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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 7, 2015)
OPINION 6A THE DAILY ASTORIAN • MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 2015 Workplaces change, but labor makes world go ’round L abor is what makes the world go around. Our grandparents might not rec- ognize our workplace, because it has been transformed in the past 50 years. Many Americans still do work on DVVHPEO\OLQHVLQRI¿FHVDQGLQ¿HOGV %XWPDQ\GRQRW7KHRI¿FHLVDQHY- er-evolving concept. When Labor Day was born in 1883, the holiday was a big deal for workers. And that was an America rife with large factories and their assembly lines. In ways we can hardly imagine, industrial- ists including Henry Ford and Thomas Edison introduced innovations and new techniques that transformed an essen- tially agrarian society into an urban one. Compare old photographs of work- ers from a century ago with people today and it becomes apparent that Americans ourselves have changed in amazing ways, growing both upward and in circumference. Today, even the poorest among us are better fed and far more advantaged than average citizens were at the start of modern labor move- ment. Positive changes don’t occur spon- taneously. Individual men and women, working with intelligence and tenacity, deserve our gratitude for incrementally making the USA a nation which, for all LWVÀDZVLVVWLOOWKHZRQGHURIRXUDJH The fishing boats were double-enders from roughly 1918. While all manner of things have changed, the idea of honoring labor remains an honorable aspect of this nation. Ultimately, those toiling in an- onymity are far more worthy of our thanks than the famous captains of in- dustry. Our families exist because of the labor of our parents and grandparents. Courtesy of the Clatsop County Historical Society The idea of honoring labor remains an honorable aspect of this nation. H ere on the lower Columbia River, the Columbia River Fishermen’s Protective Union was perhaps the most visible of several active organizations that struggled to level the scales of eco- nomic and political power on behalf of laborers. It wasn’t unusual for multiple men to die each season in the small, RSHQ ¿VKLQJ ERDWV RI WKDW HUD 0HDQ- ZKLOH ¿VKHUPHQ YLHG ZLWK VDOPRQ packers over a penny or two per pound for the big Chinook that were the foun- dation of our economy. The power of local companies and ZRUNHUV HEEHG DQG ÀRZHG RYHU WKH years. In bad times like the 1930s, many companies failed and the jobs they pro- vided disappeared. Firms that survived were often the ones with the best long- WHUP SDUWQHUVKLSV ZLWK ¿VKHUPHQ DQG canning workers. These companies looked after employees and their em- ployees returned the favor. This collaboration between labor and capital in bringing about success is still robust in places like the com- munities of the Lower Columbia. The owners of companies on the scale that prosper here understand that good workers are absolutely indispensable. And workers here are close enough to Courtesy of the Clatsop County Historical Society This photo of cannery workers was taken by Arthur L. Chan, perhaps late 1950s or early ’60s. the front lines of capitalism to seldom take their jobs for granted. These partnerships between em- ployers and employees are at risk in the giant corporations that wield so much power in the nation beyond our cher- ished coast. The thought of companies transferring their real or symbolic head- quarters to foreign nations in order to deprive the U.S. of tax revenue should revolt us all. Citizenship – whether by individuals or corporations – is a two- way street. Those who prosper thanks to the advantages created by our great nation must in turn be willing to help pay for it. O ur economy has been transformed in recent decades. Economic re- covery has been uneven, delivering far more wealth to a few, while most Americans work within the context of a globalized labor market that tends to keep wages down. Even so, working conditions and job fairness are a quan- tum leap better than they were in our grandparents’ time. All Americans liv- LQJWRGD\VWLOOEHQH¿WIURPWKHWUDQVIRU- mations in labor laws and attitudes that came to permeate 20th-century society. Although you don’t have to look far to uncover derogatory attitudes toward unions, the fair-employment initiatives that were led by organized labor groups are key to everything from minimum wages, bars on child labor, safe work- ing conditions, employer-provided health insurance and a host of other things we take for granted. In good times, some Americans consider labor rights and organizations to be sort of expensive extravaganc- es. But even as the overall economy continues to improve, it still behooves Americans and our leaders to empower labor in ways that ensure future eco- nomic health, and a balance of power between corporations and everyday citizens. Families struggle to pay for the ed- ucation children require for the techno- logically demanding jobs of the future. Health care, once one of the near-cer- tainties of middle-class employment, remains a source of worry even after implementation of the Affordable Care Act. Personal wealth still is far from recovered to what it was before the Great Recession. For all these reasons and more, it’s important we always pay attention to the details of working life. The victories of the past can leak away when we’re not watching. Payday for ‘ice bucket challenge’s’ mocked slacktivists By NICHOLAS