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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 21, 2015)
Page 10A OFF PAGE ONE East Oregonian PORTS: McDonald’s in Japan began rationing fries because of potato shortage harbors, with similar scenes in San Francisco Bay and DQG¿OH 7KH\ ZRUN SRUWV Washington’s Puget Sound. from San Diego to Seattle The scenes were reminiscent WKDWKDQGOHDERXWRQHTXDUWHU of a 2002 worker lockout that of all U.S. international trade, shuttered West Coast ports for much of it with Asia. 10 days. Negotiators for the union Though negotiations be- DQGWKH3DFL¿F0DULWLPH$V- tween the two sides typically sociation, which represents involve public theatrics, U.S. ocean-going shipping lines businesses grew increasing- and the companies that load ly antsy as talks ground on. and unload cargo at terminals Groups representing retail- ports, began talking formally ers warned that some holi- in May. Their prior six-year day goods might be delayed; contract expired July 1. thanks to advanced planning, The maritime association trouble on the waterfront did not have immediate com- didn’t steal Christmas. ment Friday. Still, there were broader After initial signs of prog- economic repercussions. ress, in the fall employers Farm exports suffered — publicly charged dockworkers McDonald’s in Japan, for ex- with creating a congestion cri- ample, began rationing fries sis to gain bargaining leverage because of a potato shortage. by slowing their work rate and Apple, walnut and hay pro- withholding the most skilled ducers all said they were los- workers. The union responded ing out to foreign competitors. that its members were work- The meat industry tallied its ing safely and blamed the losses in the tens of millions jam on broader dysfunction at of dollars. Importers of furni- West Coast ports that predated ture, books, clothing — even contract talks, notably a lack Mardi Gras beads — said of truck beds to tow contain- their products were stuck on ers from dockside yards to the docks. Honda Motor Co. distribution warehouses. cut production because of By January, the mari- a parts shortage. Wal-Mart time association’s members Stores Inc. warned that Easter stopped ordering night work goodies could be affected. crews to load and unload After a federal mediator ships, saying that smaller couldn’t broker an agreement, groups would focus on clear- the Obama administration ing the thicket of containers dispatched Labor Secretary already on the docks. Thomas Perez to oversee Union members called it talks this week in San Fran- an attempt to hurt workers in cisco, where both the union their pocketbooks; their ne- and maritime association are gotiators soon agreed to the based. After a few days, he involvement of a federal me- warned negotiators that if they diator. didn’t seal a deal by midnight The slowdown-vs.-lock- Friday, he’d haul them back out dynamic was the kind of WR:DVKLQJWRQWR¿QGDUHVR- brinksmanship familiar to lution. past negotiations between two With so much at stake, out- sides with a history of con- siders puzzled over why the ÀLFW GDWLQJ WR WKH NLOOLQJ RI talks took so long. A summer dockworkers during the Great GHDO RQ KHDOWK FDUH EHQH¿WV Depression. How much re- — longshoremen enjoy com- sponsibility for the congestion plete coverage, and the cost each side bears may never be of it was expected to be a big determined, but their animosi- sticking point — seemed to W\PDJQL¿HGWKHFULVLV SRUWHQG TXLFN SURJUHVV %XW In early February, the CEO negotiations stalled on issues of the maritime association including what future jobs publicly warned that if no would fall under the control of agreement could be reached, the union, which worries that employers would stop calling automation at the ports will workers and shut down the erode its membership. ports within days. Weekend In the end, the disagree- and holiday lockouts of many ment boiled down to the sys- longshoremen followed, tem for resolving allegations though major ports were not of work slowdowns, discrim- fully closed. LQDWLRQ DQG RWKHU FRQÀLFWV DW Instead, cargo trickled the ports. The union wanted through. Massive ocean-go- to get rid of the man who ar- ing ships anchored off the bitrates