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About Northwest labor press. (Portland , Ore.) 1987-current | View Entire Issue (July 20, 2012)
Who’s On Our Side? By Tom Chamberlain O ver the last 10 years, 50,000 manufacturers have moved their factories out of the United States. That equates to a loss of 6 million American middle-class jobs. There are a number of reasons why companies move out of the United States: lower labor costs, less regulation, fewer environmental con- straints ... and while these factors that we can’t control in the United States are elements in decisions to offshore, they are not the only factors. The American tax structure is another driver behind companies like Bain Capital deciding to offshore Ameri- can middle-class jobs. The U.S. tax code defers taxes on profits of foreign subsidiaries of an American corporation. Profits earned in the United States are subject to the 35 percent corporate tax. But multi- national corporations can defer pay- ing U.S. taxes on their overseas profit until they return to the United States — reinvesting the money tax-free, and waiting for tax rates to drop to bring it home. General Electric, for example, has $62 billion in “undistributed earn- ings” parked offshore according to 2008 Securities and Exchange Com- mission filings. Drug giant Pfizer boasts $60 billion and ExxonMobil $56 billion. The deferral clause of our tax code has been in place for over 60 years. There have been a series of failed attempts to eliminate the clause beginning with President Kennedy’s 1961 effort. President Kennedy understood that giving business a tax incentive to offshore jobs would ultimately un- derfund vital services such as educa- tion, public safety, and health care, and undermine America’s middle class economy. In a time of 8 percent unemploy- ment, our nation can’t afford to con- tinue to provide tax incentives that undermine our efforts to rebuild America’s middle-class economy. Senate Bill 2884, The Bring Jobs Home Act, co-sponsored by U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), closes some of the tax incentives to offshore jobs. As importantly, it provides a tax credit of up to 20 percent of a com- pany’s relocation cost when their business moves back to the United States. All too often, union critics char- acterize us as anti-trade. We are not anti-trade. We support fair trade. A fair trade policy doesn’t exploit workers or the environment for the sake of profit. Fair trade is the bill of goods the American worker was sold when NAFTA was passed in the early ’90s. Some of you remember the pitch: NAFTA would be an American job creator while improv- ing the living standards of workers globally. NAFTA and the trade agreements that have followed have lowered the standards for American workers, and done little better else- where. Even fair trade, though, won’t work if our government is providing financial incentives to send jobs over- seas. While the Bring Jobs Home Act doesn’t overturn out-of-balance trade agreements, it does begin the process of reversing the financial incentives for American companies. As of this writing, U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) had not signed on to the Bring Jobs Home Act. I encour- age you to call Sen. Wyden at 888- 659-9401 and ask that he support the Bring Jobs Home Act. You can also check our web site at www.orafl- cio.org to find out who else from Oregon’s Congressional delegation is on our side when it comes to the Bring Jobs Home Act. Tom Chamberlain is president of the Oregon AFL-CIO. Second annual clay shoot slated Oct. 27 in Gervais The Union Sports- men’s Alliance’s (USA) second annual sporting clay shoot will be held Saturday, Oct. 27, at Mitchell’s Clay Target Sports, 6181 Concomly Rd., Gervais. Awards will be given to the highest scoring teams and top in- dividual shooter. First time shooters are welcome and encouraged to partici- pate. Registration is from 8 to 9 a.m., with shooting starting at 9:30 a.m. Registra- tion includes shotgun shells (12- or 20- gauge only) and clay targets, lunch and E E FR BARGAIN COUNTER Free ads to subscribers DEADLINE: Friday prior to publication Published 1st and 3rd Fridays Send to: NW Labor Press, PO Box 13150, Portland, OR 97213 A utomotive ’32 ford coupe/roadster, black with red, removable top, 327, turbo 400, ford 9 inch differ- ential, disc brakes $17,500 971-275-7109 ‘72 cHeV 3/4 t, 2wd, lwb, 350-8, at/ps/pb/ac, cheyenne & camper packages, straight, runs great, $2,800 cash. 503-568-6159 ’94 suburban 4X4, ¾ ton, no eng, good trans, all or parts, $600 all. 503-630-4177 ’92 cadI eld, 125k miles, runs, body good, new tires, $2,700. 