KRISTOF New York Times News Service W hen Americans were giddily drenching themselves with ice water during the “ice bucket chal- lenge” a year ago, the co- gnoscenti rolled their eyes. The aim of the ice bucket challenge was to raise money to combat ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, a neuro- degenerative ailment that af- fects some 15,000 Americans and usually leads to death ZLWKLQ¿YH\HDUV But commentators scoffed: One on Time.com declared it “problematic in almost every way.” Critics sniped that the challenge wasted water and can- nibalized contributions to better causes that affect more people. The ice bucket challenge was taken as emblematic of “slacktivism,” the derisive term for cheap ways to feel good without doing anything mean- ingful. Critics point to Inter- net campaigns, the Stop Kony movement and the ice bucket challenge as merely symbolic ways for young narcissists to preen without actually achiev- ing any change. But now we have evidence that the ice bucket challenge may have worked. Scientists studying ALS have reported a ing the therapy will breakthrough that work for a common could lead to therapy, cause of mental de- not just for ALS but terioration, fronto- for other ailments, temporal dementia, too. And they say the and for inclusion money raised in the body myositis, a ice bucket challenge progressive disease was crucial. that leads to muscle The break- weakness. through, published Jonathan Ling, a Nicholas in Science, was Johns Hopkins sci- Kristof summarized entist who was thus: “TDP-43 the lead author Armchair repression of of the Science nonconserved article, said the cryptic exons is activism is new work might compromised in also lead to a preferable ALS-FTD.” diagnostic test Got it? to armchair (though proba- Here’s a bly not a treat- passivity. translation: The ment) for Alz- research fo- heimer’s. Ling cused on a protein called TDP- said the research team was also 43 that in some circumstances is working with experts on cancer linked to cell death in the brain and immunology to see if other or spinal cord of patients. The proteins might perform similar scientists found that inserting roles as TDP-43, possibly lead- a custom-designed protein al- ing to far broader implications. lowed cells to return to normal. The ice bucket challenge “That becomes our therapeu- went viral in 2014, partly be- tic strategy,” said Philip Wong, a cause it was so much fun to professor at Johns Hopkins Uni- watch videos of celebrities or versity whose lab conducted the friends dumping ice water on research. He said the research their heads. Videos of people in team was now testing gene ther- the challenge have been watched apy strategies in mice to see if more than 10 billion times on these can halt ALS symptoms. Facebook — more than once If it works in mice, the fol- per person on the planet. (I was lowing step would be to seek one of the 17 million who up- to conduct a clinical trial in hu- loaded a video of my drenching mans, he said. to Facebook.) The researchers are also hop- The ALS Association says the ice bucket challenge raised $115 million in six weeks, and many participants have become repeat donors. Google also re- ports there were more searches for “ALS” in 2014 than in the entire previous decade. The research at Johns Hop- kins on TDP-43 was already underway, but Wong says ice bucket money helped acceler- ate the work and allowed the team to conduct some high-risk, high-reward experiments that were critical to the outcome. “The funding certainly facil- itated the results we obtained,” he told me. It’s true that slacktivism doesn’t always work. The online campaign to “bring back our girls” — the Nigerian school- girls kidnapped by Boko Haram last year — raised attention, but the girls are still missing. Likewise, Joseph Kony, the warlord, is still on the run de- spite the Stop Kony movement. But the United States and Afri- can countries directed more re- sources against Kony, and this KDVKDGDYHU\VLJQL¿FDQWHIIHFW Killings by his group are down 90 percent since 2011. So think of armchair ac- tivism as a gateway drug. It exposes people to causes and sometimes gets them hooked. And while it doesn’t always solve problems, it tends to build awareness of crises — a nec- HVVDU\EXWQRWVXI¿FLHQWVWHSWR getting them resolved. Mark Zaleski/AP Photo Former Tennessee Titans linebacker Tim Shaw is dunked with water as he takes the ALS ice bucket challenge in the second quarter of a preseason NFL football game between the Titans and the Minnesota Vikings Thursday, Aug. 28, 2014, in Nash- ville, Tenn. Shaw has announced that he has ALS. In any case, armchair activ- ism is preferable to armchair passivity. With the ice bucket chal- lenge, there’s little evidence of cannibalization that hurt other causes, and it seems to have been revolutionary for this one. “Across the ALS communi- ty, we are probably in our high- est time of hope,” said Barbara Newhouse, president of the ALS Association. So if you endured an ice dunking a year ago — or if you’re participating in the 2015 ice bucket challenge, now un- derway — there’s no need to apologize for having fun. Rath- er: Thank you! Enough with the eye-rolling. Long live slacktivism! STEPHEN A. FORRESTER, Editor & Publisher • LAURA SELLERS, Managing Editor BETTY SMITH, Advertising Manager • CARL EARL, Systems Manager JOHN D. BRUIJN, Production Manager • DEBRA BLOOM, Business Manager HEATHER RAMSDELL, Circulation Manager Founded in 1873