Portland Observer, August 29, 1984, Page 3
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Textile union leader joins Nicaragua tour
by Kobert Lolbia-i
Nit» Brueggeman worked her way
up fro m a seamstress to become
N o rth w est b oard m anager o f the
Associated C lo th in g and T e x tile
Workers Union.
ACTW U
has been in the
fo re fro n t o f struggles fo r peace,
justice and hum an rights since its
beginnings as one o f the founding
unions of the Congress of Industrial
Organizations, the C IO .
Hrueggeman's own involvem ent
reflects the tenor of her union. She
campaigned for JFK as a teenager,
she was active in her u n io n ’ s
protests o f U S. involvement in Viet
N am , she lobbied for plant closure
legislation in O regon to make c o r
porations more socially responsible,
and last m o n th , she atte n d ed the
D e m o c ra tic co n ve n tio n in San
Francisco.
In Septem ber, she w ill take her
first long trip outside the country to
visit Nicaragua with a delegation of
labor leaders from the West Coast.
It is not without some trepidation
that she em barks on the tr ip , she
said, because the war being waged
by CIA-financed “ contras” — coun
terrevolutionaries— is escalating A
frie n d w ho visited the co u n try
recently witnessed a h arb o r b o m
bing. “ It's scary," she said.
But in spite o f the d an g e r,
Brueggem an s till feels the tr ip is
necessary so that the labor leaders
can investigate the facts and report
to u n io n m em bers and the p ub lic
when they return.
’ ’ I ’ m just interested in going
dow n there and fin d in g out
s o m e th in g ,” she said. “ I ’ m not
w illing to believe everything I read
in the newspapers.”
Brueggeman said the members of
her u nio n are aw a re o f the ex
plo itation and violence suffered by
w orkers in L a tin A m e ric a , and
N ic a ra g u a under the d ic ta to r
Somoza. Regarding what she called
Reagan's “ commie p lo t" theory of
the cause o f revolutions in Central
Am erica. " T h e y ’ re not buying into
that o n e ," she said o f A C T W U
members. “ T hey're not supporting
d ic ta tin g to an o th e r g overnm ent
and they feel that our government is
doing that in Nicaragua."
M a n y u n io n m em bers are c o n
cerned that their draft-age sons might
N lta B ru a g g am an
(P h oto : Krla A ltu c h a rl
be sent to Central Am erica, she ad
ded. " W h a t A C T W U is saying is
that we d o n 't want any more Viet
N am s," she said.
A M o nd ale supporter like many
union p eo ple, Brueggem an feels
a d a m a n tly th at " W e need to do
everything we can to make sure (hat
Reagan isn ’ t re-elected I th in k
Reagan needs an o ther G ran a d a
...a n d I d o n ’ t w ant it to be
Nicaragua or El Salvador.”
Brueggeman hopes that the labor
leaders who participate in the tour
will contribute to a groundswell that
can move the national leadership of
the A F L - C IO to tak e a stand on
U .S . in volvem ent in N ic a ra g u a ,
which it hasn't done yet, she said.
" T h e re 's not a clear-cut policy
tow ards N ic a ra g u a rig ht now
among organized labor— it's a little
flakey," she said.
The la b o r leaders w ill to u r
N icarag u a fo r nine days, visiting
prisons, hospitals, factories, com
m unity o rg an izatio n s and church
and elections officials. The unions
involved are the U n ite d Farm
W o rk e rs , the C o m m u n ic a tio n
W orkers o f A m eric a. M achin ists,
the A m erican
F e d e ra tio n
of
Teachers, the American Federation
of Slate County and Municipal E m
ployees, the U n ite d Food and
Com m ercial W orkers, Longshore
men. and the Service Employees In
ternational Union.
Brueggeman said besides "getting
home safely,” her concerns on the
tour w ill be to learn about the in
volvement o f Nicaraguan women's
o rg an iza tio n s in the trade union
m o vem en t, and to look in to the
issues surrounding Nicaragua's up
coming elections.
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R AM B ro a d c a s tin g o l O re g o n Inc . 713 S W 12th A ven ue
Herndon makes Libya trip
by N alhum el Scot I
Ron Herndon, one o f O regon's delegates to the N atio n al
Democratic Convention, has been invited to participate in the
fifteenth anniversary celebration o f Libya's revolution. The
invitation to the conference, which will be held in T rip o li, was
extended by the International Preparatory Committee, H ern
don said.
