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About Northwest labor press. (Portland , Ore.) 1987-current | View Entire Issue (March 15, 2013)
EE R F Who’s On Our Side? By Tom Chamberlain O ften this column focuses on what is wrong with America, corporations, and the wealthy who focus on profits rather than what is in the long-run best interest of our people. Economic inequity has plagued this nation since Ronald Reagan instituted his trickle down economic philosophy, and it has re- sulted in the greatest transfer of wealth from the poor and middle class to the very wealthy we’ve ever seen in such a short period of time. In 1976, the top 1 percent of Americans owned 7 percent of America’s wealth. Today, they own 40 percent. Witnessing the transfer of wealth and its corresponding impact on American families, and watching the fiscal strangulation of govern- ment services, which directly trans- lates to loss of opportunity for Americans, one can’t help but won- der where the push back is — where the voice for everyday Amer- icans that will inspire and instill the prospect of hope — is. The American workers’ move- ment has been that vehicle for change and that voice for something more. In the 1930s and ’40s, our move- ment’s ability to adapt to mecha- nization of industries resulted in millions of workers organizing to build strength and power. One of the problems we face as a union movement today, though, is that we are stuck on a structure and deliv- ery system that was built on that foundation over 80 years ago. While our innovations were groundbreaking and wildly suc- cessful in the ’30s and ’40s, they’ve proven to be slow, and their im- provements isolated to unions and our members, without bringing im- provements to the millions of nonunion workers we need to help now in 2013. Meeting the challenges of the 21st century will require our work- ers’ movement to evolve into a movement that speaks, advocates, and fights for all workers — for the poor, the aged, and the disadvan- taged. The AFL-CIO is in the midst of a major transformation that will cul- minate at the national AFL-CIO convention held this September in Los Angeles. Over the last two years, the AFL- CIO has implemented pilot pro- grams in various cities and states to evaluate new and innovative ideas in organizing, communications, and community partnership programs. These pilots have mapped a path to the future for American workers. As a single example: We now know that unions can coordinate or- ganizing, sharing resources and ex- perience to grow our movement. Such an effort will require a greater emphasis on organizing at the local level. We understand that our econ- omy has evolved and will continue to evolve. We have more independ- ent contractors and more businesses with low wages that result in a more transient workforce. Traditional or- ganizing doesn’t fit for these work- ers. But maybe new models — such as the National Taxi Workers Al- liance or the Retail Action Project, which create a union membership that follows the worker, providing worker representation at a nonunion worksite, building political power and instilling a unionist identity — would. The AFL-CIO convention will evaluate traditional and non-tradi- tional models within the union movement, and it will begin the process of rebuilding from the grassroots up. The strength and weakness of our movement is our state federations and central labor councils (CLCs). Through those bodies, national and local issues and programs are implemented. The stronger, more nimble and effective state federations and CLCs are, the stronger our movement will be. AFL-CIO convention delegates will vote on a range of issues that will increase state and local bodies’ professionalism, transparency, and accountability through require- ments for strategic planning, in- creased coordination with the na- tional AFL-CIO, and standards that will result in an increased focus of state federation and CLCs on all types of organizing. Our movement will continue to face many challenges. We have faced them before and responded with vigor, innovation and the un- derstanding that failure to take chal- lenges is not acceptable. In Oregon, we are ready for this new model. 2013 is our opportunity to respond strongly to the future, and to put the future on our side. Tom Chamberlain is president of the Oregon AFL-CIO. 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 H OUSING ROCKAWAY ocean front, 503-777-5076, 5 bdrms/2 ba, book now for summer! http://rockawaybeachfrontrental.com 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, $1,200 month. 503-805-6648 M ISCELLANEOUS ExtEntiOn LADDER, 24-foot Werner fiberglass, like new, $150. 