Union News

Wednesday, August 25, The Portland Alliance Editorial Committee is having a Dinner Party which includes the Editorial Committee and Interested Community Members:  The Alliance is ready to roll!  This event will take place at 6935 SW Merry Lane, in Beaverton, Oregon from 5:30-9:30pm.  This is an open community meeting, but please RSVP*  so we have plenty of food!  We invite writers, editors, photographers, copy-editors, columnists, artists, reviewers, journalists, activists, organizers, teachers, students, professionals, etc to enjoy, network, and discuss the publication and content of the August Lockout Issue and the September Organizing and Activism Issue.  Food and will include vegetarian delights ... and sirloin steak, prime rib, pot roast, BBQ chicken, & baked salmon! (Bring a side dish or desert if you want...) 

*  Visit us on Facebook to RSVP and join our Dinner Party, Writer's Meeting, Celebration...  

Location:at Tim's Place  Time:5:30PM Wednesday, August 25th

https://sites.google.com/site/theportlandalliance/  Any questions... 503-697-1670 Or theportlandalliance@gmail.com

Wednesday, August 25, 12pm, JWJ Faith-Labor Committee 6025 E. Burnside

Wednesday, August 25, 6pm, JWJ Global Justice Committee 6025 E. Burnside

A five-day Paint-Out and Write-Out onAugust 26-30, where works of art and writing are created at various outdoor locations in and around the Columbia River Gorge - the nation's first designated National Scenic Area.  http://www.columbiaarts.org/

Thursday, August 26, Noon-3pm Oregon ARA Annual Picnic,
                                          Laurelhurst Park, Site “B” RSVP: 503-224-4038

---

Also on Thursday, August 26, 

7pm: What Will It Take to End Israeli Apartheid?
Portland State University, Smith Memorial Student Union Room 296/8

All around the world people reacted with furious protests after Israeli commandos carried out an assault on a flotilla of boats carrying humanitarian aid and solidarity activists to the besieged Gaza Strip. In a historic moment for the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions Movement, nearly 1,000 activists picketed at the Port of Oakland and successfully stopped an Israeli Zim line ship from being unloaded for 24 hours. In an effort to mitigate the global outrage that followed its attack on the Gaza aid flotilla, Israel has (ever so slightly) eased its blockade on Gaza. While now permitting some consumer goods to enter Gaza, Israel continues to block chemicals, medical instruments, construction tools, aluminum, steel and cement, making it impossible to rebuild the homes, schools, hospitals, offices and factories destroyed by Israel in Operation Cast Lead of 2008-2009. What does this new phase of struggle mean?

THURS August 26th- 7pm
PCASC and AFSC presents the 1st annual PCASC benefit concert and NO SOY EL ARMY tour kickoff, featuring:
    2MEX  http://www.myspace.com/2mex
    MIC CRENSHAW     M4       UBUNTU    and more....

For more details on the No Soy El Army:  bilingual counter-recruitment tour see http://afsc.org/office/portland-or 

ANNOUNCING the PCASC’s first annual summer benefit concert. 

https://sites.google.com/site/pdxactivismnews/home/whatsgoinon/pcasc-update

A truly intercultural, intergenerational experience. Expect special guests artists, dancers, and speakers.  315 SE 3rd Avenue /  Show starts at 9pm. August 26 Ticket sales info to be announced shortly.
                                     For questions email megan@pcasc.net.

Friday, August 27, 5pm-2am ILWU Local 5 10^th Anniversary Party! Album Release Party,
                                             trike Fund Fundraiser, at the Cleaners, 1022 SW Stark
Next Friday August 27th, ILWU Local 5 will be celebrating their union's 10 year anniversary with a fundraiser for their strike fund. 
They'll be facing contract negotiations early next year, and are hoping to boost the fund before then. Join them at The Cleaners
and The Ace Hotel, SW 10th and Stark, on Friday, August 27th from 5pm until the party ends!  There will be live music, food and drink.

