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About Northwest labor press. (Portland , Ore.) 1987-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 18, 2013)
EE R F Who’s On Our Side? By Tom Chamberlain Congratulation to all of you who responded to the alarm, calling your Congressional delegations to beat back an attack on America’s safety net. Make no mistake, Social Secu- rity, Medicare, Medicaid, and other programs to help the disabled and poor were in the cross-hairs of the December lame-duck session. Thanks to you, our Democratic Congressional members drew a line in the sand and just said “no.” Understand that special interests were counting on Americans to be off enjoying the holiday break. They didn’t anticipate the rapid re- sponse of America’s unions and our allies. The AFL-CIO and its affili- ates, independent unions, and oth- ers worked together to implement a strategy that motivated tens of thou- sands of members to e-mail and phone members of the U.S. Senate and U.S. House. Local union lead- ers were in Washington, D.C., the Monday after Thanksgiving hold- ing face-to-face meetings with our elected leaders to remind them that it is high time that the rich and pow- erful pay their fair share and that continuing a practice that cuts spending at the expense of the mid- dle class and poor is unacceptable. The entire union movement has successes to celebrate from our massive efforts in the 2012 election. Workers proved that people-power trumps an onslaught of cash from the 1 percent. But to turn around a week later and marshal an army of activists who were tired — and looking forward to a holiday break, reveals the true power of the Amer- ican union movement and the dedi- cation and perseverance of union members, their families, and union leaders. I believe this is the template for the future of our movement at the national, state, and local levels. It begins with union leaders be- ing willing to develop strategies that push our members to get involved — including members who haven’t always been active. Then it takes early education to make sure our co-workers and fellow union mem- bers understand how these issues affect our daily lives, and our econ- omy as a whole. Then we have to be ready for rapid mobilizations that allow us to respond to issues as they break — no matter how busy we are or what time of year it is. The December 2012 strategy worked because we worked it. We worked it in spite of election burnout. We worked it in spite of a much needed rest during the holi- day break. We worked it because Americans had too much to lose if we didn’t. I remember my first emergency as a rookie firefighter. I was 22, and a man close to my age had fallen into a machine and his leg was wrapped around an auger. It was horrific. I remember thinking for a split second: Who is coming to help this guy. Immediately, it dawned on me it was my responsibility. I had to be ready to do my job. The lesson of the election and lame-duck Congress is the same one I learned over three decades ago: Help isn’t on the way, help is you and I. It is our responsibility to act, to respond to the emergency, time and time again. We are the only advocates for the middle class and the working poor. We are up against massive wealth and power whose vision for America is the op- posite of yours and mine. Together we have proven that massive mobilization of people beats wealth and power. We must continue to prove that the power to win is on our side. Tom Chamberlain is president of the Oregon AFL-CIO. Giant coal companies form spinoffs to dump health and pension debts MORGANTOWN, West Virginia — Over the past decade, Peabody En- ergy and Arch Coal, the nation’s largest coal companies, have off-loaded large amounts of retiree health care obliga- tions to new companies that now face bankruptcy, In These Times magazine reported. The United Mine Workers of Amer- ica says the spin-offs were designed to fail in order to clean the companies’ books of their retiree debts. According to In These Times, in 2007, Peabody Energy spun off a new company, Patriot Coal, which inherited 10 unionized mines in Kentucky and West Virginia. Along with the mines, Patriot took on $557 million in health care obligations to UMWA retirees. In 2008, Patriot bought Magnum Coal Company, which had been similarly spun off from Arch Coal three years earlier. From Magnum Coal Company, Patriot inherited another $500 million in obligations to retired miners. “Oddly, for a 5-year-old company, Patriot wound up with nearly three times as many retirees as active em- ployees, more than 90 percent of whom never worked for the company. Over- burdened by its debts, in July of 2012 Patriot declared bankruptcy,” In These PAGE 6 Times reported. In bankruptcy court, Patriot is seek- ing to be released from its pension and retirement obligations to some 10,000 retirees covering more than 20,000 ben- eficiaries, which total more than $1.3 billion. The union is suing Peabody and Arch Coal, which has been operating for nearly 130 years. “You talk about a well-conceived plan to shed themselves of promises and commitments that they made over 60 years. This had to be done with a team of lawyers that studied this forever in or- der to make the value of Peabody go up, and the liabilities that they carry on their balance sheet when they are publicly traded be