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About Northwest labor press. (Portland , Ore.) 1987-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 18, 2015)
PAGE 6 | September 18, 2015 | NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS Who’s on our side? By Tom Chamberlain Oregon AFL-CIO President Pope’s message not shared by right-wing On Sept. 22, Pope Francis will step onto American soil. Arguably the most popular Pope in modern his- tory, Pope Francis’s message of hope, justice, income equality and love stands in stark contrast to the rhet- oric of hate and greed of the conservative right. Those of the Trumps’ and Koch brothers’ ilk, who thirst for issues that divide the American people; who continue to foster a political strategy vilifying immi- grants, those of a different culture or religion, the poor, women, and yes, unions.This strategy taps into the dark recesses of human nature: capitalizing on hate and fear to increase profit and power. Is it any wonder Congress spent its time on main- taining defense funding that is higher than Russia, China, England, France, Germany and Saudi Arabia combined? That’s 20 percent of our budget com- pared to 2 percent dedicated to education, and 3 per- cent for infrastructure. Rather than improving our infrastructure to create millions of jobs and make America competitive in a world economy, we rank 25th in per-capita spending on infrastructure — behind Spain, Union nominees sought for labor relations awards The Oregon chapter of the Labor and Employment Relations Asso- ciation (LERA) is seeking nomi- nations of union stewards and of- ficers for its annual Maggie Awards. The awards recognize Saudi Arabia, and South Korea. America’s “me first” economy doesn’t look out for working people. It encourages the exploitation of workers in search of profit. The development of a “shared economy” destroys employee/employer re- lationships by putting millions of workers into inde- pendent contractor status to increase employer profits by transferring expenses of employment onto work- ers. From hospitality workers, to cab and delivery drivers, these concepts will only expand in the future to have an impact on a major section of our economy. “Sharing economy” services will expand in the fu- ture, and the relationship between the employer and employee must be challenge and changed. Pope Francis stands in stark contrast to an econ- omy thriving on worker exploitation. Many talk about income inequality, but refuse to take the painful steps to reverse the course. If we are serious about income equality, we would reform the eight- decade-old National Labor Relations Act. The NLRA was a beacon of hope for millions of working people who have achieved excel- lence in labor-management rela- tions. Individuals honored must have demonstrated integrity and commitment to the collective bar- gaining process, and have exten- sive experience in collective bar- gaining. Nomination forms are avail- able at www.OregonLERA. com. Winners will be announced at an awards ceremony following LERA’s annual conference Nov. 17 at the World Trade Center, 121 SW Salmon St., Portland. For more information, email president@oregonlera.com. people, and has become a system easily manipulated by corporations denying workers the right to a union and to collectively bargain. Instead, the conservative right vilifies our unions. Pope Frances has called on the faithful to fight for social benefits, including retirement, holidays, more time off, and the freedom to participate in trade unions. Pope Frances pulled no punches when he spoke directly to employers in a speech he delivered from the Vatican this past February. He made the point to mention that attending church or donating to the church does not make up for injustices against workers. “Using God to cover injustice is a very grave sin,” he said. “If you go to Mass on Sunday and take com- munion, you should ask: ‘What is the relationship with your employees? Do you pay them off the books? Do you pay them a fair salary? Do you pay the pension contributions?’ ” While Pope Francis’s journey through America during the third week in September may not resonate with Wall Street or corporate America, my hope is that it resonates with working people by inspiring them to fight for their fair share of the American economy. Tom Chamberlain is president of the Oregon AFL-CIO, a 120,000-member-strong federation of labor unions. FREE CLASSIFIED ADS 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, http://rockaway- beachfrontrental.co 6 ACRE HOMESITE, well power, 3 bdrm, septic, 36x48 shop, $115,000, 137 Barefoot Hollow Rd, Longview, WA 360-577-5231 SPORTING GOODS If a defective product causes your work injury you may be able to sue the manufacturer for damages in a products liability claim. 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