Saturday, August 28,   Jobs, Justice and Peace' march commemorates King’s 1963 visit to Detroithttps://sites.google.com/site/pdxactivismnews/home/whatsgoinon/martin

Fifth Monday Labor Radio

Labor Radio Collective:"Together We Make A Difference" http://laborradiocollective.blogspot.com/ Monday, August 30th, on Fifth Monday Labor Radio– at 6pm!http://sites.google.com/site/laborradiogroup/home/fifth-monday-labor-radio Third Party Representatives will talk with our listeners about why their parties matter for working people this election cycle. Here is the lineup for the August 30, 5th Monday, KBOO Labor Radio Collective show from 6pm to 6:30pm Hosts: Tim Flanagan and Lane Poncy The Independent Party of Oregon: Salvador Peralta The Oregon Progressive Party: Phillip Kauffman and/or Jason Kafoury and/or Alaina MelvilleThe Oregon Working Families Party: Cathy Highet and Steve Hughes The Pacific Green Party of Oregon: Michael Meo and James Nicita This should be a lively and useful conversation.

Wednesday, Sept. 1, 4pm March, 5pm Rally for the Bus, Portland City Hall, SW 4^th and Main.
                                        Bus riders are under attack, fares have risen 70% and on Sept. 1, service is being cut by 70,000 hours. OPAL is demanding that TriMet meet its mission and provide
                                        affordable and reliable service for working people.www.opalpdx.org

Pacific Northwest Plein Air 2010 September 3-26 in the Columbia River Gorge, is a series of art events & wine-tasting opportunities
featuring the art and literary works of accomplished painters and writers.
For additional information, please contact the Columbia Center for the Arts
website: http://www.columbiaarts.org

Monday, Sept. 6, 10am-5pm Oaks Park Labor Day Picnic:  (Please let us know if you can help  staff the Jobs with Justice table for an hour or two!)

Saturday, October 9th, 2010  (Also John Lennon's Birthday) 

International March for Peace! End the Occupations!

www.PeaceResource.org

"In Russia, in China, and here... very mediocre people

                                                     have the power to end life altogether."                                                                            ~~Saul Bellow

Antiwar and Anti-Occupation March and Rally

Instead of cutting needed funds for education and social services, we should reconsider much of our trillion dollar
military budget and establish a Department of Peace!

It is time for a U.S. withdrawal from Iraq and Afghanistan.  Most thinking people are
opposed to the US spending $3 billion a year to help fund a siege of Gaza and the occupation of the West Bank. 
We are sick and tired of military threats against Iran and the criminal CIA drone attacks on Pakistan. 
So, we are organizing.  Whether you are an experienced activist or new to the antiwar movement, it is past time
for a multinational antiwar march on Saturday, October 9th commemorating the 9th anniversary of the Afghanistan war. 
End the Occupations!  Secure the Peace we all seek!  Send a message to our leaders.

http://www.ActivismResource.org   www.Activeresource.org     https://sites.google.com/site/activismresource/home
Activism

Peace, Freedom, & Justice through Writing, Activism, Creative Arts, & Civic-Engagement

An activism blog  http://activismnewsletterat.blogspot.com/

ArizonaBoycott
Starbase Recruiting in our Schools

Contract Talks

State Worker Notebook

Next round of contract talks
likely will be contentious

Read more: http://unionresource.blogspot.com/2010/08/contract-talks.html

Most of Oregon's state workers will take another unpaid
day off this Friday, August 20, when the sixth scheduled
government shutdown will occur.


But as an AFSCME union rep recently said, it's not too
long before the political season kicks off — if it hasn't already.
And before the dust has had a chance to settle, the Oregon
Legislature will convene and the next round of collective bargaining will begin.

...
Are state workers going to be asked to take more
furlough days, if the economy doesn't improve?

