition for jobs means accepting lower wages, fewer benefits, and no voice at work, as our rights dwindle. What Wisconsin foreshadows in November is a battle of epic propor- tion. Where the 1%ers see an opportu- nity to increase their power and in- fluence, they will spend whatever it takes to win, pitting their money against those who believe that a cap- italist society only works if there are checks and balances. They will stand against those who fight for workers’ rights, who understand that in a re- cession, government has an obliga- tion to create jobs and rebuild the in- frastructure to increase our comp- etitiveness, those who fight for finan- cial accountability, those who advo- cate for women, education, the envi- ronment, and human rights. To win we must not just limit our campaigns to union households. We know that the most effective message for a union member is still a message from another union member. But to win we must expand our voter educa- tion programs to include all voters. This will require us to continue to co- ordinate with community and pro- gressive groups. To win requires ex- panding our volunteer ranks. It is not too early to call our office and join our activist list. Please call Jess at 503- 232-1195 and join the fight. This November, we need you standing up for our side. Tom Chamberlain is president of the Oregon AFL-CIO. PAGE 7