503-281-7445 1X4 and 1X6 cedar, weathered, t&g, economy, 6,000 ft at $.50 a foot. take all for 10% discount. 1-503-530-9119 two plots w/double marker, evergreen me- morial gardens, Vancouver, wa, current price over $4,700, asking $3,200 obo. 360-573-3349 or 360-901-6089 rubber pond liner, 12’x15’, $50 obo. 503- 761-0003 pIcture wIndows, white vinyl, one is 44" X 92" ($100); one is 47" x 59" ($75). I would like them gone, quickly. 503-522-6542 F or the h ome s porting g oods bed frame, 65” long, angle iron with head board only, width adjustable, $40 obo. 503-753- 1714 ’91 blue water 19’ overnighter, v6, 4.3l, fresh water cooling, cabin heat, depth finder, $4,500. 503-888-1019 wIncHester pump 16 gage, model 12 shot- gun, excellent condition, $2,000. 503-652-8590 23' terry traIler fsc, 1997, fully equipped, $3,800. 503-253-9312 orIgInal bowfleX, perfect condition, only used twice by original owner and hardly by us. $200. 360-936-6894 H OUSING m iscellAneous IHItcH eXtensIon, 44 inch, fits 2-inch receiver $40. 503-761-7442 akc brIttany pup, shots, wormed, female $500. 503-769-6160 power cHaIr, pronto m91, new batteries, $550. 503-255-5156 furnace pIpIng, approx 50’ of 12”, 8” & 6”, all solid, also 6 ceiling or floor vents, all new, $75 obo. 503-665-7633 oXygen, acetylene tanks, 155 oxygen, 60 acetylene, $200 cash. 503-780-0374 NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS • 15 words or less • Include address label from front page and telephone number • Sorry, we cannot accept ads over the telephone • No commercial or business ads • 1 ad per issue • Type or print legibly Classified ads MUST include area code on all phone numbers or they will not be published lIncoln cIty vacation rental, 3 bdrm, 2 bath, sleeps 8, wi-fi, 2 blks to beach, 3 blks to casino. 503-804-7976 rockaway ocean front 503-777-5076 http://home.comcast.net/~rockaway.beach 5 bdrm, 2 bath, booking now for summer! rockaway beacH rental, 3bdrm, 2bth, slps10, Jacuzzi, 5min to beach/shops. 503- 236-7004,Vacationhomerentals.com/ 43026 spray, oregon, two 200-acre parcels, your choice, $750 per acre, will carry contract. 1-541- 468-2961 central oregon, pine Hollow, 3 bed, 2 bath, family room, on private airstrip, partial lake view, mt. Hood view, $287,000. 541-544-2288 PAGE 6 beverages, along with awards, door prizes and premium raffle item drawings. Shooters and sponsors are still needed. Various levels of sponsorship are available. All proceeds from the event will help support the USA’s mission to unite the union community to expand and im- prove hunting and fishing access and wildlife habitat throughout North America. Contact Tim Bindl at TimB@union- sportsmen.org or Heather Tazelaar at 615-831-6779 for more information. W ANTED casH paId old fishing tackle, wood plugs, reels, creels, salmon fishing photos, derby items, hunt- ing knives, game calls, etc. 503-775-4166 old woodworkIng tools, planes, lev- els, chisels, handsaws, slicks, adzes, wrenches, folding rulers, leather tools, tool chests. 503-659-0009 collector pays cash for older toys, older oil paintings and older american art pottery. 503 703-5952 Ham radIo and short wave radio equip- ment, particularly older 1950s/60s equip- that uses tubes, 503-823-4577 u.s., german, Japanese military uniforms, aviation, hats, helmets, swords, daggers, bayonets, rifles, pistols. 503-852-6791 motorcycles, tractors, quads,riding lawnmowers, cars, trucks needing trans- mission work, cash paid 503-880-8183 buyIng u.s. & world coins to add to collection, paying fairly, any amount welcome. 503-939-8835 JULY 20, 2012