...There's no denying the next round of contract talks
are likely to be contentious. A bulls-eye has been painted
on state employees' benefits by Gov. Ted Kulongoski's
Reset Cabinet. State workers could find themselves fighting
tooth-and-nail to maintain benefits such as no-premium
health insurance and the state agencies' pick-up of
employees' 6 percent PERS contributions.


What could turn contention into acrimony would be
continued demands by politicians that state workers
bear the brunt of balancing the Oregon state budget,
especially if those politicians don't make any attempt
to look at other areas of potential savings, Hershey said.




State employees constantly talk about different ways the
agencies could be saving money, different pools of waste
that are simmering out there unchecked. There's no small
amount of frustration that no one seems to be taking their
concerns seriously, particularly since they are in the front
lines and in a position to identify wasteful practices.

"We're hoping to participate in a solution to all the state's
issues, and we want to be in the conversation early,"
he said. "You can deal with the official reality, but it does
not have to be mean-spirited and it does not have to reflect
badly on either party."

A sentiment very suited to Oregon. Now let's see how it plays out.
dmthomps@StatesmanJournal.com or (503) 399-6719


Read more: http://www.statesmanjournal.com/article/20100816/COLUMN0105/8160319/1160/COLUMN#ixzz0wq881FNr

State Workers lose out to

Corrections officers lose labor decision

"Under the state contract, corrections officers
during the next 13 months will forgo holiday pay,
take four mandatory furlough days chosen by their
supervisors and have their latest pay increase rolled back. 
The ruling affects more than 1,800 corrections officers
at 11 institutions across Oregon.
"Our furlough proposal, even though it had more elements
in it than the state's did, was fairer to the employees,"
said Tim Woolery, the officers' AFSCME representative.
"The state's proposal is just stealing their employees' pay." 
Read more: http://www.statesmanjournal.com/article/20100525/NEWS/5250316/1001#ixzz0p3bEzAfi
http://www.statesmanjournal.com/article/20100525/NEWS/5250316/1001#ixzz0p3aE4Yfy

Copyright ©2010 Statesman Journal

Strategic Organizing

http://www.union-organizing.org/organizing-tactics/double-your-organizing-leads/
When you join a union your job is protected.  We make a difference!

Your Union News Update

Your Union News  Update

Take Action!  Register to vote!
http://www.unionresource.org/

Less than a week to register
to vote in the May election!

Why register? This may not
be a high-profile election,
but it is your chance
to elect fellow union members
to local offices,
where they make a difference.

For the first time ever you
can register to vote online this year.
http://www.sos.state.or.us/elections/other.info/clerk.htm
 

Already registered,
but you've moved
or changed your name?
Re-register at your county elections office.

Their websites and addresses are available online.

                                              http://www.unionresource.org/ 

Union History!

coming this June!  June 11-13, 2010
Pacific Northwest Labor History Association!
UNIVERSITY OF OREGON, PORTLAND
http://www.writingresource.info/brochures/PNLHAConference.txt

takes place at 70 NW COUCH STREET
in PORTLAND, OREGON 97209
on JUNE 11-13, 2010

FRIDAY, 4:30-9:00 P.M.

SATURDAY, 8:00 A.M.-9:30 P.M.

SUNDAY, 9:00 A.M.-NOON

Union strength grows in Oregon

By Greg Stiles

of the Mail Tribune

While employment has declined
in Oregon, the percentage of
workers who are union
members has grown,
according to a U.S.
Bureau of Labor Statics
report released this month.


Although union membership dropped
slightly to 250,000 in 2009 from 259,000
in 2008, union membership rose to 17
percent last year from 16.6 percent in 2008.

Another 22,000 workers were represented
by unions, although they weren't members.
The highest percentage of union membership
on record in Oregon was 21.6 percent in 1989.

Oregon ranked No. 11
out of the 50 states
and District of Columbia
for union membership

percentage.

New York topped the list
with 25.2 percent of its
wage and hourly workers
belonging to unions.