503-799-3029 8 WOODEn BOxES, all converted from kitchen cabinet and refabricated, $8 to $10 each. 503-753-1714 S PORTING G OODS AtV-2007 Yamaha Raptor 350 (blue), all stock, good cond, sand & dirt tires on sep- arate rims. $2,750, 541-554-3458 1995 COmPAniOn 5th-wheel, 30ft, large slideout with hi jacker ul 16 hitch 503-625- 6538 29 BOxES of 7.62x39mm, 20 rounds per box, lead core bullets, non corrosive. $350 or possible trade. 541-923-4315 BEREttA over and under 12 ga, silver Pi- geon shotgun, new $1,949, will take $1,000. 503-449-0584 (Kenny) ’07 PROWLER travel trailer, m-290FK, ...Grain company locks out Vancouver Longshore (From Page 1) Grain and the others want a contract on similar terms to the one that ILWU signed with EGT in Longview, Wash- ington, and with Kalama Export in Kalama. Those contracts contain ma- jor concessions in union rights and workplace rules. At the March 8 rally, Cager Clabaugh, president of ILWU Local 4, said United Grain is spending millions of dollars bringing in an anti-union se- curity firm and housing out-of-state re- placement workers. “They’re spending I don’t know how many millions of dollars to get rid of us. Why? They want to take our union protection, and that’s it; eliminate our voice from the workplace. We’re here to show them that we’re not going to let that happen. We don’t care how long. We’re going to win this struggle.” PAGE 6 ILWU International Vice President Ray Familathe said the union is mobi- lizing support worldwide. “If they want to take this fight from Vancouver to wherever, we’re ready. We are going to battle; one day longer, one day stronger!” he said. Locally, leaders from the Teamsters and the Inlandboatmen’s Union said its members support locked-out ILWU members at the Port of Vancouver. Teamster drivers will not cross the ILWU picket line, declared Tony An- drews, president of Portland-based Teamsters Joint Council No. 37. “We protect your work; you protect ours,” he said. Alan Cote of the Inlandboatmen’s Union said his members, too, will honor ILWU picket lines. “It will be as difficult as humanly possible to bring ships in and use tugboats on this river. (We) have your back.” The lockout means loss of employ- ment for members of ILWU Local 4, which dispatches eight to 22 members per shift for up to two eight-hour shifts a day when ships are at the terminal. Local 4 represents 200 men and women who have loaded grain and other cargo at the Port of Vancouver since 1934. On the lockout’s first day, ILWU members picketed at the main gate to the Port of Vancouver from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Members declined to cross the picket line, and as a result, a ship car- rying Subaru vehicles was not un- loaded. The next day ILWU shifted its picket to the east gate, and the Subaru ship was unloaded. To improve conditions for picketers, the Port of Vancouver removed barri- ers to nearby parking, laid down gravel, and arranged to bring in a port- a-potty. NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS At the United Grain terminal, ILWU members continue to picket outside the gate, while nonunion work- ers load grain ships. “It’s shameful that a Japanese cor- poration that’s profiting from the United States’ infrastructure, natural resources and labor, has chosen to vio- late our federal law instead of negotiat- ing a fair labor agreement with its American workforce,” said McEllrath, a Vancouver-based longshoreman. “Mitsui-United Grain should stop vio- lating the law, end this harmful lock- out, and follow the example set by its American competitors who have reached a satisfactory agreement.” At Louis Dreyfus elevators in Seat- tle and Portland, and at the Columbia Grain terminal in Portland, ILWU members continue to load grain ships without a contract, under the em- ployer’s terms. 30’, lg slide, barely used, queen bed, title in hand, $14,000 obo. 971-219-3254 15-Ft ALum SYLVAn, 30 Honda 4 stroke elect. tiller, happy troller, 46lb minn kota, stored under cover $4,750. 503-658-5043 FiSHERmEn FLOAt tube, $45; pontoon boat, $105. 1-360-975-8292 7.5 mERC kicker motor, 1984, long shaft, 2 stroke, new water pump, plugs, gear, oil and prop, runs good, $425. 503-702-4774 nORinCO SKS rifle, nice w/scope and extras, 800 rounds of 7.62x39 ammo, $750 for both/can separate. 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 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 (no CBs), incl older 1950s/60s/70s ham radios that use tubes. 503-823-4577 Low Prices! Mon-Fri 9-6, Sat 9:30-5:30, Sun 12-6 IRS PROBLEMS? • Haven’t filed for ... years? • Lost records? • Liens - Levies - Garnishments? • Negotiate settlements. • Prepare offer in Compromise. Call Nancy D. Anderson Enrolled Agent/LTC-1807 NPTI Fellow/America’s Tax Expert www.nancydanderson.com 503-244-2577 MARCH 15, 2013
