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About Northwest labor press. (Portland , Ore.) 1987-current | View Entire Issue (June 20, 2014)
EE R F Who’s On Our Side? By Tom Chamberlain M ost of us know that for the American union movement to remain a vehicle for change, we as a movement must change. Great change begins with how we define our workers’ movement. A union movement that only repre- sents unionized workers, or that narrowly focuses on workplace is- sues, is outmoded and not reflective of the mission of an evolving work- ers’ movement. 21st Century unionists under- stand that our focus must be on a new definition of workers’ issues: education, job creation, the environ- ment, a redistribution of wealth to begin our way back to a strong and vibrant middle class, comprehen- sive immigration reform, housing, and any other issue that impacts workers and our families. Our change must recognize that workers come from all back- grounds, races, and ethnicities. We are Catholic and Muslim, gay and straight, sister and brother. We must wrestle with how we build power beyond the traditional boundaries of trade unionism, while at the same time evaluate the very structure of our unions to ensure they are effective, accountable, transparent, and deliver the right services in accessible ways. With a will for change as our foundation, the 2013 national AFL- CIO convention was the most sig- nificant convention in five decades. For the first time, educators, re- searchers, and activists participated in pre-convention committees draft- ing resolutions. They then sat on the floor of the convention where they were able to debate and set the fu- ture course of the American labor movement. Delegates passed reso- lutions that created performance evaluations for state federations and central labor bodies that will create accountability and transparency, and result in better programs. Resolutions were passed that welcomed every worker into the union movement, and began the process of developing new types of membership to better meet the needs of workers in a 21st century economy. Resolutions developed commu- nity engagement programs and set in motion a new, broader social movement that speaks and advo- cates for all workers. It was nothing less than transformational. Oregon was one of five states se- lected to be reviewed under the new performance evaluation resolution. The team reviewing Oregon was made up of leaders from the Na- tional Association of Letter Carri- ers, United Food and Commercial Workers, IFPTE, the California La- bor Federation, and the Chicago La- bor Federation. The review team spent a day in Oregon earlier this month. They ar- rived at the Oregon AFL-CIO office in Southeast Portland at 8:30 a.m. for a meeting with union leaders. They attended our Executive Board meeting, interviewed staff, and met with our community partners and central labor council leaders. They This was supposed to be the year the layoffs ended, says Portland Fed- eration of School Professionals (PFSP) president Belinda Reagan. With the real-economy recession winding down, state revenues were up, and the Oregon Legislature in- creased K-12 public school funding, even curtailing public employee re- tirement benefits to generate more funds. Yet at Portland Public Schools, Reagan says 70 members of her sup- port staff union received notice in April that they were “unassigned” — including 11 library assistants and 27 of the district’s 224 educational assis- tants. PFSP Local 111, an affiliate of the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), represents 60 job classifica- PAGE 6 tions at the district, including educa- tional assistants, special ed para-edu- cators, and school clerical staff. “Everybody was talking about how we finally have a decent budget and everybody’s happy, so we were shocked to get 70 members unas- signed,” Reagan said. Unassigned doesn’t necessarily mean laid off, but if unassigned work- ers don’t replace someone who’s quit- ting or retiring, they could be laid off. Reagan predicts about 15 layoffs, and says members should know by mid- July if they’re coming back in Sep- tember. “There should be no layoffs,” said Gwen Sullivan, president of the Port- land Association of Teachers (PAT). “If anything they should be adding Free classified ads to subscribers DEADLINE: Friday prior to publication Published 1st and 3rd Fridays Now accepting e-mails concluded the day with a 90-minute debrief of the day’s events and mapped out the next steps for our state. It was almost a 12-hour day. Team members have reviewed strategic and campaign plans, and analyzed the state