Hawaii followed with
23.5 percent;
Alaska, 22.3 percent; and
Washington, 20.2 percent.
California was
No. 10 at 17.2 percent.

"The West tends to be heavily unionized,"
said David Kong, a statistician with BLS in San Francisco.

Nationally, the number of workers belonging
to a union dropped by 771,000 to 15.3 million
in 2009, reflecting declining employment overall
in the country. Union members accounted for
12.3 percent of employed wage and salary
workers, essentially unchanged from 12.4
percent a year earlier.

In 1983, the first year for which comparable
national union data were available, the union
membership rate was 20.1 percent. The BLS
reported Oregon has had union membership
rates above the U.S. average since 1989.

In the second quarter of 2009, Oregon ranked
No. 25 in average weekly wages, according to
the latest figures compiled by the BLS.

Oregon's latest unemployment figure remains
above 10 percent and Jackson County's
jobless rate is above 11 percent.

While mining, logging and manufacturing areas
have been hard-hit by job losses, public sector
employment dropped less than 1 percent, Kong said.

"The employment pie has gotten smaller,
but the decrease in the public sector hasn't
been as much as the private sector," Kong said.

While the West Coast, as well as Alaska and
Hawaii, have higher union membership, southeastern
states were on the low end: North Carolina, 3.1 percent;
Arkansas, 4.2 percent; South Carolina, 4.5 percent;
Georgia, 4.6 percent; Virginia, 4.7 percent; and
Mississippi, 4.8 percent.

Reach reporter Greg Stiles at 776-4463 or
e-mail business@mailtribune.com

Working Families Party Meeting in Portland!

www.UnionResource.org/

WFP is pleased
to invite activists
and progressives
to the first
Oregon Working Families Party meeting of 2010.
Since fusion voting passed in July of last year, WFP has been
working hard and we want you to be a part of it. We will be
having meetings around the State over the next few months,
but we're starting in Portland on March 30.

So, please join us on Tuesday, March 30th, at 6:00 PM,
for discussion about the issue campaigns we are working on,
our voter registration drive, and our plans to take full advantage
of the first year of fusion voting in Oregon. Most importantly,
please join us for the socializing (and even dancing if you are
so inclined) that will follow as soon as the business wraps up.
WFP will pass along full details of the event in the next week
or so. In the meantime, please let WFP know if you can make
it by email. "Barbara Dudley, Oregon Working Families Party"
info@OregonWFP.org   And please feel free to notify your friends,
especially folks who are interested to learn more about the WFP.
http://www.resourceresource.org/
http://www.unionresource.org/

Contact us.  General information and correspondence:
Oregon Working Families Party
2950 SE Stark Street, Suite 100
Portland, OR 97214

503-841-7161    info@OregonWFP.org

Website Problems and Suggestions
webmaster@OregonWFP.org

Register with the Oregon Working Families Party
Pick up a voter registration form at your local DMV office,
post office or library, fill it out and mail or deliver it to your
county elections office. The address of your county election
office will be found on the voter registration form,
Or simply fill out an online voter registration form
http://www.sos.state.or.us/elections/votreg/sel500.pdf
print it, sign it, and mail or deliver it to your county elections office.

Register Online

https://secure.sos.state.or.us/eim/vr/register.do?lang=eng
Update or start a new registration and check your registration status.
http://oregonvotes.org/

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

Union movement includes both liberty and justice

GUEST VIEWPOINT:
Union movement includes both liberty and justice
from The Register-Guard
As Labor Day 2009 approached,
I began to think about the origins
of my lifelong commitment to the union
movement and recalled a quote I used in my book ...

By Bob Bussel

Appeared in print: Monday, Sep 7, 2009

---

Opinion: Editorials & Letters: Story

---

While driving the last few days, I have been listening
to conservative talk radio. Doubtless fueled by reaction
to the Obama administration’s response to the
economic crisis, several themes are being
passionately articulated:

a pronounced distaste for government playing
a substantial role in economic affairs,

and fears that personal freedom and
individual liberty are imperiled.

