PAGE 6 | February 17 , 2017 | NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS
The Strike: U.S. labor’s long-lost weapon
Every February, the U.S. Bu-
reau of Labor Statistics releases
its annual report on the number
of work stoppages — strikes or
lockouts — involving more than
1,000 workers. Since the annual
report began in the late 1940s,
the annual incidence of major
work stoppages has declined
over 95 percent. Last year, there
were 15 major work stoppages,
involving 99,000 workers.
The largest was the 33-day
strike at Verizon’s East Coast
landline operations by 36,500
members of Communications
Workers of America and IBEW.
The second largest was a one-
day strike by 27,000 members
of the Chicago Teachers Union
at City of Chicago Public
Schools.
Three other stoppages lasted
just one or two days, including a
walkout by 1,500 teachers at De-
troit Public Schools and a walk-
out by 1,000 members of Inter-
national Longshoremen’s Asso-
ciation at the Port Authority of
New York and New Jersey.
The year’s longest strike was
at Allina Health in Minneapolis-
St. Paul, where 4,800 members
of Minnesota Nurses Associa-
tion (National Nurses United)
stayed off the job for 38 days.
Nurses also struck at Kaiser
Permanente Los Angeles Med-
ical Center for six days.
...UNDER THE BRIDGE
From Page 2
Svoboda was in charge of a
$21.8 million renovation of the
Hawthorne Bridge, the Painters
and Iron Workers unions col-
lected evidence showing that
lead-contaminated debris was
falling into the Willamette River
and grounds near the jobsite, and
the Columbia-Pacific Building
and Construction Trades Coun-
cil sued the company for failing
to hire local construction work-
ers and for not being a registered
training agent, as required by a
Multnomah County ordinance.
On Feb. 1, 2017, Oldham
emailed an ODOT manager with
details and photo evidence of his
concerns about paint, environ-
mental, safety, and work culture
problems on the Ross Island
Bridge project. ODOT’s Metro
East Area Manager Rich Watan-
abe responded by email Feb. 8,
addressing the concerns point by
point. Any performance prob-
lems will be caught by qualified
ODOT project inspectors,
Watanabe said.
“ODOT makes special efforts
to ensure projects are being con-
structed safely and in a manner
that meets our requirements to
deliver a quality product for our
stakeholders,” Watanabe wrote.
That was six hours after the
accident.
Oldham felt that wasn’t good
enough, and wrote back: “I stated
in previous emails that we have
additional information, daily logs
from workers on the site, state-
ments, pictures, video documen-
tation and direct contact with the
painters onsite. I am disheartened
by your choice to not take these
sources into consideration.”
As for the accident itself, Ore-
gon-OSHA spokesperson Aaron
Corvin told the Labor Press he
couldn’t discuss details of the
agency’s active investigation,
but promised to share the results
when the investigation is com-
plete.
In fact, OSHA had been out to
the Ross Island project at least
once before, on June 8, 2016, but
found no violations and issued
no citations. The complaint they
were investigating? That there
were holes employees could fall
through while sandblasting and
painting the bridge.
Abhe & Svoboda did not im-
mediately respond to a call from
the Labor Press.
Who’s on our side?
By Tom Chamberlain Oregon AFL-CIO President
It’s been four weeks since Donald Trump was
sworn into office. America is in shock as
Trump tries to run the country like a corporation. He’s ap-
pointed a Cabinet reflecting his vision of America — one that
is white, rich and privileged, that believes what is good for big
business is good for our citizens. An America without a social
safety net, from the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) to de-
funding Medicaid and denying benefits to the poor and dis-
abled. An America that is very conscious of the color of one’s
skin, the God we choose to pray to, and an America that turns
its back on the notion that we are a nation of immigrants, deny-
ing tens of thousands who come to our shores in a thirst for jus-
tice, dignity and opportunity. His is a white man’s America that
turns back the clock to a time when women are denied oppor-
tunity and are objectified; an America that rolls back programs
and policies that eliminate barriers to the LBGTQ community.
What a turnaround from just eight years ago, when President
Obama was handed an America in the grips of a great recession,
with millions without healthcare. His presidency focused on
lifting Americans up: Creating infrastructure projects to rebuild
America, providing tens of thousands of jobs driving America
out of an economic ditch to the road to recovery while provid-
ing healthcare to millions. His policies and advocacy provided
greater opportunity for women and communities of color, took
major strides in bringing undocumented workers out of the
shadows, and broke down barriers for the LBGTQ community.
For too many, electing America’s first black president and
implementation of programs and policies that were in stark con-
trast to their beliefs, gave rise to a new movement, the Tea Party.
State by state,their movement grew, passionate and aggressive
in their tactics. Their agenda is small government and turning
back the clock to the 1950s where women were in the kitchen,
communities of color “knew their place,” and if you were
LBGTQ, your voice, rights and identity were stifled by a closet
door. They gained power, dominating the 2010 election by de-
feating establishment Republican candidates in primaries, and
electing them to the 2011 Congress.
What we see today in the streets, on the steps of state capitols,
and in Washington, D.C., is an insurgency of epic proportions.
People from all walks of life have created a grassroots move-
ment that within one day of Donald Trump being sworn in as
president, marched in millions through the streets of America.
When Trump issued an executive order banning immigration
from selected countries, thousands of people expressed their
outrage at airports across America. When a federal judge issued
an injunction halting the executive order, thousands went to air-
ports again — this time welcoming immigrants and refugees.
This new movement is the opposite of the Tea Party, which
wanted to restrict government and limit human rights. This is a
movement of compassion and love, strong, powerful, and quick
to react.
If this grassroots movement can be maintained and grow, the
2018 election will bring change. We will elect candidates to lo-
cal, state, and federal offices who share a vision of an America
that takes care of its people, welcomes immigrants and refugees
as an American asset, and eliminates barriers to women, com-
munities of color and the LBGTQ community; an America that
provides a quality education for our children and grandchildren,
and reestablishes the American Dream, where each generation
achieves greater prosperity than the last.
It is within our grasp if we seize it.
Thank you, President Trump. You have accomplished in a
few days what others couldn’t have accomplished in a lifetime
when you awakened the American Peoples’ Movement and
filled us with resolve and purpose.
Tom Chamberlain is president of the Oregon AFL-CIO, a 130,000-member-strong
federation of labor unions.