fed’s and CLC’s budgets to determine whether we are really able to carry out our strategic plan and campaign priori- ties. They have learned about every piece of our work. They will report directly to AFL- CIO President Rich Trumka on Oregon’s programs and our per- formance, and they are empowered by the national AFL-CIO Executive Board to make recommendations on how to improve performance and participation in our local organ- izations. It is a weighty process. Our state labor federation has used this process as an opportunity to embrace the change set in motion by the 2013 national resolutions. We have the opportunity to change our workers’ movement. It is time for us all to step up our game. We must invest our limited union dol- lars in programs that build a move- ment. We must bring in like-minded organizations. Most importantly, we must build power for workers. It is time to transform our movement. DISTRIBUTING HITCH,10,000 lb capac- ity, new, used 2 times. 541-206-0812 ’07 SKY CONV, 15k miles, 6 speed auto, excellent condition, $15,000 OBO. 503- 473-4706 ’93 DODGE DIESEL dually, 84k miles, original owner, 5 spd manual, excellent condition, $11,999. 541-337-3945 UTILITY TRaILER, half-ton $300. 360- 695-6883 ’55 CHEVY 2 DR HT, beautiful, 350 ci, basecoat/clearcoat paint, custom uphol- stery, restored, $27,500. 503-630-3877 Tom Chamberlain is president of the Oregon AFL-CIO. W ANTED Layoffs at Portland Public Schools? AFT sounds the alarm about possible pink slips for classroom assistants BARGAIN COUNTER more, because they have the money to do it.” PAT’s new collective bargaining agreement, ratified in February after a near-strike, commits the district to hire not less than 150 full-time teach- ers, and hold the line on teacher workload. Laying off classified sup- port staff, Sullivan said, would add to teacher workload. Reagan said it rankles her and her members to think that the district is downsizing education assistants who make $14.04 to $19.45 an hour at the same time it’s hiring new high-paid administrators — at least six by her count — at over $100,000. Reagan, a former library assistant at Fernwood Middle School, said if this year’s unassigned notices turn into layoff notices, it would be the eighth year in a row of cuts to the bar- gaining unit, which currently stands at about 1,200. NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS 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 H OUSING ROCKaWaY BEaCH rental, 3 bed, 2 bth, sleeps 10, Jacuzzi, 5 min to beach/ shops.Vacationhomerentals.com/43026 ROCKaWaY ocean front, 503-777-5076, 5 bdrms/2ba, call for June special http://rockawaybeachfrontrental.com LONGVIEW, Wa 6 aCRES, 30’ x 48’ shop, well, power, new septic, deer, elk, fishing, $125,000 360-577-5231 100 aCRES, trees, wildlife, will carry con- tract, Spray Oregon, $750 per acre OBO. 541-468-2961 OLD WOODWORKING tools, planes, lev- els, chisels, handsaws, slicks, adzes, wrenches, folding rulers, axes, hatchets, leather tools, tool chests. 503-659-0009 BUYING US & world coins to add to col- lection, paying fairly, any amount wel- Oracle CEO gets $174.6 million — in two years Billionaire Larry Ellison grabbed $96.2 million as the CEO of software giant Oracle in 2012 and another $78.4 million in 2013. Oracle shareholders, after each jackpot, voted to reject the 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, oil paintings, american art pottery, and costume jewelry. 503 703-5952 1947 FRaNKLIN High School yearbook. 503-522-6542 M ISCELLANEOUS TROY BUILT ROTOTILLER, horse, 7hp Kohler, $300. 503-780-03747 BELT SaNDER, 4x106”, wet abrasive, CRLaurence w/roller platen, extra belts, 110V, runs good, $600 cash.360-274-6397 DELL FLaT screen monitor, 14”, $45. 503- 289-5884 S PORTING G OODS .22 REVOLVER, high standard Double Nine convertible, western style, 9 shot, 5.5” barrel, $300. 503-286-5901 aR-15 DEL-TON HBaR carbine a3, ex- cellent condition w/extras, $750. 503-253- 1003 ’97 LaNCE CaMPER 10.5’, queen bed, electric jacks, self contained, must see, $8,500. 503-254-4914 aTTENTION BOWHUNTERS, camou- flage clothing, large size, everything you would need. 503-652-8590 F OR THE H OME OVERSTUFFED swivel rocking chair, gold, like new, $50. 503-761-1133 company’s executive pay plan. The votes made zilch difference, because U.S. shareholders have only an “advi- sory” say on CEO pay. This is the same Oracle the State of Oregon is considering suing for its role in the botched Cover Oregon health in- surance exchange. The state paid the in- formation technology company more than $130 million to set up the ex- change — which never worked. JUNE 20, 2014
