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About Northwest labor press. (Portland , Ore.) 1987-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 20, 2015)
PAGE 6 | February 20, 2015 | NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS LOCAL MOTION ] JANUARY 2015 Who’s on our side? By Tom Chamberlain Oregon AFL-CIO President Oregonian subscriber no more I’ve been a subscriber to the Oregonian since I was 21 years old. It’s been the first thing I read in the morning, every day, for decades. Newspapers are important to me: They pres- ent the big stories that impact us and deter- mine what we will discuss throughout our day with co-workers, family, and friends. It’s a timeless medium that has long served us well. But these days not all newspapers are equal. And it’s for that reason I am no longer a sub- scriber to the Oregonian. When considering who has our back, as workers and as Oregonians, we need a statewide newspaper that shares our vision for Oregon’s future, one that understands that the minimum wage is too low and that there are serious issues when a workforce’s wages re- quire billions of dollars in taxpayer subsidies just to make ends meet. As reported last month in Labor Press re- porter Don McIntosh’s article “Up is down,” it is very troubling to see a paper like the Ore- gonian flip-flop on a major issue within the span of a week, especially when that issue is a straight shot at giving thousands of Orego- nians a better life by raising our minimum wage. Sadly, I’ve grown accustomed to seeing at- tacks on workers pop up in the Oregonian, and it’s made it quite clear whose side they are on. Not ours. Not when ripping PERS, lobbing rocks at our labor movement, and ignoring the issues that Oregon’s workers really care about is a common theme. Newspapers are a hallmark of our society, and we deserve a paper for Oregon’s people, not a mouthpiece for the loud opinions of an editorial board that just doesn’t understand the economy that we’re all living in. Income inequality is the defining issue of our time. What we do to fight it — whether that be raising wages, forming unions, or working toward a secure retirement — will set the stage for the next generation. I don’t want to see my grandkids grow up in a world where 1 percent of the people can create lopsided policies that keep them rich and the rest of us struggling. Based on their coverage and opinions, I’m convinced the Oregonian doesn’t share that perspective. That’s not the kind of newspaper I want to read. It’s the same reason I don’t watch Fox News. There’s just too much distor- tion and not enough balance to their coverage. I’m done supporting media that vilify workers who are standing up for a fair shot. Anytime a worker speaks out, they should be commended for taking action, for trying to raise the bar, and for inspiring the hopes and dreams of everyone who works for a living. That’s why I’m cancelling my subscription to the Oregonian, turning off biased news pro- grams, and seeking the truth from publications who take their journalistic integrity seriously. Tom Chamberlain is president of the Oregon AFL-CIO, a 120,000-member-strong federation of labor unions. The following are Oregon and Southwest Washington workplaces where workers are determining whether to be represented by a union. The thumbs-up symbol means workers will be union- represented. Thumbs-down means they’ll be on their own. Decert means a decertification election, where union-represented workers vote whether to remain union. The information comes from the National Labor Relations Board and the Oregon Employment Relations Board. Election Requests Employer (Location) Union ABM Onsite Services (Portland International Airport) IAM District Lodge W24 ■ 28 workers – baggage handlers and dispatchers Election Results Employer (Location) Union Yes-No = Curry Community Health (Gold Beach) SEIU Local 503 10-19 % WASHINGTON Unions want lawmakers to tie Boeing tax breaks to jobs A new poll shows more than two-thirds of likely Washington voters support a requirement that Boeing maintain jobs and provide living wages if it’s go- ing to get state tax breaks. In November 2013, a special session of the Washington Leg- islature extended tax cuts for Boeing through 2040. The $8.7 billion price tag made it the largest tax subsidy in U.S. his- tory. Boeing started moving work out of state soon after. FREE CLASSIFIED ADS AUTOMOTIVE ’91TOYOTA Corolla 4-door sedan, au- tomatic, royal blue, regularly main- tained, $1,695. 503-649-2957 TIRES, matched set, Wild Country radial XTX Sport, 275/70R18, 10-ply, 8- hole rims, 90%, $375. 503-799-3029 2 STuddEd snow tires, 175x70R13 on Toyota 4-hole rims, like new, $50, 503- 695-5637. BLACK HISTORY MONTH Who was Bayard Rustin? By Kenneth Quinnell AFL-CIO NOW blog Bayard Rustin (1912-1987) has been referred to as the “most important civil rights leader you’ve never heard of.” A key mentor of Martin Luther King, Jr., he served the trade union and civil rights movements for decades as a theorist, tactician and organizer. He conceived the coali- tion of liberal, labor and religious leaders that supported passage of the civil rights and anti- poverty legislation of the 1960s. And as the first executive director of the AFL-CIO’s A. Philip Randolph Institute, he worked to ensure African American workers’ rightful place in the House of Labor. Rustin was also silenced, threatened, arrested, beaten and fired from leadership posi- tions because he was an openly gay man in a severely homophobic era. Rustin was tapped to organize the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, an event for which he was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Organized during a two-month period, Rustin helped create what would be the largest protest in America’s history at that point. HOUSING ROCKAWAY BEACH rental, 3 bed, 2 bth, sleeps 10, Jacuzzi, 5 min to beach/ shops.Vacationhomerentals.com/43026 ROCKAWAY ocean front, 503-777- 5076, 5bdrms/2 bath, book now for summer! http://rockawaybeachfron- trental.com The manual that was handed out by Rustin and other leaders of the march made it clear that economic and workers’ rights were an integral part of the fight for civil rights for African Americans. The list of demands central to the march included a massive job training and placement program with a living wage, a na- tional minimum wage that gave all Americans a decent standard of living, an expanded Fair Labor Standards Act, and a federal Fair Em- ployment Practices Act that would prohibit dis- crimination not only by the government, but by employers and unions, too. Now two unions at Boeing — the Machinists and SPEEA — are calling for legislation to re- duce the tax break if in-state em- ployment drops below certain benchmarks, and eliminate it if the company doesn’t pay wages equal to the typical Washington worker’s paycheck by year three of employment. The poll, conducted Feb. 2-8 by EMC Research, found that 73 percent of the public supports tying tax breaks to jobs, and 68 percent support establishing a wage standard for companies re- ceiving the tax breaks. 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No commercial or business ads. HOW TO SUBMIT A CLASSIFIED AD Indicate which union you are a member of, and send your ad to michael492@comcast.net or by mail to PO Box 13150, Portland OR 97213. We publish the first and third Fridays of each month, and the deadline is one week prior to that. Low Prices! Mon-Fri 9-6, Sat 9:30-5:30, Sun 12-6