disputes in South- coast of Los Angeles and near ern California and proposed the ports of Oakland and Se- changes to the arbitration sys- attle — waiting for berths tems that would accomplish they anticipated occupying that; the maritime association after the long haul across the rejected those suggestions — 3DFL¿FWKDWLQVWHDGZHUHWDN- though eventually the two en by ships whose unloading sides found a compromise. Continued from 1A SENTIMENTAL B a ck J O U R N E Y to th e 4 0 s When: Friday, February 27th • 6-9 pm Where: Hamley’s Slickfork Saloon What: • no-host bar • hors d’oeuvres • silent auction • music by the PHS Jazz Band • dressing up optional but encouraged Cost: $40 pre-registration • $50 at-the-door Tickets: Armchair Books & Heritage Station Museum (541) 276-0012 Saturday, February 21, 2015 Pasco police shooting stirs protests 2000. The city is more than 55 percent Hispanic; many members of the communi- PASCO, Wash. — The W\ ÀRFNHG KHUH IURP 0H[L- rallying cry in Ferguson was FRWRZRUNLQWKH¿HOGVDQG “Hands up, don’t shoot!” In at food-processing plants. New York, it was “I can’t Starting in the 1960s and breathe!” In Pasco these ‘70s, many of those migrant days, the protest signs say workers settled down here. things like “It was just a Pasco’s modest downtown rock!!!” is now lined with Mexican In a case with unmistak- restaurants, bakeries and able echoes of Ferguson and clothing stores, and city busi- AP Photo/Nicholas K. Geranios New York, demonstrators ness is conducted in English have gathered every day over A protest sign is displayed in front of City Hall in Pas- and Spanish. Wash., the city where Antonio Zambrano-Montes, the past week in front of City co, The police force of 71 an unarmed man who was running away from police Hall to demand answers in at a crowded intersection, was fatally shot by police XQLIRUPHG RI¿FHUV KDV MXVW the deadly police shooting of on Feb. 10. 15 Hispanics, and only one Antonio Zambrano-Montes, person on the seven-member a 35-year-old Mexican im- acrimony that happened in SXUVXHGE\WKUHHRI¿FHUV$V City Council is Hispanic. migrant and former orchard Ferguson, Missouri, last year he stops and turns around, Once a hotbed of gang- worker who authorities say ZKHQRI¿FHUVVKRWDQGNLOOHG gunshots ring out and he falls and drug-related violence, ZDV WKURZLQJ URFNV DW RI¿- an unarmed black 18-year- dead. the city has seen crime plum- old. While the shooting is met in the past 20 years, in cers. “We will continue to be under investigation by a large part because the His- The Feb. 10 killing — captured on cellphone video calm, until they give us a regional task force — and panic community worked by an onlooker — was the reason not to,” said protest- being watched by the FBI — with police to drive out the fourth by law enforcement er Hector Alamillo, 62, of police have said that Zam- bad guys, said police Capt. RI¿FHUVLQ3DVFRLQOHVVWKDQ Pasco. “We are not a Fergu- brano-Montes had hit two Ken Roske. But there are a year. It has sparked calls for son. We will not burn things RI¿FHUV ZLWK URFNV DQG KDG worries that future cooper- refused to put down other ation will be jeopardized if a federal investigation and down.” But Alamillo said His- stones. They also said a stun the investigation clears the roiled this fast-growing agri- cultural city of 68,000, where panics are “very distrustful gun failed to subdue him. RI¿FHUV The case has cast a spot- more than half the residents right now” and are wonder- “We are asking for more are Hispanic but few are LQJZK\RI¿FHUVGLGQRWXVH light on the ethnic makeup of WUDLQLQJ IRU RXU RI¿FHUV´ members of the police force non-lethal force to subdue working-class Pasco, an ap- said protester Lorian Reave- Zambrano-Montes. ple-, grape- and potato-grow- ly, 39, of Pasco, who stood in or the power structure. In the cellphone video, ing center about 220 miles front of a sign reading “Stop Protesters and police of- ¿FLDOV DOLNH VD\ WKH\ ZDQW Zambrano-Montes is seen from Seattle that has more Police Brutality. It was just a to avoid the violence and running across a busy street, than doubled in size since rock!!!” By NICHOLAS K. GERANIOS Associated Press BROWN: Will announce new secretary of state by March 6 of state