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About Northwest labor press. (Portland , Ore.) 1987-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 2, 2016)
PAGE 2 | September 2, 2016 | NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS TRADE NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS Why, Kate, why? (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 $10.08 a year per person are available for 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 Oregon governor declares support for Trans-Pacific Partnership SALEM—At a time when both Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump say they’re against the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), Oregon’s Democratic Gov. Kate Brown has come out in favor of it. TPP is a NAFTA-style pact between the United States and 11 Pacific Rim nations, includ- ing three that have poor human rights records and no current trade agreement with the United States. Unions are strongly op- posed to it. TPP negotiations concluded last October, but to take effect, the pact must be approved by Congress. A spokeswoman for Gov. Brown told The Oregonian/Ore- gonLive editorial board in an early August email that Brown supports ratification of the deal. It may be the first time Brown has supported such an agree- ment. Brown is a former state legislator from Southeast Port- land who became secretary of state and then governor when John Kitzhaber resigned. She’s up for election this November. “I’m disappointed by Gover- nor Brown’s support of the Trans-Pacific Partnership,” said ANTI-TPP BLIMP IN SALEM: Members of the United Steelworkers Legislative Committee fly a 25-foot protest blimp over the State Capitol Aug. 23 to de- nounce Oregon Gov. Kate Brown’s support of the Trans-Pacific Partnership. Oregon AFL-CIO President Tom Chamberlain in an official statement. “Oregon’s unions continue to stand united in our opposition to the TPP, because it’s a bad deal for working peo- ple in our state. We are still reel- ing from the impact of previous free trade agreements. Since the passage of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) over 50,000 Oregon workers lost their jobs, and those lost jobs are certified by the De- partment of Labor as the direct result of free trade agreements.” On Aug. 23, the United Steel- workers Legislative Committee held a rally on the front steps of the State Capitol to protest Brown’s support of the TPP. Af- terward, they met with the gov- ernor for nearly 45 minutes. “She apologized for not in- forming labor before she an- nounced her support,” said Bob Tackett, a member of Steel- workers Local 335 and execu- tive secretary-treasurer of the Northwest Oregon Labor Coun- cil. “She said she took her lead from Sen. (Ron) Wyden,” Tack- ett told the Labor Press. “We told her that she ought to talk to Sen. (Jeff) Merkley.” Wyden, a Democrat, helped push a fast track vote through the Senate, and he strongly sup- ports the TPP. Fast track, also re- ferred to as trade promotion au- thority, allows for an up- or-down vote with limited de- bate and no amendments. Merkley, the only Democratic senator from Oregon and Wash- ington to oppose the TPP, says it puts American workers in direct competition with people earning a dollar an hour or even less overseas. In a letter to a constituent that was sent to the Labor Press, Merkley said “such an unbal- anced trade agreement would be devastating for many workers, families, and communities and put an inevitable downward pressure on incomes for ordi- nary Americans. “The TPP has not meaning- fully changed from past trade deals that have cost Americans good-paying jobs in several im- portant areas,” Merkley wrote.
