Eagle Point School Board Trashes Workers

GRINCH HURTS WORKERS
RIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS
20.12.2009 01:56

Sodexo successfully gets the Eagle Point School Board
to turn over its nine food service managers to this greedy
company who makes money by paying workers less,
decreasing their benefits and taking away their voice at work.
This is what union busting is all about.

The December 17, 2010 School Board meeting was timely for
union busting since a new Oregon State law (HB2867) about
"transparent outsourcing contractual requirements" does not
take effect until January 1, 2010. This is just plain sleazy.

Wow--this is what being a Grinch looks like, trashing workers
just before Christmas. The vote was divided with 3 voting for
Sodexo and 2 voting for the workers. Three lumps of coal for
the three Board Members who voted to trash workers!

about the bills which were designed to
slow down greedy corporations like Sodexo

Achieving Government Accountability
 and Transparency in Contracting
http://www.oregongovernmentaccountability.com/

In 2009 Oregon and Congress are going to invest in job
creation through updating our infrastructure and green jobs.
Much of this work will be done by private contractors,
providing jobs for thousands who need them. Over the past
15 years, state and local governments have shifted many public
services to private contractors, looking to save money, increase
efficiency, and maintain quality. At the same time, Oregon laws
regarding contracting have not kept pace to ensure quality and
cost-savings. While other states have increased their transparency
and accountability, Oregon has not. With an influx of infrastructure
projects to jump-start the economy, it is critical that Oregon can
show taxpayers how the money being spent and can evaluate its
effectiveness. Learning from other states, Oregon can increase
government accountability and transparency.

In 2009 a coalition of groups have come together to increase
transparency and accountability in contracting.
HB 2037 will increase transparency by requiring information
about contracts online and in a report
and HB 2867 will increase quality standards, accountability,
and oversight of contracts.

Here are the full bills, which start with a summary (pdf format):

HB2037- http://landru.leg.state.or.us/09reg/measpdf/hb2000.dir/hb2037.intro.pdf
HB2867- http://www.leg.state.or.us/09reg/measpdf/hb2800.dir/hb2867.intro.pdf

Thanks to Kevin Card for Submitting this information.
Tim

Labor Notes Update

http://labornotes.org/blogs 

 
Escalating the War in Afghanistan Is Wrong


Jim Cavanaugh December 2, 2009

President Obama’s decision to escalate the war in Afghanistan
is wrong for many reasons. At its October 15 meeting,
the Executive Board of the Wisconsin State AFL-CIO
adopted a simple statement that sums up many of those reasons:
“We need to stop the war in Afghanistan
and focus the nation’s attention on the
fight for jobs, education, health care and pensions.”

And, as Wisconsin Rep. David Obey says:
“There ain’t going to be no money for nothing
  if we pour it all into Afghanistan.”

Senator Russ Feingold correctly objects from a
foreign policy and national security point of view:
“It’s an expensive gamble to undertake armed nation-
building on behalf of a corrupt government of
questionable legitimacy.”

It’s wrong because the American people elected Obama,
with a mandate-sized majority, to end these wars,
reform health care, and ameliorate the effects of the
economic depression, and certainly not to escalate the war.

http://labornotes.org/conference

And finally, but absolutely not
least,  it is wrong because it will
lead to many more serious
physical and psychological
wounds and deaths for Afghan
citizens and American soldiers.



[Jim Cavanaugh is president of the
South Central Federation of Labor in Madison, Wisconsin.]

http://labornotes.org/blogs/2009/12/escalating-war-afghanistan-wrong

Steve Novick praises the Boregonian

Posted by: Unionresource at

Dec 16, 2009 12:12:30 PM
http://www.blueoregon.com/
2009/12/good-luck-peter-bhatia.html
?cid=6a00d8341c2c3f53ef012876585f55970c

The Oregonian is one of the
most regressive newspapers in the nation.

When in 2003, the majority of editors
and writers at the Oregonian refused to
endorse George Bush, the publisher of
the paper overruled them and endorsed him.

Those who own the presses control the news.

The Oregonian, as an institution, tends to ignore
progressive events and selectively delivers relatively
biased news which is most often favorable towards
corporate sponsorships and the Fortune 500.

This paper is generally unwilling and unlikely to
provide adequate, fair, or accurate progressive
community resources and information. The publication
is all about Wall street and not real concerned about
Main street. It is no friend to working people.



Steve Novick is a good man, but he is clearly not
a journalist. To say the Oregonian is relatively
no better or worse than most corporate whores would
be accurate. But to pretend the Oregonian is either
fair or unbiased is ridiculous. It is flat delusional
to claim the Oregonian is "a good paper."

The managment and owners of the Oregonian are
proactively anti-union. They endorsed Steve,
but this transparent tactic is no good reason to
begin kissing collective patooties. I wish the new
editor well, but I hope Mr. Novick reconsiders
his curious claims. Disappointing.


Tim Flanagan
local writer, editor, & organizer
http://www.unionresource.org/

D-5: Commemorate WTO Protests on Sat. December 5th in Portland

Your Union News Weekly Update

Take Action:  If you live in the Portland Metro area

As part of the global days of action against the new
World Trade Organization (WTO) Ministerial, people
from across the Pacific Northwest will be converging in
downtown Portland this Saturday to speak out against the
proposed expansion of failed “free trade” policies and to
demand the prioritization of human needs over corporate greed.




