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About Eugene weekly. (Eugene, Oregon) 1993-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 4, 2003)
SPRINGER PUBLISHES NEW CARTOON BOOK ELECTRONIC RALLY GETS HUMAN FACE Local cartoonist and illustrator Jesse Springer has published his second collection of editorial cartoons and will be signing books at 5:30 pm Friday, Dec. 5 at the Book Mark, 856 Olive St. His new book is called Nobody Messes with my Right to Dye! and in- cludes many cartoons and cover illustrations that have appeared in EW and other publica- tions in re- cent years. MoveOn.org, a grassroots Internet net- work consisting of 2 million activists world- wide, put out a call Nov. 19 requesting mem- bers to host house parties to show the newly released documentary video, Uncovered: The Whole Truth about the Iraq War. The film is to be shown across the country on Sunday, Dec 7. Within a week, almost 2,000 peo- ple had signed up to host such par- ties. The parties will be brought to- gether through a cross-country con- ference call. At 5:30 pm Sunday, parties will be able to dial in to this conference call, which will feature Whole Truth director Robert Greenwald, as well as MoveOn leaders and other party at- tendees. Currently, there are 2,272 parties planned nationwide including public and private showings in the Eugene/Springfield area. Friendly Neighbors is having a party at the Amazon Community Center Main Hall, 2700 Hilyard, at 4 pm. For more information on this event, call Barbara Sklar at 687-6879. Justice Not War is showing the film on a big screen at 7 pm at Cozmic Pizza, 8th and Charnelton. A discussion follows at 8 pm. Springe r ’s early editor- ial cartoon book Only in Eugene was published three years ago. The new book features car- toons about PeaceHealth, the Gang of 9, redistricting, the West Eugene Parkway, the Oregon Legislature, the USA PATRIOT Act, the War in Iraq and dozens of other topics. Many of the cartoons have accompanying “Instant Context” boxes with short explanations of the news items that inspired the illustrations. Springer’s cartoons, once carried only by local papers, are now making their way into other papers around the state, from Medford to Portland. The book also contains passwords for viewing some of the illustrations on-line in color. — TJT Call Michael Carrigan, 342-1953, for further information on this viewing. For other loca- tions or to sign up to attend, see the MoveOn.org website. Local organizer/activist Carrigan says, “MoveOn is providing activists a wonderful tool for doing local organizing and local ac- tivists will be giving MoveOn’s electronic organizing a human face.” — Aria Seligmann EFN UNION UPDATE After a year’s time, local non-profit inter- net service provider Eugene Free Network (EFN) is still negotiating issues on the labor front. In the last year, EFN unionized reportedly due to tension in the workplace between em- ployees and board members/management, specifically with General Manager Seth Cohn, whose management style has been de- scribed in terms ranging from brilliant and technically savvy to autocratic and control- ling (EW 12/19/02 and1/09/03). Employee dissatisfaction has dissipated since then, due, perhaps, to more than just unionization: According to EFN Administrative Manager Alyse Hayes, Cohn was “involuntarily terminated by the EFN Board of Directors effective 25th of June 2003.” Neither Hayes nor IWW Union Steward for EFN Patrick Wade could com- ment on the specific circumstances of the fir- ing, though Hayes did speculate that Cohn’s management style might have had something to do with the decision. Cohn himself could only say that he had been forced to sign a non-disclosure severance agreement, pre- venting him from speaking about the details of his dismissal. Some rumbling within the local online community hints that firing Cohn may not have been the best move for EFN. Those in the know have praised Cohn’s contributions to EFN’s customer service sector, as well as his technical and organizational leadership. Though Union Steward Wade says that morale has improved significantly in Cohn’s absence, there are those who seri- ously wonder if improved morale will do EFN any good without strong leadership and guidance. Since Cohn’s dismissal, EFN’s GM role has been covered by two managers he hired — Hayes and Mike Jackson, technical man- ager. The past year also seems to have found some resolution on EFN’s volunteer situa- tion, which was getting squeezed in the effort to streamline the EFN support staff; volun- teer activity has moved to Oregon Public Network, EFN’s parent organization. EFN employees’ efforts to ratify a union contract have taken longer than projected; critics say that this is because the employees’ old-school style of all-decisions-by-commit- tee have them mired in discussion and negoti- ations. However, both Wade and Hayes say that negotiations have been progressing steadily. Says Wade, “We have acquired newer figures on budget and revenues, and this has obliged us to modify the schedule and conditions for the living wage proposals. But we seem to be in agreement about the is- sues and principles. I look for ratification [to happen] toward the end of November or early December.” — Bobbie Willis DECEMBER 4, 2003 9
