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About Northwest labor press. (Portland , Ore.) 1987-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 4, 2015)
PAGE 2 | December 4, 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 ... Schrader turns hostile to union rights From Page 1 U.S. House of Representatives, he became chair of the Blue Dog coalition, a group of 15 “conservative Democrats” who often defy the Democratic main- stream on tax and budget policy. Schrader was re-elected three times since 2008, with labor’s endorsement. Over the years he has appeared at labor events and picnics, while his votes earned him an 84 percent rating from the national AFL-CIO. But the relationship soured this year when the national AFL-CIO ramped up its cam- paign against Fast Track — a set of rules in which Congress en- ables quick passage of trade agreements like the proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership. Schrader has long been a sup- porter of such trade deals, and voted for Fast Track. When the national AFL-CIO ran TV ads critical of Democrats who sup- port Fast Track and threatened to withhold support from those who voted for it, Schrader seemed to take offense. In June, he called AFL-CIO President Rich Trumka a “bully” in an in- terview with a blog for Wash- “This isn’t the Kurt Schrader we thought we were getting in 2008.” — Oregon AFL-CIO President Tom Chamberlain ington, D.C., insiders. The rela- tionship has only worsened since then. On Nov. 5, Schrader — to- gether with Washington Repub- lican Congressman Dan New- house — introduced a bill requiring the president to seek an 80-day court injunction in the event of a slowdown by long- shore workers. The bill would amend the Taft-Hartley law of 1947. That anti-labor law — passed by Republican Congress over President Harry Truman’s veto — gave presidents the dis- cretion to seek a court order forcing workers back to work if a strike or lock-out is deemed to be a threat to national health or safety. But presidents have rarely used that authority. The most recent instances were in 1971, when Richard Nixon used it in a West Coast port dispute, and 2002, when George W. Bush did the same. Schrader’s bill (HR 3932) would make it mandatory for presidents to use the injunction in the case of port disputes — and for slowdowns, not just strikes and lockouts. The bill has 10 other co-spon- sors, all Republicans, including Eastern Oregon’s Greg Walden and Eastern Washington’s Cathy McMorris Rodgers. Then on Nov. 17, Schrader joined 225 Republicans and 23 other Democrats in voting for a bill to eliminate the right of workers at tribal enterprises to unionize. According to the na- tional AFL-CIO, the Tribal La- bor Sovereignty Act (HR 511) would apply not just to casinos, but to mining operations, power plants, smoke shops, saw mills, construction companies, ski re- sorts, high-tech firms, hotels, and spas — any commercial en- terprise owned by an Indian tribe on Indian land. The bill, which passed the House, seeks to overturn a 2004 decision by the National Labor Relations Board which said workers at an Indian casino have a federally- protected right to unionize. Trumka called it “a union-bust- ing bill” and an attempt to si- lence the voices of working peo- ple. “The AFL-CIO believes in both tribal sovereignty and worker solidarity,” Trumka said in a press statement. “We don’t have to choose.” “This isn’t the Kurt Schrader we thought we were getting in 2008, back when he voiced sup- port for the Employee Free Choice Act,” said Oregon AFL- CIO President Tom Chamber- lain. “It seems like he went to a different level when he tried to deny collective bargaining rights for casino workers, and the carveout of longshore work- ers has everybody in labor con- cerned.” Schrader’s office did not re- turn a call from the Labor Press. Schrader faces re-election in November 2016.