D5: Mobilization Against the World Trade Organization
Saturday, December 5th * Downtown Portland

12:00 Noon — Community Carnival
Gather at Tom McCall Waterfront Park under the
Hawthorne Bridge at SW Natio & Madison


Gather to live music from Oregon-based performers,
and browse information tables from some of the more than
75 labor, environmental, faith, immigrant rights and community
organizations that put this event together. Greet demonstrators
caravanning together from as far south as Ashland and as far
north as Seattle. Start getting fired up!

1:00 pm — March

Leaves from the Hawthorne Bridge and goes through downtown


Oregon AFL-CIO President Tom Chamberlain will kick off the
permitted, family-friendly march, led by a contingent of “Teamsters and Turtles.”
The No War Drum Corps and several large puppets will be on hand to keep
things lively. Street theater is planned for the World Trade Center,
Federal Building and Wells Fargo Center.
The march also includes the Amalgamated Transit Union bus, carrying anyone
who needs a lift. Bring your signs and banners!



2:00 pm — Indoor Rally & Concert

Portland State University’s Hoffman Hall (1833 SW 11th)



Hear short rally speeches by Lori Wallach (Global Trade Watch),
Francisco Lopez (CAUSA Oregon), Barbara Byrd
(Oregon Apollo Alliance), Brent Foster (Oregon Department of Justice),
Ken Allen (Oregon AFSCME) and Vandana Shiva (via video),
as well as musical acts by Jim Page and Dr. Atomic’s Medicine Show.
Take action before you leave, and learn how to stay involved!



7:30 to 10:30 pm — D5 After-Party

Opposable Thumb Cafe (3312 SE Belmont)



Celebrate the day’s successes and the
10-year anniversary of the Seattle protests at
the Oregon Fair Trade Campaign’s 5-year
anniversary party. Enjoy good food and spirits,
live music by Patrick Dodd and Lindsey Walker,
and rub shoulders with guest-of-honor Lori Wallach,
from Public Citizen’s Global Trade Watch.
Party the night away, and help support the Oregon Fair
Trade Campaign continue its on-the-ground organizing
for many years into the future.



Get involved on Saturday!
Union members are turning
out to the anti-WTO rally and
to a Yes for Oregon canvass to
educate other Oregonians about
why we need to vote yes for
tax fairness in January.

Meet for the rally downtown
under the Hawthorne bridge at noon,
and for the canvass at the campaign
office, 411 NE 19th, at 10am.

Live elsewhere? Groups are carpooling
to the WTO rally, and the Yes for Oregon
campaign will have a canvass in your area soon!

Learn more about the rally or the canvasses
and we'll see you Saturday!
www.UnionResource.org/

http://thewordsmithcollection.blogspot.com/2009/02/lets-get-nation-back-on-track.html
D5: Mobilization Against the 2009 WTO Ministerial


March, Indoor Rally and Concert

Downtown Portland

Saturday, December 5, 2009


12 Noon – Gather at Tom McCall Waterfront Park (under the Hawthorne Bridge)

1:00 pm – March to the World Trade Center, Federal Building and Wells Fargo Building

2:00 pm – Indoor Rally and Concert at Portland State University’s Hoffman Hall

These are permitted events; we are striving for a family-friendly atmosphere.


The ATU bus in the march will be available to carry people who want to participate, but have difficulty walking long distances. If you need access to a wheelchair lift, please call (503) 736-9777.

This is one of more than 200 events across the country, and hundreds more around the globe, opposing the proposed expansion of the World Trade Organization.

A decade ago, tens of thousands of people converged in Seattle, Washington to protest the ministerial meeting of the World Trade Organization. Directly confronting some of the planet’s most powerful corporations, governments and security forces, those activists made history by successfully derailing the WTO’s expansionist agenda.

Today, we find ourselves in the midst of the worst economic and environmental crises in generations. The same corporate interests activists confronted in Seattle are attempting to exploit these crises in order to concentrate their own power. Amazingly, they even have the gall to have scheduled a new WTO ministerial meeting in Geneva in late November and early December—the exact 10-year anniversary of the Seattle protests. At this meeting, government officials will undoubtedly promote market fundamentalism as a solution to, rather than a cause of, the global economic crisis.


We need to fight back. It is time to reclaim the “Spirit of Seattle,” come together as affected communities and take control over the policy decisions that affect our economic and ecological well-being. As part of this resistance, a broad coalition of labor, environmental, faith, human rights and community activists are organizing a large-scale march and rally in Portland for Saturday, December 5, 2009. Allies in Seattle, Geneva and around the globe are planning similar demonstrations.

On D5, people will come together to demand:

An end to the undemocratic, “free trade” model. We’ll let elected officials know we’ve had enough of trade agreements that lead to a collective race to the bottom for workers in the United States and across the world; that worsen global poverty; push small farmers off their land; force migration; increase carbon emissions; destroy the environment; deregulate banks; weaken consumer safety; and disappear the middle class.

The prioritization of human needs over corporate greed. From global trade to global warming, financial services to health care, “free market” corporate rule has been a disaster for most of the world’s people. Rich corporations have had their say. We’ll work together to take control of the decisions that affect our lives and the planet.

This is envisioned as a “big tent” event. It will be a time to highlight the connections between different progressive issues, and strengthen relationships between people working on those issues. The WTO protests famously brought together “Teamsters and Turtles.” Let’s use the anniversary of that historic alliance to work together again.

Communities across Oregon are beginning to plan local teach-ins, rallies and other events for the fall in the build-up to D5, and are encouraged to use this website as a platform for sharing information about their work. D5 organizers are making efforts to connect with other activists across the nation and beyond for “Local/Global Days of Action,” from November 27 to December 5.

For more info, please email info@december5.org