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About Northwest labor press. (Portland , Ore.) 1987-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 15, 2013)
EE R F Who’s On Our Side? Free classified ads to subscribers By Tom Chamberlain W e had a sweet victory in No- vember’s election, with can- didates winning the presidency, the U.S. Senate, and state and local elections. But our victories haven’t slowed the advance of right-to- work for less. Last year, Indiana and Michigan adopted the act. Now, proposed legislation in Maine and Pennsyl- vania could pass, leaving half of the United States with right-to-work for less laws. And, if just weaken- ing unions wasn’t enough, Kansas has introduced legislation to limit unions’ political programs. Those who acquire wealth and power by relying on the efforts of working people are silencing and weakening those same people whose work they rely on. To do that requires weakening our movement; it requires the elimination of the union movement as we know it. Why? Because we fight for the workers’ share of profits. We be- lieve that every American has a right to health care, and that the sick, disabled, poor and aged have a right to respect. We believe that as a nation we are responsible to care for all those who inhabit our nation, and that everyone should be treated with dignity and have a pathway to a better life. Your share of the profits, your benefits, and your dignity, leave less for the people who get filthy rich off of your work. The attacks have taken a toll and it was of little surprise a couple weeks ago when the Department of Labor reported that the U.S. had lost 400,000 union members in 2012. Wisconsin alone amounted to 65,000, or 16 percent of the losses. My favorite coach often stated: “never change a winning game, but always change a losing one.” For the last two decades the union movement has played a los- ing game. To change our game we must realize that the union structure isolates us into sector silos: Manu- facturing, Building Trades, Public Sector, and so on. It is a structure that limits our ability to jointly strategize, to maximize our re- sources, and to implement a united union strategy. It is not conducive to increasing our strength by build- ing relationships with other pro- gressive groups. Unionists are task driven, whether it is a grievance or bargain- ing or winning elections. We com- plete our task and move on to the next one. It is a structure that is ill- equipped to change rapidly enough to meet today’s challenges. But with shrinking membership comes shrinking budgets. And though fewer funds makes it more difficult, we can, we must, and we are chang- ing the union’s game. The establishment of the Oregon Strong Voice tables brings commu- nities, social activists, and unions BARGAIN COUNTER together to develop relationships that advance an agenda for the poor, communities of color, and the mid- dle class. Today, Oregon Strong Voice is in Bend and Medford — and is coming this spring to Salem and Astoria. Service Employees In- ternational Union’s “Workers Cen- ters” in North and Northeast Port- land are a creative approach to reach and advocate for nonunion workers. The AFL-CIO Organizing Pilot is a new collaborative way to organize that increases coordination and resource management between the national AFL-CIO and our affil- iates. The innovation that is occur- ring in Oregon is an example for the national movement. The more unions coordinate and cooperate, the more our movement will grow in members, strength, and in allies. We have the power to change this nation if we have the courage to understand that just as one worker cannot stand alone against the boss, it takes workers collectively stand- ing together speaking in one voice to change the plight of the middle class as a movement. We will only prevail — the fu- ture will only be on our side — when we begin to work together on a new vision to change this country. 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 TWO WILLYS wagons, need restoration, $900 each; 1 flathead for CJ-2; 1 Fhead; 1 OHC 6 cyl, $300 each. 360-630-1975 3934 WInCHESTER MODEL 12 pump shot- gun, 16 ga, case, shells, $1,850; fishing poles, gear, wader, etc, make offer. 503- 652-8590 H OUSING W ANTED 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 SE PORTLAnD rental, 3 bedrooms, 1.5 baths, air conditioning, near Lents Park, $1,249 month. 503-805-6648 FOUR PLEX rental, 1 bed, no pets, 9125 nE Oregon, Portland, $495 plus $400 de- posit. 503-654-3045 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 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 older 1950s/60s/70s ham radios that use tubes. 503-823-4577 M ISCELLANEOUS 3-WHEEL electric scooter, wood is good, Rally, $225. 