What I rarely hear in the conservative lexicon,
however, is the word “justice,”
even though it appears prominently in
the pledge of allegiance and the preamble to the
Constitution, two of our most compelling
statements of American ideals.

As Labor Day 2009 approached, I began to think about
the origins of my lifelong commitment to the union movement
and recalled a quote I used in my book about a 1930s labor activist:
“the union as the agency through which workers could get justice.”
It is this sentiment that has animated my loyalty to the union
movement, and I would like to reflect on both its personal
and social meaning.

I was first drawn to the labor movement nearly 40 years ago
when I learned about the injustices faced by migrant farm workers,
people whose labor put food on my table but suffered from abysmal
treatment and often could not afford the necessities of life.

For them, justice meant such basic things as cool drinking water,
rest breaks, toilets in the fields, and the elimination of the
short-handled hoe as a tool of labor.

Later, I worked on behalf of Southern textile workers.
For them, justice meant reducing the level of cotton dust that
their work produced and which caused far too many of them to
suffer from debilitating brown lung disease.

During the latter part of my union career, I helped nursing home
workers to organize unions. For them, justice meant increasing
staffing levels so they could provide their patients with
the quality care they deserved.

In spite of the different types of workers involved, unions played
a consistent and indispensable role: helping workers obtain justice
in the workplace and fulfill their quest for a dignified life.

The vocabulary of justice becomes especially important during
hard times. At the University of Oregon, workers believe they
are being unjustly asked to assume a disproportionate share of
sacrifices demanded by the state budget crisis and are seeking a
more equitable distribution of pain
through the collective bargaining process.

At a Chicago window and door factory last December,
workers sat in to persuade the Bank of America,
which had received taxpayer bailout funds,
to extend credit that would enable their company
to provide them with the severance pay to which they were entitled.

In each of these cases, workers have been represented
by strong unions, without whom their ability to obtain
justice would be seriously limited.

The role of the union movement in raising questions of justice
also appears in arenas outside the workplace. Unions and their
members have been quite vocal in framing the debate over health
care reform as a matter of justice, insisting that quality health care
is a basic social and human right that should be available regardless
of ability to pay. They have fought to hold accountable those institutions
— banks, insurance companies, mortgage lenders — whose irresponsible
and unjust behavior has caused millions of Americans, frequently
through no fault of their own, to lose their homes, their retirement
savings and their livelihoods.

This broader civic role of unions in seeking to ensure a fairer distribution
of resources and place questions of justice at the forefront of social and
political decision-making enriches our public discourse, making it more
likely that working-class concerns will not be ignored at the expense of
interests whose wealth and power typically enable them to exert
overwhelming influence over the political process.

The belief in individual liberty and freedom that is at the heart of the
modern conservative creed certainly enjoys a prominent status in
our public discourse, as does its conviction that limited government
and free markets are vital to ensuring economic growth and prosperity.
But when it comes to making sure that there is not only “liberty” but also
“justice for all,” the union movement, although at times hesitantly and
imperfectly, has been one of our most reliable and effective social voices.
Its singular ability to speak the vocabulary of justice on behalf of those
who tend our young and old, educate our children, provide our food
and build our infrastructure sustains my faith that a more just and
secure future is surely within our reach.

Bob Bussel teaches history and directs the
Labor Education and Research Center
at the University of Oregon.

Human rights activist Julius Margolin dies...

Hello all you beautiful people:

I've known for some time that
I would have to type this message,
and I will try to be brief.

Our friend Julius Margolin:

a child of the Depression;

an organizer and member of the CIO;

who served in the Merchant Marine
and as a member/organizer of the
National Maritime Union during
World War II;

survivor of the blacklist that
pulled him off the boats in 1949;

a proud member of IATSE Local 52
and delegate to the NYC Central Labor Council;

a lifetime honorary member of both AFM Local 802 and the New York City Labor Chorus, and countless other organizations;

lover of all working people and the struggles they engage in;

and since 1998 a singer/songwriter and performer for all good causes,

died this morning in New York City at the age of 93. An obituary will be forthcoming.

