NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS | October 2, 2015 | PAGE 9
A call for labor action on climate change
swered by email.
By Don McIntosh
Associate Editor
What needs to happen in or-
Joe Uehlein — a nationally der to slow down and stop hu-
prominent advocate of a labor- man-caused climate change?
environmental alliance — will We call for a World War II style
speak in Portland Oct. 10. The mobilization. It will take a na-
tional program of un-
event —hosted at the
precedented scope and
Oregon Labor Center
scale to reduce green-
by the group Climate
house gas emissions in a
Jobs PDX — is billed
manner consistent with
as an evening of music
the best science-based tar-
and dialogue with la-
gets and timelines, and in
bor activists on cli-
a way that addresses our
mate and jobs crises.
income inequality crisis at
Uehlein is the director
the same time. We’ve
of the Washington,
done it before — winning
Joe Uehlein
D.C.-based Labor
World War II, building the
Network for Sustainability, and U.S. highway system, going to
a board member at the group the moon. And we can afford it:
Voices for a Sustainable Future We found a trillion dollars in
(alongside Oregon AFL-CIO 2008 to bail out the very financial
Secretary-Treasurer Barbara institutions that caused the mar-
Byrd). He’s also a former secre- ket crash. What we can’t afford
tary-treasurer of the AFL-CIO’s is to not do it, because the eco-
Industrial Union Department nomic impact of climate change
and director of the AFL-CIO will be devastating.
Center for Strategic Campaigns. To what extent is organized la-
By night he’s a musician in a bor working to combat climate
Washington, D.C., roots-rock change? Organized labor has
band, and a member of Ameri- recognized the science and the
can Federation of Musicians — severity of the problem, and the
hence the music at the event. short timeline we have to deal
The Labor Press had some ques- with it. But we have been very
tions for Uehlein, which he an- slow to take the necessary action.
LOCAL MOTION ] AUG/SEPT 2015
The following are Oregon and Southwest Washington workplaces where workers have voted on
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 Results
Employer (Location) Union
Yes-No =
Providence Portland (Portland) Oregon Nurses Association
Recology Western Oregon (McMinnville) Teamsters Local 324
Con-Way Freight, Inc. (Clackamas) Teamsters Local 162
Oregon Fruit Products (Salem) Teamsters Local 670 DECERT
Sunshine Dairy (Portland) Teamsters Local 305
Waste Management (Klamath Falls) Teamsters Local 962
10-3
18-5
5-9
36-31
3-1
5-15
^
^
%
^
^
%
Endorsed by the
Northwest Oregon
Labor Council
Authorized and paid for by the NW Oregon Labor Council
So often it seems that union-
ists and environmentalists
butt heads — about whether
to build a new pipeline, the
size of a new bridge, or the
right balance of industrial
land and natural reserves. Do
you see a way out of those
fights? These tensions have al-
ways existed. They have in-
creased lately because our
shrinking labor movement still
has density in the fossil fuel in-
dustries, so anything that chal-
lenges those industries is not re-
ceived well within the house of
labor. That said, fossil fuels are
a major part of the problem, and
we must reduce consumption of
them. The corporate-fueled
“jobs vs. environment” frame is
a major reason that we’ve not
developed a common vision, yet
we have far more in common
with our environmental allies
than with the corporations. We
need a common vision and we
have to get serious about devel-
oping that common vision. We
believe that it is through honest
differences of opinion that we
arrive at sound conclusions and
correct judgements. Both sides
have to work harder at this.
What are the prospects for a
truce, or even of the two form-
ing a broad and enduring al-
liance? What do you think the
two movements could win
united that they would lose di-
vided? Both movements are
failing at achieving their goals.
Together we could start winning.
The environmental movement
needs to work much harder at
not just recognizing labor’s need
for jobs, but at truly understand-
ing the primacy of work in peo-
ple’s lives. And labor needs to
more fully understand that cli-
mate protection represents
a new kind of human solidarity,
and that our future as a labor
movement will be more secure
if we find a way to become a
central player in the movement
to build a sustainable future for
the planet and its people.
On the other side, how sympa-
thetic do you think the leaders
of prominent environmental
groups are to labor’s agenda
of living-wage jobs? I think
they are very sympathetic, and
the work of LNS, the Blue-
Green Alliance, and others has
helped increase this level
of sympathy. But we need
much more than sympathy. Just
like we say that labor needs a
climate plan of its own (If Not
Now When?), we say that envi-
ronmentalists need a jobs plan
of their own. They need to go
way beyond sympathy and un-
derstanding and begin to fight
for worker rights, and good fam-
ily-supporting jobs. This is in
their self-interest just like be-
coming a climate protection
movement is on our self interest
as a labor movement.
EVENT DETAILS
■ Time: Saturday Oct. 10, 6:30 p.m.
■ Place: Oregon Labor Center, 3645 SE
32nd, Portland.
■ More info: 503-286-5850 or
climatejobspdx.weebly.com.
ONLINE EXTRA
See a fuller version of this Q&A at
http://bit.ly/1QyIlrF. For a detailed
outline of what a labor-led climate
change effort could look like, visit
http://bit.ly/1VaVYyq.
Novick’s Uber rollout hits Union Cab hard
On Oct. 7, Portland City Council
will hear a report from Commis-
sioner Steve Novick’s aide Brian
Hockaday about the City’s six-
month experiment with taxi
deregulation. But the immigrant
drivers at Communications
Workers of America-affiliated
Union Cab say they’re already
seeing the impact — and their
American dream of a driver-
owned taxi co-op is growing
more unsustainable by the day.
Playing by the previous rules,
50 drivers waited two years for
the City to issue their permits,
and then invested their life sav-
ings to form Union Cab in April
2013. That was when Portland,
like most cities, put a cap on the
number of taxis allowed to op-
erate. The cap wasn’t about cre-
ating a cartel. It was a solution
to the taxi industry’s basic sup-
ply and demand problem: How
to make sure there are enough
cabs for those who want them,
but not so many that drivers
can’t survive. The system had its
merits, but also its limits, partic-
ularly during peak times like
weekend bar closing hours.
But the free-market regime
begun after Novick was put in
“To continue to make $1,300 a month]
I now have to work 14 hours a day to
survive.… I’m taking time from my
family.”
— Union Cab driver and board member
Bekele Jimma
“Our income is going down.… But I
would never drive for Uber.… It’s not a
fair business.”
— Union Cab driver Semaineh Belaye, whose
earnings support his wife and two small children
charge of City tax regulation has
destabilized the industry. Since
April, over 2,500 drivers have
applied for permits to drive for
Uber and Lyft, with fewer re-
quirements than taxi companies.
For example, the City requires
taxi companies to purchase
handicapped-accessible vehi-
cles. Two of them sit unused in
the parking lot outside Union
Cab’s Southeast Stark office, be-
cause they can’t find drivers for
them. Nor has Union Cab found
drivers to take advantage of the
50 new permits the City issued
in the Spring. With the market
and the rules in such flux, who’d
want to invest $30,000 purchas-
ing and outfitting a cab?
