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About Northwest labor press. (Portland , Ore.) 1987-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 5, 2016)
PAGE 2 | August 5, 2016 | NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS On USPS birthday, Portlanders deliver a message 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 $14 a year for union members, $22 a year for all others. Pay by credit card online at nwlaborpress.org/subscribe, or send a check to our mailing address (above) along with your name, address and union affiliation, if any. Group rates of $9.60 a year per person are available or 25 or more subscriptions; call 503-288-3311 for details. 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: If you move, let us know at nwlaborpress.org/subscriber-services or by mail at our mailing address (above). Be sure to provide your old and new addresses and the name/number of your local union. Please allow three weeks for the change to take effect. 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 - Garnishments? Call Me to Compare Prices with those you See on TV Nancy D. Anderson Enrolled Agent www.nancydanderson.com 503-244-2577 Paula Chanting, marching through the Main Post Office in downtown Portland, singing, and eating birthday cake, about three dozen “postal defenders” called for continuation of door-to-door mail delivery, and expressed concern about relocating the Main Post Office. The rally was held July 26 in conjunction with the 241st birth- day of the U.S. Postal Service. The postal service has been under assault for years. Over 200,000 union jobs have been lost in the past 10 years as post offices and mail processing plants have been cut and closed. Mail is being delayed. At-the- door delivery is on the chopping block. Jim Cook, retired president of the National Association of Let- ter Carriers (NALC) Branch 82, said there is a bipartisan Postal Service Reform bill in Congress (HR 5714) that would end door- to-door delivery nationwide in favor of cluster boxes. “We’ve been fighting for postal reform, but not negative postal reform,” Cook said. NALC is lobbying for an amendment to delete Section 202 of the bill — the portion that man- dates ending door delivery. Rallygoers also called on Port- Postal defenders rally to save USPS on its 241st birthday. land postal officials to hold pub- lic meetings before relocating the Main Post Office. NALC said Democratic Congressional repre- sentatives in the area have writ- ten to Portland’s district manager requesting public meetings be held prior to any agreements be- ing signed. The Portland Development Commission is on track to buy the U.S. Postal Service campus located on 13.5 acres of prime Pearl District property. “This is the people’s postal service, and we need to have some say in any changes,” said Reverend John Schwiebert, speaking on behalf of Portland Communities and Postal Work- ers United. “So far, nobody is asking us (the people) what we would like to have in a new post office, or where exactly it’s going to be.” Communities and Postal Workers United would like to have the new post office be close to the current one downtown, if not actually in the same place as part of the new development, Schwiebert said. “Like Paul Revere, we need to sound the alarm to save postal service,” Cook said. POLITICS Oregon Working Families Party challenges free- trader Ron Wyden At a July 23 statewide meeting, the union-backed Oregon Work- ing Families Party (OWFP) de- cided to field its own candidate to challenge Democratic incum- bent U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden: Shanti Lewallen, a former long- shore worker with International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 8 who’s now an at- torney representing workers in wage theft and discrimination cases. OWFP usually grants or withholds endorsement of major party candidates, but it chose to challenge Wyden because of his support for fast-tracking trade agreements like the proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). Thanks to a vigorous voter registration drive, the party will still have a ballot line for Lewallen to run on. State law re- quires third parties to have at least 10,825 registered voters by Aug. 10 to run in November. OWFP dropped below that when thousands switched to De- mocrat to vote for U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders for president, but OWFP’s canvass and online efforts brought many back in af- ter the primary.
