NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS | June 3, 2016 | PAGE 9
Labor’s Community Service Agency
seeks donations for ‘Helping Hands’
Housing crisis is forcing more
working families into eviction
and homelessness
Labor’s Community Service
Agency, Inc. (LCSA) is making
an urgent appeal for donations
to benefit its programs, particu-
larly its Helping Hands tempo-
rary hardship assistance pro-
gram.
“We’re seeing the Oregon
housing crisis force more and
more working families into
eviction and homelessness even
while folks are employed,” said
LCSA Director Vickie Burns.
Burns said that most rental
agreements now allow for no-
cause evictions. They also con-
tain prohibitive move-in costs
and unsustainable rental in-
crease schedules. As a result, the
small, per-family financial assis-
tance offered through LCSA’s
Helping Hands program falls
short of keeping families in their
homes, and it fails to make a
dent in hefty move-in fees.
The Helping Hands program
received five referrals for union
families facing eviction and /or
complicated re-homing situa-
tions in the first two weeks of
May. In contrast, only nine local
unions have responded to the
agency’s spring fundraising ap-
peal.
To complicate already diffi-
cult matters, affordable local
housing is scarce. The U.S. Cen-
sus Bureau reported a national
average rental vacancy rate of 7
percent for the quarter ending
March 2016. Meanwhile, Ore-
gon U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley’s of-
fice reports a 3.5 percent va-
cancy rate in Oregon, with some
areas as low as 2 percent.
Anyone can send donations
to Labor’s Community Service
Agency, Inc. at 9955 SE Wash-
ington, Suite 111, Portland, Ore-
gon, 97216. For more informa-
tion, call 503-231-4962.
Labor’s Community Service
Agency is a partnership of La-
bor and United Way of the Co-
lumbia-Willamette in coopera-
tion of the Northwest Oregon
Labor Council, AFL-CIO.
...Striking Verizon
workers win gains
From Page 1
for working families across the
country and an affirmation of the
power of working people,” said
CWA President Chris Shelton.
“It proves that when we stand to-
gether we can raise up working
families, improve our communi-
ties and advance the interests of
America’s working people.”
The previous contracts be-
tween CWA and IBEW expired
in August of 2015. Members of
the two unions went on strike
April 13 to protest demands by
the highly profitable company
for union workers to make con-
cessions, including more work
away from home, increased re-
tiree health-care costs, and a
limit on pension service credit.
Striking workers returned to
work June 1.
‘team portland’ wins inaugural north-
west cement masons apprenticeship com-
petition. Cement Masons Local 555 apprentices
Shawn Fredricksen and Dillon Crawford pocketed
$500, a bucket of tools, a trophy, and bragging
rights after winning a competition against appren-
tices from Seattle Local 528. Oregon Labor Com-
missioner Brad Avakian announced the winners at
a luncheon held at the Cement Mason’s training
center in Northeast Portland, where the competi-
tion took place held May 25-27. Judging was done
by three retirees from the industry. In the photo
above, Fredricksen, under the watchful eye of
judges and instructors, lays out a 12’ x 14’ concrete slab, while Crawford (pictured right) checks on
his curb and gutter. Apprentices were judged on set up of forms, accuracy, efficiency in placing con-
crete, and the overall finished look. Second place went to the Seattle team of Logan Miller and Patrick
Pola. “The competition helps build camaraderie between the locals and the apprentices,” said Port-
land instructor Jeremy Kendall. “This is our first year, hopefully it wil continue to grow.” The four-year
Portland program has 50 apprentices in training, and is currently interviewing for more. Craig Smith
is the apprenticeship coordinator.
Take action
on inequality
Wall Street billionaires have
rigged our economy and our
democracy. A new “Take on
Wall Street” campaign is aiming
to channel the widespread pub-
lic anger over these rigged rules
into concrete and bold legisla-
tive gains at the state, local, and
federal levels.
As a first step, please sign the
petition at https://takeonwallst.
com and tell Congress we want
our financial system to start
working for ordinary Americans.
FREE CLASSIFIED ADS
A message to our readers
Starting with this issue, the Northwest Labor Press is discontinuing
the free classified advertising section. Over the past several years
we have lost a number of our regular paid advertisers. Fewer adver-
tisers means fewer pages. Fewer pages results in less space for news.
Besides, the classified ad section has shrunk as well. If it wasn’t
for the half dozen “Wanted” ads that have been running each issue,
the classifieds would consist of only a handful of ads from sub-
scribers with something to sell.
Discontinuing the classified ad section will free up space for more
labor news.
After announcing this in the May 6 edition, we have received calls
from several subscribers who regularly run classified ads, asking us
to reconsider.
We will continue to monitor the feedback to the cancellation, and
will revisit the decision in a few months. Send emails to
editor@nwlaborpress.org.
And thanks for reading the Northwest Labor Press!
—Michael Gutwig,
Editor