The International Preparatory Comm ittee invited different
Am erican Blacks, peace groups and anti-nuclear represen
tatives, Native Americans, and other groups to participate in
the four-day conference, Herndon said. Four areas o f con
cern w ill be addressed. O ne, we w ill be looking at L ib ya 's
progress; the strides and accomplishments it has made during
the past 15 years; tw o , its n o n -allia n c e p o licy, the N o rth
African nation's firm commitment to remain an independant
nation; three, the problems that exist between Libya and the
United States; and fo u r, what can be done to resolve those
problems.
The conference is scheduled to be held the 28th through the
31st of this month, he said.
Herndon is the founding father o f Oregon's chapter o f the
national Black United Front (B U F ). He shares the local chap
ter’ s chairm anship w ith Rev. John H . Jackson, minister o f
the M ount Olivet Baptist Church.
In 1979, when the local chapter was formed, Herndon said,
"Rev. Jackson and I were commissioned co-chairmen ” Since,
the two have served as spokespersons for the local B U F chap
ter But what about Herndon? W hat about the man from
C o ffee ville , Kansas; the im m igrant who came to Oregon to
complete the last two years of a bachelors degree in history at
Reed College? W hat about the man w ho set up (th e now
defunct) Black Student Union at Reed College? W hat about
the often called activist, radical, non-printable name person,
who among other things has been accused o f "creating a con
fro n tation between the BUF organization and the Portland
School Board? What about the man?
"W h e n I left C o ffee ville in 1965, I was not aware o f the
contributions Blacks had made towards A m erica’s h is to ry,"
H erndon said A t that tim e, he had no knowledge o f the
tremendous role Africa played in the civilization o f man; nor
the legacy o f A fr ic a w hich can be traced to the d aw n o f
history Herndon's knowledge and perspective o f the world
began to change when he migrated to the New Jersey and New
York C ity area, he said He began to read and learn about
M arcus G arvey, W E B D u B o is, M alco m b X , and many
more Blacks who were, and had been, scholars and leaders.
But even in Coffeeville, before he migrated to the East Coast,
Herndon said, " I had no illusion about what America had to
offer Black people.”
Eventually, Coffeeville, that Southeastern Kansas farming
and light in d u s tria l to w n , was le ft behind and P o rtla n d
became H e rn d o n ’ s city o f the fu tu re . It became the b a t
tleground where he would wage the fight for dignity, equality,
and honor for Black people, he said. The instigation o f the
BUF in Portland grew out o f a need The prim ary purpose
was " to try to resolve some of the m ajor problems co n fro n
ting Black people in P o rtlan d ," he said.
H ern do n recollects th a t, at that tim e, he was concerned
about division in the Black community; that different splinter
groups were unsuccessfully trying to make " a dent” in the
philosophy and attitudes o f the local white power structure.
“ We had to get together and develop a community strategy,”
he said The ch u rch , w hich has h is to ric a lly been Black
America's rallying point, was singled out as the place " to get
a quality of leadership that would attract various segments of
the com m unity," he said.
Herndon’s praise for Rev. Jackson, a man of the cloth, and
co-chairman o f the local BUF chapter, is vehemently respect
ful. “ I have learned a lot from Rev. Jackson," he said " H e
is the kind o f person that young people should learn fro m .”
Lockstep together, Herndon and Rev. Jackson waved the
banner for dignity and pride. Together they fought the fight
that precipitated change w ithin the Black com m unity, H e rn
don said " W e addressed issues about jobs, education, police
b ru ta lity , p o litic s , and p o litic a l is s u e s ." H o w e v e r, he
cautioned, he fu lly understood the im plications o f a Black
person’ s struggle to gain freed om , eq u ality and justice in
America.
I f a Black person stands up fo r his rights, " T h a t can be
d a n g e ro u s ," H e rn d o n said. " W h e n I see kids not being
autom atically bussed, that makes me feel g o o d ." He added,
"Black people fought (hat issue, (and) we got a middle school
(Tubm an) to o .”
Next week: Herndon— lb« road fro m here
AUGUST SEPTEMBER
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