reduced dramatically,” said union President Cecil Roberts. “I have never seen a situation like this, where every single liability that a company had ever committed to in any kind of negotiations with the union in the past 60 years now somehow gets handed to [a spin-off] company.” The union has mobilized to put pub- lic pressure on the bankruptcy court, with rallies of 3,000 and more retirees and Patriot miners attending meetings in Evansville, Ind., and Charleston, WV. The Charleston meeting was fol- lowed by a 2,500-person demonstration to persuade the judge to move the bank- ruptcy trial from the New York court — which is considered more friendly to corporations in bankruptcy cases — to a more neutral venue closer to where the miners live. [Patriot Coal set up two New York subsidiaries with no employ- ees one month before filing for bank- ruptcy, which allowed the company to file in New York, In These Times re- ported.] After reading hundreds of letters from coal miners, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Shelley C. Chapman agreed to move the trial to St. Louis. She wrote in her decision: “The corporate head- quarters of Peabody are also in St. Louis; this fact is significant in light of the issues that have been raised by the UMWA with respect to its spin-off of Patriot and its responsibility to provide promises cradle-to-grave health care benefits to Patriot employees and re- tirees who worked for Peabody prior to the spin-off.” Retired Patriot miner Bill Lemley said if Patriot is successful in shedding its obligations, “what’s to say that coal companies and other companies won’t get away with this? There will be a domino effect across industries.” NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS BARGAIN COUNTER Free classified ads to subscribers DEADLINE: Friday prior to publication Published 1st and 3rd Fridays Now accepting e-mails Send to: Michael492@comcast.net Mail to: NWLP, PO Box 13150, Portland OR 97213 (Please include union affiliation) • 15-20 words • No commercial or business ads • 1 ad per issue • All lower case (NO CAPITAL LETTERS, PLEASE) • Ads MUST include area code or they will not be published A UTOMOTIVE 2007 Prowler, 30’, large slide, 2 doors, rear bedroom, like new, non-smoker, $14,000. 971- 219-3254 ’99 Honda accord, 2 dr, sunroof, ac, power, new tires, radiator, transmission, runs excellent $3,000, 503-939-1467 ’52 Ford 4-door, $2,500 obo. 503-289-0066 H OUSING rocKawaY ocean front 503-777-5076 5 bdrm, 2 bath,fisherman’s special, http://home.comcast.net/~rockaway.beach lincoln citY vacation rental, 3 bdrm, 2 bath. sleeps 8, wi-fi, 2 blks from beach, 3 blks from casino. 503-653-2069 rocKawaY BeacH rental, 3 bed, 2 bath, sleeps 10, Jacuzzi, 5 min to beach/ shops. Vacationhomerentals.com/43026 M ISCELLANEOUS Border collie collectibles by Bradford Mint, all new, incl 9 plates with shelf, 2 throws, ladies coat, tiffany collie lamp, $475. 503 622 0899 S PORTING G OODS like new saddle, 18" Seat western Saddle com- pany, includes new bridle and stand, $375. 971- 322-7048 ’86 YaMaHa 350 big wheel, runs good (has a new top end), has cargo racks for front and back. $1,900. 503-969-5956. ’68 Honda 90 trail bike, high-low gears, $1,095; remming Model 12a 22 cal. pump, $250. 503-307-3934 reMinGton Model 31, 12 gauge, $300; Mossberg Model 935, 12 gauge 3.5”, $500. 503-901-1631 taUrUS JUdGe 45-410 revolver, .3 inch barrel, 2 tone finish, new in box w/holster and ammo, $595. 503-545-6520 W ANTED old woodworKinG tools, planes, lev- els, chisels, handsaws, slicks, adzes, wrenches, rulers, tool chests, leather tools. 503-659-0009 MotorcYcleS, quads, boats, tractors, rVs, trailers, bicycles, autos, lawnmow- ers, cash paid, will pick up 503-880-8183 U.S., GerMan, Japanese military items, uniforms, aviation, hats, helmets, swords, daggers, bayonets, rifles, pistols. 503-852- 6791 BUYinG US & world coins to add to col- lection, paying fairly, any amount wel- come. 503-939-8835 collector, cash paid, old fishing tackle, wood plugs, reels, creels, salmon fishing photos, etc. 503-775-4166 old Honda MotorcYcleS, 50cc and up; will pay cash. 503-310-2246 collector PaYS cash for older toys, older oil paintings and older american art pottery. 503-703-5952 #12 Bird SHot, steel or lead. 541-603- 0156 HaM radio and short wave radio equip- ment (no cBs), incl 1950s/60s/70s equip- ment that uses tubes. 503-823-4577 Steel wHeeled tractor/small crawler, doesn’t have to be complete or running, except wheels & major parts. 503-852- 6791 Poker tournament for Doernbecher slated March 16 The second annual Texas Hold’em tournament for Doernbecher Children’s Hospital is slated for Saturday, March 16, at the Sheet Metal Workers Local 16 hall in Northeast Portland. The event is sponsored by Unions for Kids, which also holds the annual motorcycle poker run. Buy-in to the card game is $50. Top winners will receive Visa gift cards. The amount of each card will be deter- mined by the number of card players, but minimums have been set at $1,000 for first place, $500 for second place, and $250 for third place. Drawings for a flat screen television and other items also will take place at the poker tournament. For more information or to register, contact Emmy Keever at 503-254-0123 or e-mail her at ekeever@sheetmetal- 16.org. Low Prices! Mon-Fri 9-6, Sat 9:30-5:30, Sun 12-6 JANUARY 18, 2013
