PAGE 24 | August 19, 2016 | NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS
...César Chávez
From Page 22
well. Ross clearly understood
the centrality of women in the
organizing of immigrant com-
munities, but his organizing
style comes across as distinctly
male. And what of the fact that
Ross was an Anglo organizer
working in a predominately
Spanish-speaking union, but
never became fluent in Spanish?
Those things wouldn’t be as ac-
ceptable in union organizing
campaigns today as they were in
the early ‘60s.
Thompson doesn’t explain all
of Ross’ contradictions, but he
does give us a powerful intro-
duction to a fearless organizer
who was an exemplar of his
own axiom—“A good organizer
is a social arsonist who goes
around setting people on fire.”
Marcus Widenor, a former organizer for
the International Ladies’ Garment Work-
ers’ Union in Alabama, retired in 2012
from the faculty at the University of Ore-
gon’s Labor Education and Research Cen-
ter.
HAPPENINGS
Steelworkers plan anti-TPP rally in Salem
The United Steelworkers Legis-
lation & Education Committee
will rally at the State Capitol in
Salem on Tuesday, Aug. 23, in a
show of opposition to Gov. Kate
Brown’s recent endorsement of
the Trans-Pacific Partnership
(TPP) trade agreement. The rally
starts at 2 p.m. Everyone is in-
vited to attend.
Following the rally, members
of the Steelworkers will meet
with the governor to express
their concerns about her support
of “the job-killing trade deal that
is like NAFTA on steroids.”
The TPP is a legally binding
deal between 12 governments,
including the U.S., that was ne-
gotiated in total secrecy with
hundreds of corporate lobbyists
helping draft the text. It poses a
grave threat to good paying jobs,
the environment, internet free-
dom, food safety, and our basic
democratic process.
Congress could vote on the
pact before the end of the year.