503-761-1133 Tom Chamberlain is president of the Oregon AFL-CIO. S PORTING G OODS 30 BOXES 223 reloads, $240; Wood split- ter, needs work, $295 OBO. 503-307- AFL-CIO plans national campaign for immigration reform The national AFL-CIO is launching a nationwide campaign to support comprehensive immigration reform, including rallies, radio ads, and work- site educational efforts. AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka and L.A. County Federation of Labor Executive Secretary-Treas- urer Maria Elena Durazo announced the campaign Feb. 7, two days after la- bor leaders met with President Barack Obama in the Oval Office to discuss his proposals for immigration reform. At that session, Obama outlined his immigration plan, which explicitly calls for worker rights for the undocu- mented. Trumka said citizenship would ben- efit not just those workers — by ending their exploitation — but all workers, as companies often threaten to hire the undocumented to drive down wages and working conditions for everyone. “Often, the first reason (those) workers band together” against em- ployers “is not for better wages, but for getting them to pay wages at all,” Trumka said. At a Jan. 29 speech in Las Vegas, Obama declared that passing immigra- PAGE 10 tion reform legislation will be a priority of his Administration. Obama proposes to strengthen bor- der control and stiffen penalties for em- ployers who knowingly hire unautho- rized immigrants, while also stream- lining the legal immigration system and giving law-abiding undocumented workers who are already in the United States a chance to legalize their status. “We have to make sure that every business and every worker in America is playing by the same set of rules,” Obama said in Las Vegas. “We have to bring this shadow economy into the light so that everybody is held ac- countable — businesses for who they hire, and immigrants for getting on the right side of the law.” The president’s proposals are pretty close to the principles the AFL-CIO and the Change To Win union federa- tion outlined in a 2009 “unity frame- work” for comprehensive immigration reform. Obama proposes to set up a process to legalize unauthorized immi- grants: If they pay back taxes and fines and demonstrate a crime-free record and proof of having worked in the United States, they could apply for and receive legal residency, and eventually, citizenship. Other features of the president’s proposal: • Protection against retaliation for undocumented workers who exercise their labor rights. • A “labor law enforcement fund” to help ensure that industries that employ significant numbers of immigrant workers comply with labor laws. • A five-year phase-in of mandatory electronic employment verification, with exemptions for certain small busi- nesses. • Issuance of a fraud-resistant, tamper-resistant Social Security card and a requirement that workers use fraud-and-tamper-resistant documents to prove authorization to work in the United States. The AFL-CIO also is working with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce on the one area of immigration where the two groups have strongly disagreed in the past: Guest workers. Trumka said the AFL-CIO has op- posed past guest worker programs that brought in millions of workers, mostly in farms, with no protections and a lot of exploitation. Such “bracero” pro- grams are unacceptable, he said. Instead, the AFL-CIO and the Chamber are working to create a non- partisan panel to judge employer needs — industry by industry and sector by sector — for temporary workers. Com- panies would have to advertise for U.S. applicants before they could seek to import temporary workers from abroad, Trumka said. There would not be “guesstimates” or arbitrarily set worker caps, Trumka added. Instead “the panel would say, ‘OK, you need 8,250 workers here,’ ” and then lay out paths for recruiting them. Other details are still being hashed out, he explained. The AFL-CIO immigration reform campaign will feature events in 14 cities. The first was a Feb. 6 rally in Raleigh, N.C., followed by Las Vegas on Feb. 11 and events in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Portland, St. Paul, Seattle, Miami and Phoenix. The Portland event will take place at 10 a.m., Feb. 19, at the U.S. Citizen- ship and Immigrationin Services build- ing, 1455 NW Overton. NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS Home For Sale SW Portland, Garden Home neighborhood; 2 story on cul-de- sac; 4 bdrm; 2½ bath; 2-car garage. $385,000. Call Grady Storms, Broker, RE/MAX equity group, 503-495-4632 Broadway Floral for the BEST flowers call 503-288-5537 1638 NE Broadway, Portland Low Prices! Mon-Fri 9-6, Sat 9:30-5:30, Sun 12-6 FEBRUARY 15, 2013
