Union Veterans Council tackles issues
of unionists who are military veterans
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Union Veterans Council (UVC) was es-
tablished by the national AFL-CIO via a resolution adopted by the AFL-
CIO Executive Council in
March 2009.
The UVC brings together
union leaders and union mem-
bers who are veterans to speak
out on veterans’ issues and in-
fluence public policy to im-
prove the quality of life for
U.S. veterans and their fami-
lies. The two primary areas of focus for veterans are access to good jobs
and access to quality health care.
The Union Veterans Council holds government officials, candidates and
elected officials accountable to the needs of all military veterans and their
families. The UVC makes its positions on veterans’ issues known to candi-
dates for public office and supports the appointment of labor-friendly vet-
erans to government agencies at all levels. The UVC also encourages union
veterans to take leadership roles in other veterans’ organizations and strives
to form coalitions and alliances with other veteran groups around union vet-
erans’ issues.
To learn more about the Union Veterans Council, contact James Gilbert,
director, at 202-637-5350 or email him at unionveterans@aflcio.org.
Vets fundraiser planned
Oregon Military Support Network
(OMSN) will hold a benefit fundraiser
Saturday, Nov. 15, featuring the Nor-
man Sylvester Band. Voices for Veter-
ans will be held at the Eagles Lodge
3426, 7611 N Exeter Street, Portland,
from 7 to 11 p.m. Doors open at 6 p.m.
In addition to the show, there will be a
barbecue dinner, a no-host bar, door
prizes, and an auction. Tickets are avail-
able at www.tickettomato.com ($15 in
advance and $20 at the door).
For more information, call Glenn
Shuck at 503-803-1969 or email him at
ggshuck36@aol.com. You can also go
on line to omsn.info.
Charges against ‘postal defenders’ dropped
Ten “postal defenders” won a re-
prieve when Multnomah County Cir-
cuit Court Judge Karin Immergut dis-
missed criminal charges in a
two-year-old civil disobedience protest
case, saying the defendants’ constitu-
tional right to a speedy trial had been
violated.
The postal defenders immediately
turned from celebrating their victory to
organizing for a Veteran’s Day action
Nov. 11 to call on the postmaster gen-
eral to halt the scheduled closure of half
the nation’s remaining mail processing
plants and to retain existing mail deliv-
ery standards. The rally, which will also
honor veterans’ involvement with the
postal service, is slated for noon at
Portland’s Waterfront Park.
Ten postal defenders — Rev. John
Schwiebert, Jamie Partridge, Jack Her-
bert, Trudy Cooper, Rev. Michael
Colvin, Tim Flanagan and Ann Hunt-
work — were arrested May 24, 2012,
on criminal trespass charges inside the
now-closed University Station Post Of-
fice in downtown Portland. The group
was peacefully holding banners that
called for “No Closures, No Cuts” and
“Occupy the Post Office.”
The 10 —members of labor unions,
faith groups, neighborhood organiza-
tions, small business owners, a dis-
abled vet, retirees and the Occupy
movement — refused to leave until
postal management agreed to keep
postal facilities open and full service.
More than two years later, after a le-
gal fight that went to the Oregon
Supreme Court, the postal defenders
had hoped to get their day in court be-
fore a jury. The activists would have
argued that they had tried every other
means available — letter writing,
phone calls, Congressional visits, ral-
lies, marches, petitions, community
hearings, city council resolutions —
but had been unable to stop the dis-
mantling of the postal service by the
postmaster general.
The postal defenders planned to ar-
gue that, in refusing to leave, they were
attempting to stop the closure of one-
half the nation’s mail processing plants,
the gutting of service at half the coun-
try’s post offices and the delay of mail.
The postal defenders say they will
continue to argue that the real criminal
is the postmaster general, who is vio-
lating the Constitution (Article 1, sec.
8), Title 39 and Title 18, sec. 1701 &
1708 of the US Code by willfully ob-
structing and delaying the mail.
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©2014 MUFG Union Bank, N.A. All rights reserved. unionbank.com
NOVEMBER 7, 2014
NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS
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