I spent last night with Julius and left him at his apartment at 9:25 this morning. He was comfortable and in no apparent pain. He had been very happy that we had moved him back home under hospice care last week. As I left this morning, I said I'd see him later, took his hand, and he squeezed it. Ten minutes after I left, he was gone. I got the call when I got off the subway....

We have set up a guest book on the opening page of our website, where you may leave messages, stories of Julius, and other remembrances. Look on the left side of the opening page and click on the "sign guest book" button after clicking on this link:

http://www.georgeandjulius.com

If you would like to listen to and view some great video of Julius, our friend Doug Calvin has posted multiple interviews and video at this site:

We will hold a memorial service and concert on Friday, October 16 in New York City. More info will come later. The one-hour memorial service will be at 5 PM (at either Local 802, 322 W. 48th Street, or Local 1199's Martin Luther King, Jr. Auditorium at 310 W. 43rd Street).

The concert will be from 8:00 to 10:30 PM at the MLK Auditorium, 310 W. 43rd Street, and will feature some of Julius's closest friends.

I will send details to public listservs and to your email once it is finalized but if you want to be added to an email list for these events, please email me at georgemann@att.net and I will send you the info.

Julius asked to be cremated and his ashes will be spread on the sea as per his request. I ask that donations be sent to the Scholarship Fund in memory of Julius. This fund was created to help bring young unionists to labor cultural events, most notably the Great Labor Arts Exchange and the Western Workers Labor Heritage Festival, both of which were very dear to him. In fact, I met Julius, and so many other great labor artists and activists, at the Great Labor Arts Exchange in 1996.

Checks/money orders may be made out to "Local 52 Julius Margolin Scholarship Fund" and mailed to:

George Mann, PO Box 697, New York, NY 10033

Thank you for all your support. Julius did not want for love or appreciation in his final battle. And once we got him back home to his apartment, with books and videos and CDs lining every wall and his friends there with him in the living room, I know he was able to accept that this was the end with the same dignity and quiet humility he displayed all his life.

I will leave you with a note that Julius sent out in late June, after the cancer he had been fighting returned. It is a fitting way to end this message.

If I may ask for something else in his memory, it is that you keep fighting (his words), that you not give up in your determination to make your life and the world a better place, that you show kindness and compassion to people, especially strangers, and minimize your bickering with and negativity about others involved in the struggle. These were the qualities, in a nutshell, that Julius displayed to me from the day I met him, qualities that I will now strive to make part of my character as I go forward.

And in the future, whenever things get you down, take a minute to remember this little old man who had such a big heart and spirit, and hope for the working class of the world. Remember that laugh, that determination, and you will find strength to carry on, as I am finding now.

In Solidarity,

George Mann

---

To all or our friends and supporters of our music:

I have not been well and don't get around much any more. And I wish I had been feeling well enough to be more active at this year's Arts Exchange, where so much important work and beautiful labor songs and art were shared. But I still support our struggle for a better society. For peace and the security of working and progressive people the world round.

With and without me the struggle goes on. There must be one world in peace, security and with a good life for all families of the world.

No more wars, poverty or hatreds must exist. We have an important job to do.

Thanks for listening to George Mann's and my music and for your support.

Thank you all for everything,

Julius Margolin


--
http://www.georgemannmusic.com
http://www.georgeandjulius.com
http://www.aunionman.com
Labor and protest music in the finest tradition

The Netroots Nation: Progressive Storm

Seth Michaels is posting
live from Netroots Nation.
Join us for
“The Secret Plan to
Defeat the Right Forever,”
a Netroots Nation panel on
labor law reform and
why it matters to the
progressive movement.

