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About Northwest labor press. (Portland , Ore.) 1987-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 24, 2018)
SERVING ORGANIZED LABOR IN OREGON AND SOUTHWEST WASHINGTON SINCE 1900 NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS VOLUME 119, NUMBER 16 Special LABOR DAY Edition PORTLAND, OREGON LABOR DAY PICNICS On Labor Day, union members celebrate fam- ily and community. Here are this year’s events. PORTLAND — The region’s largest Labor Day picnic takes place at Oaks Amusement Park in Southeast Portland, sponsored by the Northwest Oregon Labor Council, AFL-CIO. Members and their families from dozens of unions – up to 20,000 people – turn out for barbecue, FOOD-DRINK-FUN games, carnival rides, Deluxe ride bracelets $11.50 Food/drink scrip $1.00 raffle drawings, music, and a chance Burger + chips 3 scrip Hot dog + chips 2 scrip to hear from local 1 scrip politicians. The picnic Chili Beer 3 scrip runs 10 a.m. to 5 Pop 1 scrip p.m. There will be a Water 1 scrip kids’ scavenger hunt, Ice Cream 1 scrip and a blood drive challenge [See Page FREE SHUTTLE TRAIN! 5 for more details.] Politicians take the stage at 1 p.m. Free shuttle train: Labor Day is the busiest day of the year at Oaks Park. To help union members avoid traffic jams and parking headaches, the Labor Council has made arrangements with the Oregon Pacific Railroad for a free shuttle train into Oaks Park. The train boards at Southeast 4th and Caruthers, near OMSI. There is plenty of street parking near the McLoughlin Overpass and McCoy Millwork, and the Portland Opera will LABOR DAY Monday, September 3 AUGUST 24, 2018 open its parking lot — yellow spaces only. Pin code for the gate will be 1895. The shuttle runs 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. (last train). For more information, call the Northwest Oregon Labor Council at 503-235-9444. ASHLAND/MEDFORD/GRANTS PASS — Emigrant Lake, Shelter D, 5505 Highway 66 (I-5 to Exit 14, Hwy 66 East 3.5 miles to Emigrant Lake Park turnoff) 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.; lunch at noon. Food and entertainment for the whole family! There is a $4 charge for parking. Sponsored by the Southern Oregon Central Labor Chapter. BEND — Pioneer Park (NW Wall St.) 12:30 to 3:30 p.m. Food and drinks for everyone, live music and a beautiful setting on the Deschutes River. Bring family, friends; all are welcome. Please bring a dessert. Everything else is provided. Sponsored by the Central Oregon Labor Chapter. COWLITZ-WAHKIAKUM COUNTIES —10 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the large covered picnic shelter at Tam O'Shanter Park in Kelso. Hamburgers, hot dogs, salads, cake and more — anyone attending is welcome to bring a potluck dish to share. There will also be a croquet tournament. For info, contact Shawn Nyman at 360-270-5096. EUGENE/SPRINGFIELD — Splash Pool Picnic Shelter; 6100 Thurston Road, Springfield, noon to 3:30 p.m. Hamburgers, hot dogs, live music, door prizes, and fun for the whole family! Please bring a side dish to share. No alcohol allowed. Retiring State Rep. Phil Barnhart will be honored. Sponsored by Lane County Labor Chapter. LA GRANDE — 3501 N Spruce St., La Grande., 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., features bouncy house, water fights, volleyball, badminton, open mic, and more. Hamburgers, hot dogs, lemonade and iced tea served at 11:30. Bring friends, family, and your favorite dish. Sponsored by SEIU Local 503 and Eastern Oregon Central Labor Chapter. Contact Tova at 541-709-6403 or tova@seiu503.org for more info. SALEM — Salem River Park, 230 Front St SE.; 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.; All friends of labor and their families are welcome for BBQ, side dishes, soft drinks, and great company! Food served 11:10 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Political guest speakers speak from 11-11:30 a.m. Please bring two cans of food or $2 per person for donation to the Marion/Polk Food Bank. Sponsored by the Marion-Polk-Yamhill Central Labor Chapter. NATIONAL ANALYSIS Missouri voters trounce ‘right-to-work’ How to restore the power of unions Anti-union Republicans thought they had a slam dunk. They had the governor’s office and all the votes they needed in the Legislature to pass a law last year making Missouri America’s 28th “right-to- work” state. Then Missouri voters got to have a say. On Aug. 7, they rejected the anti- union law by a landslide 67 percent. So-called “right-to-work” laws are intended to weaken unions by barring private em- ployers from signing union contracts that require all work- ers to pay union dues or fees. Missourians rejected right-to- work once before, in 1978, by 60 percent. Union membership rates have fallen by half since then, but if the Aug. 7 vote is any sign, Missourians are even more pro-union 40 years later. Backed by his union and an- swering a call from the national Unions have been under decades of attack, but several labor thinkers have put forward ideas to the comeback that working people need. AFL-CIO, Oregon union or- ganizer Scott Strickland of Op- erating Engineers Local 701 spent the last five days leading up to the election knocking on doors in small towns like Pecu- liar, Missouri, outside Kansas City. “It was really inspiring,” Strickland said. “The experi- ences I had on the ground talk- ing to people really strength- ened my belief that unions provide benefits to everyone, Turn to Page 30 By Don McIntosh Unions represent just 6.5 percent of private sector workers today, the smallest share since the 1920s. Strikes last year were at their second lowest level since the government started tracking them in 1947. Workers’ inflation- adjusted wages have been flat for 40 years on average, even though productivity has more than dou- bled – because all the gains are going to owners and the top 1 percent of income earners. American workers need a come- back, and they need it soon. There are a lot of ideas about how to bring that about. In this issue, we look at three labor fig- ures whose books propose a way back to power for labor: ■ Joe Burns, a top negotiator for the flight attendants union, says workers won’t be able to get the goods until they relearn how to strike effectively. ■ Jane McAlevey, a lifelong organizer who led campaigns in Connecticut and Nevada, says there’s no shortcut: Unions must organize the entire workplace so that workers can move as one. ■ David Rolf, a top SEIU official, says collective bargaining is dead, and unions are going to need to experiment with lots of new approaches. Take a look, and tell us what you think about their ideas at nwlaborpress.org/restore-union-power Turn to Page 20
