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About Northwest labor press. (Portland , Ore.) 1987-current | View Entire Issue (July 5, 2013)
Labor Council calls on congressional delegation to oppose fast-tracking TPP Allen Brennan is a new staffperson at the Oregon AFL-CIO. He will assist laid-off workers get benefits they’re entitled to. Photo by Russell Sanders. Allen Brennan joins AFL-CIO to help assist laid off workers The Oregon AFL-CIO has a new staffperson to help laid-off workers get benefits they’re entitled to. Allen Brennan — who was himself laid off from a pulp mill in Camas, Washington — springs into action whenever local union employers an- nounce mass layoffs. Beyond unem- ployment insurance, laid off workers are entitled to dislocated worker assis- tance if their skills aren’t in demand, and even more generous benefits if Moro elected to VP post at NOLC Everice Moro of Oregon School Em- ployees Association (OSEA) Local 6732 was elected second vice president of the Northwest Oregon La- bor Council. She suc- ceeds Teamsters mem- EVERICE ber Lynn Lehrbach, MORO who retired. Moro ran unopposed, winning the seat by acclamation. NOLC is the largest central labor council in the state, representing more than 48,000 members of 108 unions in Multnomah, Washington, Clackamas, and Columbia counties. Jenny Gray, a member of Bakers Local 114, was elected by acclamation as reading clerk. Both Gray and Moro will be sworn in at the next delegates’ meeting July 22. Terms are for three years. PAGE 4 offshoring or foreign competition con- tributed to their job loss. The benefits can include career counseling, trade school tuition, relocation assistance, and extended unemployment benefits that allow the recipient to attend school while collecting unemploy- ment. In 2007, Brennan was laid off from his job as an electrical equipment op- erator at the Camas pulp and paper mill now owned by Georgia-Pacific. Then vice president of Association of Western Pulp and Paper Workers (AWPPW) Local 5, he went to work as a peer advocate helping his fellow laid-off union members with paper- work to apply for benefits. When that was done, he attended college classes at Clark Community College and Washington State University, and went to work helping unemployed workers as a case manager at Vancou- ver Worksource. The Oregon AFL-CIO position is funded through the federal Workforce Investment Act. Brannan began March 6 and replaces Mark Warne, who left to work on a union pre-apprenticeship program for state prison inmates. Sadly, Brennan will be keeping busy this summer. Umatilla Chemical Depot, which is winding down a multi-year decommissioning project, laid off 136 union members June 26. CenturyLink is closing its Hood River call center Aug. 2 and laying off 51 union members. And Georgia-Pacific expects to lay off 100 workers starting Aug. 2 at its paper mill in Halsey, Oregon. Delegates to the Northwest Oregon Labor Council (NOLC) voted unani- mously June 24 to send a letter to Oregon’s Democratic Congressional delegation expressing concern about the ongoing lack of transparency in the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) free trade negotiations and its poten- tial negative impact on jobs in the state. The labor council also is asking that they oppose fast-track “trade pro- motion authority,” which only allows for an up or down vote, with no changes to the treaty. The NAFTA-style trade agreement with 11 Pacific Rim countries is en- route to completion. At the end of a May 15-24 session in Peru, trade ne- gotiators said they expect the treaty to be concluded in October. The next meeting takes place July 15-25 in Malaysia, with a final meeting slated in September. The participating countries are Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, the United States, and Vietnam. About half the countries already have trade agreements with the United States. “Oregonians deserve the right to know what has been proposed in our names and to be able to comment on specific draft texts prior to negotia- tions being concluded,” wrote NOLC Executive Secretary Bob Tackett. “Of- fering Congress only a take-it-or- leave-it vote on a package that the public is unable to review until after the pact is signed and negotiations completed is a completely inappropri- ate way to create public policy that af- fects so many aspects of our economy and society.” The letter continued: “In December, Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley wrote to the President suggesting a number of commonsense measures that could help transform the TPP into a tool for net export growth and job creation. We ask that you please use whatever ac- cess you have to draft TPP negotiating texts to answer questions about the is- sues they raised six months ago: “Does the TPP’s government pro- curement chapter in any way restrict “Buy American” and “Buy Local” public procurement policies at the fed- eral or sub-federal level, or otherwise restrict efforts to use taxpayer funds to prioritize job creation in our state? “Is there an across-the-board Rule of Origin requirement for the TPP, and if not, at what levels have Rules of Origin been set for various products of particular concern to our state, such as electronic integrated circuits, proces- sors and controllers; photovoltaic cells; trucks; and civilian aircraft? And how do these levels compare with the Rules of Origin already found in the North American Free Trade Agree- ment (NAFTA), Australia Free Trade Agreement, Chile Free Trade Agree- ment, Singapore Free Trade Agree- ment, and Peru Free Trade Agreement, to which certain TPP partners are al- ready a party? “What safeguards have been in- cluded in the TPP to safeguard against currency manipulation? “What have countries like Vietnam, Brunei and Malaysia — and, for that matter, the United States — agreed to in terms of enforceable labor rights standards? Does the TPP’s labor chapter enable enforcement of the core International Labor Organization (ILO) Conventions, with all their specificity and jurisprudence, or is it based instead upon the much more vague ILO Declaration? “Does the TPP include investor- state dispute resolution, which acts as an additional incentive for companies to locate employment overseas? How are the terms ‘investment’ and ‘expro- priation’ defined? “Does the TPP’s financial service chapter in any way handcuff the fed- eral government’s ability or the State of Oregon’s ability to implement reg- ulations designed to reign in abuses by the financial sector? “These are among the questions about the TPP that our members are asking, and feel we are entitled to re- view text on before negotiations con- clude and changes become all but im- possible. We look forward to your best answers on these questions, and on our request that you please oppose Fast Track legislation.” K NOW Y OUR R IGHTS Y ou can win a penaltY from an insurer if it is proven that the workers ’ compensation claim denial was unreasonable . NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS JULY 5, 2013