Featuring
Stewart Acuff of the AFL-CIO,
Tanya Tarr of Texas AFT,
Jake McIntyre of the Bricklayers (BAC) and
Elana Levin of Workers United.

Learn why labor law reform matters and how the progressive
netroots can take part in the fight for the Employee Free Choice Act.

Can the Netroots help make the Employee Free Choice Act law?
One of initiatives progressives have laid out as a priority for the
Obama administration and this Congress is the Employee Free
Choice Act. But this battle will not just be fought in corridors of
power in Washington—far-reaching PR campaigns are already
underway on both sides.

What role will the Netroots play in passing the Employee Free
Chioce Act in 2009? How can unions and their allies beat back
the fear-mongering coming from the corporate interests, and
what role is there for online activism in that fight?
What messaging tools will be employed by pro-employee choice groups,
and how can the Netroots stand up to the GOP echo-chamber?
Watch the live stream by clicking here.

More on Free Choice
Here, www.writingresource.info/freechoice

Here, www.writingresource.info/freechoice.html

and Here! www.writingresource.info/efca.html

Fight Union Busting in Portland, Lets Stand up!

Help fight against local union busting!

Join us for canvassing today!

This morning and this afternoon,

Saturday, August 8th at 9:30 am and
at 3pm... Join us at 29th and Stark
to do some canvassing. We will be targeting

the neighborhood around Laurelhurst village to

raise awareness and reach out to the community.

Elizabeth Lehr ask that you try to find time to do a little walking.

Many of you are aware that workers
at Laurelhurst Village nursing home on
33rd and Stark have been organizing a
union at their facility since late February
in order to improve the living and working
conditions at their nursing home.
Workers had built a majority in support
of the union by late March when Laurelhurst
management took drastic measures to curtail
their campaign. Workers have been written up,
suspended, and one was

Elizabeth Lehr was fired only three days after
demonstrating public support for the union while
attending a delegation to the employer to show
support for a fellow coworker who was also disciplined
for union activity.

Workers at Laurelhurst deserve a fair process
if they hope to have a fighting chance of building
a union and negotiating over wages, benefits,
and working conditions.

Management's decision to illegally fire Elizabeth has
had a chilling affect on these workers' efforts.

Help us raise community awareness and make
Laurelhurst Village accountable....

We have two shifts, one at 9:30 AM and One at 2:30 pm...
Help us send a message! Those who believe in working families
rights... come by 2950 SE Stark to Join us.

Laurelhurst should become good stewards of taxpayer money,
they should reinstate Elizabeth Lehr, and stop sytematically intimidating
their employees.

Real Heathcare Reform, and Education Reform, and Free Choce may
hang in the balance. If we do not stand up now, then when?


“I am organizing because I believe the employees of Laurelhurst Village who take care of and love our residents should be able to take care of their own needs as well. We should have health insurance and living wages. Our opinions should be heard and respected. We should have the right to advocated for ourselves and for our residents without being punished by our boss."



— Elizabeth Lehr

http://www.seiu503.org/politics/

"I want to express the heartfelt appreciation of all Laurelhurst Village employees and residents to this community for all it has done," said Guillermo Galarreta, a Local 503 organizer. "...Now we have to keep the pressure on until employees gain a voice toward improving their own working conditions as well as the quality of resident care they are able to provide."Laurelhurst is owned by Farmington Centers, headquartered in Southwest Portland, which manages two nursing facilities, 13 assisted living facilities, seven memory-care facilities and eight independent residential living facilities in Oregon, Idaho, and Washington. Its latest Medicare inspection rating was one star out of a possible five, well below average. Farmington Centers nursing homes reported a profit of $2.9 million from 2006 to 2008.Inspectors identified rampant violations including six incidents of resident harm, including one incident of abuse, at Laurelhurst from 2006 to 2008 and documented 40 violations of state and federal rules and regulations at Farmington Centers nursing homes from 2007 to 2008 including fecal impaction, pressure sores, significant weight loss, inadequate care after falls, medication errors, and failure to follow physician orders.

