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About Northwest labor press. (Portland , Ore.) 1987-current | View Entire Issue (July 3, 2015)
PAGE 2 | July 3, 2015 | NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS (International Standard Serial Number 0894-444X) Established in 1900 in Portland, Oregon as a voice of the la- bor movement. Published on a semi-monthly basis on the first and third Fridays of each month by the Oregon Labor Press Publishing Co. Inc., a non-profit mutual benefit corpo- ration owned by 20 unions and councils including the Ore- gon AFL-CIO. Serving more than 120 union organizations in Oregon and Southwest Washington. Office location: 4275 NE Halsey St., Portland, Oregon Mailing address: P.O. Box 13150, Portland, OR 97213 Phone: (503) 288-3311 Web address: http://nwlaborpress.org Editor & Manager: Michael Gutwig Associate editor: Don McIntosh Office manager: Cheri Rice Printed on recycled paper, using soy-based inks, by members of Teamsters Local 747-M. SUBSCRIPTIONS: Individual subscriptions are $13.75 per year for union members, $20 a year for all others. Send a check for that amount, indicating mailing address and union affilia- tion, to P.O. Box 13150, Portland, OR 97213. For 25 or more subscriptions, group rates of $9.60 a year per person are available to trade union organizations. Call 503-288-3311 for de- tails. CORRECTIONS: See an error? Please let us know at editor@nwlaborpress.org or by phone at 503-288-3311. PERIODICALS POSTAGE PAID AT PORTLAND, OREGON. CHANGE OF ADDRESS NOTICE: Three weeks are required for a change of address. When or- dering a change, please give your old and new addresses and the name and number of your local union. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS P.O. BOX 13150 PORTLAND, OR 97213-0150 IRS PROBLEMS? • Haven’t filed for ... years? • Lost records? • Liens - Levies - Garnishments? • Negotiate settlements. • Prepare offer in Compromise. Call Nancy D. Anderson Enrolled Agent NPTI Fellow/America’s Tax Expert LTC-1807 www.nancydanderson.com 503-244-2577 Instafab strike articles spark Internet flame war By Don McIntosh Associate Editor Instafab owner Bruce Perkins is ready to meet with his striking employees. I have it in writing. Nonunion Instafab, based in Vancouver, Washington, makes and installs structural and archi- tectural steel for construction companies like Andersen and Skanska. On Feb. 27, five Instafab in- stallers went on strike after Perkins refused to consider a list of grievances regarding working conditions. By mid-May, other installers and four workers from the fabrication shop had joined the strike, bringing the total to 14. Most of the strikers are young—in their 20s to mid-30s. Two are veterans, with service in Iraq and Afghanistan. When we first wrote about the strike May 14, comments started pouring in at nwlabor- press.org. Comments on the site are moderated. Commenters don’t have to use their real names, but name-calling and personal attacks are out of bounds. And while commenters are free to disagree with unions, it’s not a space for anti-union “trolls” who just want to trash organized labor—there’s plenty of space for that elsewhere. ON STRIKE AT INSTAFAB. Five of the 14 strikers. From Left: Al Stabenow, William Russell, Laramie Lexow, Matt Momb, and Brandon Nelson. After the first Instafab article appeared, strikers and their sup- porters posted comments critical of the company, and others posted comments defending it, or criticizing the strikers. “This is America. If you don’t like your job, find a new one!” wrote “Kray.” Someone using the moniker “Thinks this is Silly” said, “If this was a terrible company to work for, you can bet your … heiny that I would pull up my drawers and act like a big kid and find another job.” A third comment was rejected for name-calling. “Truth for IFC” wanted to call a pro-union commenter an “idiot,” adding, “How’s that cardboard box you’re living in?” The least rude of the four anti-strike commenters chose the name “Truth be told.” But there was a funny thing: Though listing separate email addresses, all four anti-union commenters had the same IP ad- dress. An IP address is a numer- ical “address” assigned to a computer when it connects to the Internet; it tells other com- puters where to find it. When commenters share an IP address, it means they’re either the same person, or they’re using the same computer, or possibly they’re sharing the same net- work at an office. And these commenters seemed very famil- iar with the inner workings of Instafab, especially the most prolific commenter, “Truth be told.” Submitting a dozen com- ments in a little over a week, “Truth be told” debated strikers and responded point by point to criticisms of the company. “I contacted someone at In- stafab to get some more details,” he wrote June 10. “The person I talked to said they would be happy to give the NW Labor Press some time to get the other side of the story.” “I don’t see the company ever going union though,” he wrote June 17. “I don’t think it would be a good fit for the owner.” “Can you please explain to me what exactly the high road is that you expect Bruce to take?” he wrote June 19. Figured out yet who “Truth be told” is? He didn’t do much to cover up his true identity. Our online comment form requires Turn to Page 4