to serve the remain- der of her term. The governor munities. Kitzhaber had pro- GHÀHFWHG D TXHVWLRQ DERXW posed spending more than whether she will run for $200 million on projects re- election in 2016, saying she lated to irrigated agriculture, needs to focus on the work at forest products research and hand. sage grouse habitat over the %URZQ DOVR ¿HOGHG TXHV- next biennium. tions about her proposed Brown was sworn in as ethics and public records governor on Wednesday, reforms, and legislation ap- following Kitzhaber’s res- proved by the state Senate ignation amid criminal in- this week that would make vestigations into allegations permanent Oregon’s low-car- RILQÀXHQFHSHGGOLQJE\WKH bon fuel standard. JRYHUQRU DQG KLV ¿DQFHH Republicans have called Cylvia Hayes. During the for that bill to be put on hold press conference Friday she pending investigations of spoke about Oregon’s death Kitzhaber and Hayes, be- row, ethics reform and fuel cause some of the groups that standard legislation. paid Hayes for consulting On death row, Brown said work have also worked on she will continue Oregon’s campaigns to support the fuel moratorium on executions, standard legislation. a policy initiated in 2011 by Brown declined to say Kitzhaber. whether she would sign the Oregon needs to have “a fuel standard legislation, broader discussion” about the Senate Bill 324, if it reaches death penalty and criminal her desk. But she did signal justice system, the governor her support. said. Kitzhaber put a morato- “In terms of clean fuels, rium on executions in 2011. the Legislature passed the There are currently 34 people original clean fuels bill in on death row in Oregon. 2009,” Brown said. “For me, Brown, who was secretary clean fuels translates into of state before Kitzhaber’s cleaner air for Oregonians. I resignation, said she will an- think that’s a good thing.” nounce by March 6 the ap- The governor said em- pointment of a new secretary ployees in her administra- Continued from 1A tion will not be allowed to receive outside compensa- tion for state business, and she is looking into options to provide more resources and independence to the Oregon Government Ethics Com- mission. Three members of the ethics commission are direct appointees of the gov- ernor, and four are selected by the party caucuses in the Legislature. Brown said “the gover- nor gets to essentially veto the caucus leaders appoint- ments to the government eth- ics commission. I think that needs to change.” Brown, a Democrat, said it is encouraging to see ethics reform proposals from both Republican and Democratic lawmakers. “I am optimistic this can be a bipartisan effort,” Brown said. Earlier this week, Rep. Jodi Hack, R-Salem, an- nounced she is working on a concept for legislation to create a process for lawmak- ers to impeach the governor. Oregon is currently the only state without a process to impeach the state executive, according to a press release from Hack. If Hack’s proposal passes the state House and Senate, it would then be referred to voters in a general election EHFDXVH LW ZRXOG UHTXLUH DQ amendment to the Oregon Constitution. Meanwhile, Brown has also called for the state to strengthen laws “to ensure the timely release of public documents.” She said on Friday that se- nior policy adviser Gina Ze- jdlik will work on this issue along with ethics reform pro- posals. Chris Pair, a spokes- man for Brown, said gover- QRU¶V RI¿FH ZLOO DOVR EULQJ in two Oregon Department of Justice employees to help tackle the backlog of public UHFRUGV UHTXHVWV VXEPLWWHG by news organizations and others when Kitzhaber was VWLOOLQRI¿FH On a personal note, Brown said she and her husband, ¿UVW JHQWOHPDQ 'DQ /LWWOH are in the process of moving from Portland to Salem. “Mr. Little and I are very excited about moving into Mahonia Hall,” Brown said, referring to the governor’s mansion. — The Capital Bureau is a collaboration between EO Media Group and Pamplin Media Group. APPLY NOW Win One of Twelve UEC $2,500 Academic Scholarships OR A $5,000 Electrical Engineering Scholarship Presented by: OR A $2,000 Linemen College Scholarship FOR 2015-16 APPLY ON-LINE AT: www.oregonstudentaid.gov OR www.UMATILLAELECTRIC.COM Deadline March 1, 2015