You can e-mail Elizabeth for more information at lehrelizabeth@gmail.com
or if you have her number, give her a call (One can get her number from organizers at JWJ)

More info available at:
SEIU Local 503 OPEU PO Box 12159 1730 Commercial St SE Salem OR 97309

Opportunities for local activism this week!
www.WritingResource.info/activismnewsletter/

www.UnionResource.org

United for Oregon March for Economic Justice!

Like
the
rest
of
the
nation,
Oregon
is
feeling
the
hurt
from
this economic crisis.
But as demand for vital
services is increasing among
the middle class and the most
vulnerable--children, seniors,
low-income families-
-Oregon legislators have proposed
deep cuts in the crucial programs
that are now more necessary than ever.


Click here for Channel 2's report on the
impact of the cuts on struggling families.
This Sunday, you have a chance to make your voice heard
to demand better for children, seniors, families, and the workers

who provide these crucial services.
Among the hardest hit by the crisis are seniors and people with
disabilities who depend on in-home care, working families who
depend on childcare to keep their jobs, low-income families just

struggling to make ends meet, and the folks who work hard to
provide these services. K-12 schools also face cuts, leading to
teacher layoffs, program cuts, and larger class sizes. Community
colleges will see cuts to faculty and programs, as well as higher
tuition rates. And cuts to public safety will leave our communities
and officers less safe.
Legislators need to hear from you that in these tough economic times,
it's unfair and irresponsible to balance the budget on the backs of the
people who are already hurting from this fiscal crisis. It's time for
corporations and wealthy Oregonians to pay their fair share.
Let's make our voices heard and demand better!Join a coalition of
organizations on Sunday, June 7 for a march and rally in Downtown
Portland tovoice support for these vital services and fair treatment
for the workers who provide them.

Click here to sign up!
What: United For Oregon March
When: Sunday, June 7, 11:30am
Where: March begins at the Eastbank Esplanade
(near OMSI between SE Main and Taylor), ends at
Terry Schrunk Plaza for a rally at 2pm Linda Hornbuckle
will honor us with her voice!
Who: Oregon PTA, KBOO 90.7, SEIU 503, Jobs With Justice,
Children First For Oregon, AARP, Oregon Education Association,
Our Oregon, Keep Oregon Working Coalition, Peaceresource.org,
Activeresource.org, AFT --and many more!
Why: To voice support for protecting vulnerable Oregonians and
fair treatment for the state workers who serve them
Click here for a map to the meeting place.
Here is a flyer
Single Payer Healthcare!
Activism Newsletter!
The Wordsmith Collection: Writing, Activism, & Creative Arts

Press Release on Union Busting

visit ActiveResource Press Release

Thursday, April 30, 2009

help fight against local union busting

Join us Thursday April 30
at 2:30pm for a press conference
and rally on this matter.

There will be an event at at
Stark and 29th Street
at 3060 Se Stark St Portland, OR 97214

Please Join us Today, we need your support!

Many of you are aware that workers at
Laurelhurst Village nursing home on 33rd
and Stark have been organizing a union at
their facility since late February in order to
improve the living and working conditions at
their nursing home. Workers had built a
majority in support of the union by late
March when Laurelhurst management
took drastic measures to curtail their campaign.

Workers have been written up, suspended,
and one employee was fired for union activity.
Elizabeth Lehr was fired only three days after
demonstrating public support for the union while
attending a delegation to the employer to show
support for a fellow coworker who was also
disciplined for union activity.
You can read her statement here
www.WritingResource.info/pressrelease

And Don't forget Mayday Tomorrow..
Celebrate in the Parks Blocks!

Bring the family.
http://pdxmayday.blogspot.com/

MayDay on May 1st, 2009

Join us for a Family Event!
in the South Park Blocks
1pmPosters, Party,& Celebration
4pm RallySpeakers & entertainment
5pm March
Color Flyer1 - download, print out, and hit the streets!