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About Northwest labor press. (Portland , Ore.) 1987-current | View Entire Issue (April 7, 2017)
NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS | April 7, 2017 | PAGE 5 CULTURE Today’s lesson: Unions matter, especially now By Don McIntosh Polls say young people are in- creasingly favorable toward unions, yet they’re increasingly less likely to have a union in their workplace. Maybe it’s time for unionists to go back to school — to give class presen- tations about class, and about why unions matter. That’s what retired economics professor Martin Hart-Landsberg pro- posed last fall at the Portland Rising committee of the worker justice non-profit Portland Jobs With Justice. Since October, their Why Unions Matter campaign has garnered invitations to speak to as many as 300 students at more than a dozen local high school and college classes. In each pres- entation, Hart-Landsberg pairs up with a local union member or staff person: The union member relates a personal story about the difference the union has made in their lives, and Hart-Landsberg gives a PowerPoint-assisted big- picture explanation of what’s happening in the economy — growing inequality. Since the 1970s, as unions have declined, nearly all of the economic gains from increased productivity (Working) Class Presentation: “I knew my union had my back,” UNITE HERE Local 8 member Be Marston tells Lewis & Clark College professor Maryann Bylander’s March 21 sociology class. Marston, a transgender bartender at Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, told a story about how her union stepped up when she faced a complaint about using a female restroom. have gone to the top 1 percent — to corporations and owners of enterprises, not to those doing the work. Workers’ buying power has stagnated. So far, the campaign has de- ployed speakers from National Association of Letter Carriers, UNITE HERE Local 8, Interna- tional Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 5, Oregon Nurses Association, Portland Associa- tion of Teachers, and the Indus- trial Workers of the World. The campaign is looking for volun- teers from other unions, and helps each speaker develop their presentation. Presenting their “Unions 101” curriculum, the volunteer educa- tors are starting from scratch. At a March 21 presentation at a Lewis & Clark College sociol- ogy class, Hart-Landsberg asked the class of about 40 students if anyone knew what “right to work” was. Not a single hand went up. [To be fair, many union members don’t know what it is either. Right-to-work — a fast- spreading threat to the union movement — refers to a law meant to weaken unions by ban- ning any requirement that work- ers pay dues.] “People know so little about unions,” Hart-Landsberg tells the Labor Press. But students’ re- action has been very positive, Hart-Landsberg said; he’d ex- pected to get more negative re- actions. Presenters conclude each class with an invitation to sign a Jobs With Justice pledge card, committing to take part in five acts of solidarity over the next year. More than 70 students have signed them so far. ONLINE EXTRA Find out more about the Why Unions Matter classroom speaking campaign at http://jwjpdx.org/whyunionsmatter Apprenticeship Opening Glaziers The Oregon & SW Washington Glaziers Joint Apprenticeship & Journeyman Training Program will be opening to accept applications to create a pool of eligible applicants. Applicants must be at least 18 years old. Must apply in person and furnish a copy of a high school diploma and grade transcript or GED and test scores at time of application. Applications will be taken April 24 thru May 5, 2017 Monday thru Friday, 9 to 11 a.m. and 1 to 3 p.m. Glaziers Training Center Mt. Hood Community College, Room GE 108 26000 SE Stark St., Gresham, OR Jill Alcantar Women and minorities encouraged to apply; Veterans’ GI Benefits may apply 360.787.6975 PLEASE SHOW OUR ADVERTISERS YOU APPRECIATE THEIR SUPPORT FOR THIS LABOR MOVEMENT NEWSPAPER!
