PAGE 6 | May 20 18, 2016 | NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS
Who’s on our side?
By Tom Chamberlain Oregon AFL-CIO President
Trump says he wants to make
America great again — but for who?
W
hat many thought was unthinkable has become reality:
Donald Trump is the presumptive presidential nominee
of the Republican Party. With both Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas
and Ohio Gov. Tom Kasich out of the race, the path to
Trump’s nomination now appears inevitable.
There’s a disturbing trend emerging from the endless news
coverage of Trump’s ascent to the top of the Republican
ticket: More and more, the media is painting Donald Trump
as a candidate supported by working people, in particular
“blue collar” workers. The labor movement isn’t fooled by
Trump’s tough talk, because his record as a businessman and
a quick glimpse at the statements he’s made to voters make it
clear where he allegiances are.
He mistreats workers, and will send jobs overseas to make
a quick buck. When the Trump Tower was demolished, Mr.
Trump exploited foreign workers who were paid as little as
$4 a day, and even offered vodka as payment. And he’s not
just importing cheap labor, he’s exporting it. Nearly all of his
“Donald J. Trump” clothing line is made overseas, and before
he decided to be a politician, he claimed outsourcing “creates
jobs in the long run.”
In Oregon, where we’ve seen tens of thousands of jobs lost
due to offshoring, we know that Mr. Trump is once again
blowing hot air. Trump has made his views on wages clear.
Last November he told voters: “Taxes too high, wages too
high. We’re not going to be able to compete against the
world.” How can anyone who works for a living support a
candidate who thinks our wages are too high?
Trump does not side with working people when it comes
to our right to stand together and form unions. His company
has run an aggressive anti-union campaign against the em-
ployees in his Las Vegas hotel, where alleged incidents in-
clude physical assault, verbal abuse, intimidation, and threats
by management. Complaints with the National Labor Rela-
tions Board are ongoing. Last December, hundreds of workers
at his hotel in Las Vegas voted to form a union and were cer-
tified in March. Since then, Trump’s company has refused to
honor the results of the election and to negotiate a first con-
tract with the workers.
It should come as no surprise that Trump is outspoken in
favor of so-called “right to work” laws which diminish the
ability of working people to negotiate together. He’s praised
Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker’s attacks against unions and has
said he prefers to build new properties without union con-
tracts. This is a man who consistently puts the profits of him-
self over the prosperity of the people whose work creates his
wealth. If he treats the people working for him with such little
respect, imagine the kind of short-sighted policies he’ll push
for as president.
We have work to do to keep Mr. Trump out of the White
House. I believe in a country where immigrants have a path-
way to citizenship, where women are paid and treated equally,
and where workers can stand together, without fear and ha-
rassment, to join unions. We’re going to hear a lot of rhetoric
over the next few months as the November election draws
close. I hope that you consider the facts when you vote for
president: Mr. Trump says he wants to make American great
again, but for who? Clearly, it’s not working people.
Tom Chamberlain is president of the Oregon AFL-CIO, a 120,000-member-strong
federation of labor unions.
Stronger unions could reduce
income inequality in Oregon
The long-term decline in union
representation in Oregon has
contributed to the rise in income
inequality — which now stands
near record highs, according to
a new report by the Oregon
Center for Public Policy.
“Greater levels of union rep-
resentation could not only help
narrow income inequality, but
could support economic
growth,” the report said.
For decades, top income
earners in Oregon have garnered
an ever-larger portion of the
state’s economic benefits, while
the broad group in the middle
and below have lost ground.
Between 1984 and 2014, the
share of Oregon income going
to the top 20 percent of earners
grew by 22 percent, while the
portion going to the bottom 60
percent shrunk by 26 percent.
These trends have occurred at
the same time unionization in
the state has declined. Between
1984 and 2014, the share of
Oregon workers represented by
a union declined 40 percent.
The decline in the unionized
workforce helps explain the
widening income gap. Research
shows that erosion of unions na-
tionally accounts for about a third
of growth in wage inequality
among men and about a fifth
among women. A growing body
of research also suggests that in-
creased income inequality under-
mines economic growth, espe-
cially long-term growth. Analysts
have found that large income
gaps reduce consumer demand,
hamper acquisition of skills and
limit private investment.
“Thus, a resurgence of union
representation in Oregon could
not only benefit workers and re-
duce income inequality, it could
also promote economic prosper-
ity,” the report concludes.
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We will continue to monitor the feedback to the cancellation, and
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And thanks for reading the Northwest Labor Press!
—Michael Gutwig,
Editor
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