Northwest labor press., August 18, 2017, Page 9, Image 9

NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS | August 18, 2017 | PAGE 9
Could a union be coming to
Tesla’s car plant?
On July 31, a group called Tesla
Workers’ Organizing Commit-
tee sent a letter to members of
the company board of directors
calling for safety improvements
and management neutrality to-
ward a union campaign at the
company’s Fremont, California,
plant, where 7,000 Tesla em-
ployees produce all-electric
cars. That’s after charges were
filed with the National Labor
Relations Board, accusing the
...5 questions for AFSCME’s
Stacy Chamberlain
company of illegal surveillance,
coercion, and intimidation —
managers said workers could
not pass out any literature not
approved by the employer. Tesla
Workers’ Organizing Commit- From Page 6
tee is affiliated with the United
wrapped up in having a job and
Auto Workers (UAW).
providing for themselves and
their family. So my dad realized
that and talked him through it,
and that guy knew because he
was in the union that he had
somebody with him, and it was
going to be okay.
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What does the world look like
for Oregon AFSCME after
Janus v. AFSCME is decided
by the U.S. Supreme Court?
[Janus v AFSCME is a case
that seeks to bar any require-
ment that public sector work-
ers pay dues or fees to their
union to cover the costs of
union representation.] I think
that’s the million-dollar ques-
tion. Everybody is wondering
what the impacts are going to
be. For us, there are a number of
things we need to do to engage
our members. This is work we
need to do no matter what. I
think the better we are at engag-
ing and reaching our members,
the better off we are going to be
when Janus hits. It’s also about
letting our members know what
it would look like not to have a
union in the workplace. Janus
might be “death by 1,000 paper
cuts” to some organizations. We
want to hit it square on, because
you might have density right
now at 85 percent, and then it’s
60 and then 50 and at some
point your effectiveness and
your strength and your ability to
affect change in a way that ben-
efits our members and the com-
munity goes away.
Despite the threat of Janus, I
don’t see you packing your
bags. What gives you hope?
Our staff and our members. We
have faced bogeymen before,
whether it’s [Bill] Sizemore [in
the ‘90s] or the [anti-union
group] Freedom Foundation
now. After them it will be some-
body else. As long as we have
power, folks will come after us.
So [what gives me hope] is hav-
ing a good team and member
leaders. Between now and June
2018 is crunch time, and all the
work that we need to do now to
get our members engaged and
involved will pay off.
— Don McIntosh
NATIONAL
AFL-CIO condemns violence in
Charlottsville
National AFL-CIO president
Richard Trumka, on behalf of
the nation’s labor unions, re-
leased the following statement
Aug. 13: “Yesterday in Char-
lottesville, Virginia, the nation
and the world witnessed the
hateful views and violent actions
of white supremacists and neo-
Nazis. This racism and bigotry
is the worst kind of evil in our
world, and does not represent
the true values of America. The
true values of our country, val-
ues like equality and solidarity,
are what have always overcome
the most abominable prejudices.
Any response must begin with
our leaders, starting with Presi-
dent Trump, acknowledging this
for what it is: domestic terrorism
rooted in bigotry. My heart goes
out to the victims, especially the
family of those who lost their
lives including a young woman
named Heather Heyer and state
troopers Lieutenant H. Jay
Cullen and Trooper-Pilot Berke
M.M. Bates. I pray for every-
one’s safety. The labor move-
ment condemns this domestic
terrorism and remains commit-
ted to eradicating the despicable
causes of hatred and intoler-
ance.”