Fix It
Yourself
Willamette Week - Portland,OR,USA
And the powerful labor unions that funded successful
campaigns for Oregon’s three Democratic leaders want
reform. “We strongly support addressing the front ...
Kroger wins Democratic, Republican AG nominations
Legal News Line -
Washington,DC,USA
In his win against Macpherson, Kroger was backed by the state's
largest labor unions: the Oregon Education
Association, the AFL-CIO and the Service ...
Column - Gene Klare left The
Oregonian to launch a competitor during a bitter
strike
Saturday, June 07, 2008
ANNE SAKER The Oregonian
Gene Klare, a longtime Portland labor
journalist who helped establish a newspaper to compete
against The Oregonian during the bitter strike of the
early 1960s, has died. He was 81.
Klare was a retired editor and the
longest-serving columnist of the 108-year-old Labor
Press, a newspaper owned by 20 local unions and labor
councils. He wrote his "Let Me Say This About That"
column for more than 40 years.
He died Friday, May 30, 2008, from
complications of a mild heart attack.
Klare was born Oct. 12, 1926, on an
Indiana farm, and at his grandfather's request, he was
named for Eugene V. Debs, a founder of the International
Workers of the World and five-time presidential
candidate.
At 12, Klare knew he wanted to be a
newspaperman. He attended Valparaiso University for a
year, and his first newspaper job was at the Niles Times
in Ohio. Later, he and a friend bought a weekly in
Lagrow, Ind.
He served in the U.S. Marine Corps
during the Korean War and spent two years in the corps'
publicity department in Washington, D.C. He spent
another nine years in the reserves, earning the rank of
sergeant.
After his active-duty service, he
worked at small newspapers in Indiana and California and
as a freelance writer for Time magazine. Then he moved
to Oregon to work at The Oregonian.
Klare was an investigative reporter
when in 1959 the paper's unions struck, a dispute that
ran for six years. In 1960, Klare and other strikers
launched the Portland Reporter, a tabloid that published
for four years, and there, Klare did it all -- reporter,
advertising sales manager and promotions manager.
In 1965, he became the seventh editor
of the Labor Press and stayed at that desk for 21 years.
He retired in 1986 but wrote his column until he finally
put down his pen in January.
He was twice divorced when he met
Oleta "Lita" Mooney, who had three children from a
previous marriage: Leslie, Michelle and Kris. They
married in 1975; she died in 1998.
Chicago -- BarackObama got out of the car a block
early so everyone would see him walk to the picket line.
With a gray BlackBerry holstered between black pants and
white dress shirt, the candidate immediately inserted himself
into the rotating loop of striking hotel workers on Michigan
Avenue. He shook hands, slapped backs and sang some lines of a
pro-union chant. One worker handed him a "Unite Here!" placard,
and he happily waved it above his head. Minutes later, as more
than a dozen television cameras and reporters watched intently,
he traded it in for a bullhorn.
"You are going to have a friend in the White House who
believes that workers can organize," Mr.
Obama shouted to the workers. "Who believes in union."
Workers across the country fought back today against the ongoing assault on their rights by the Bush-appointed National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). In Washington, D.C., and more than 20 other cities, working men and women marched to and rallied at NLRB offices, saying until a pro-worker labor board is appointed, the agency should be "closed for renovations." The Bush NLRB has a history of anti-worker rulings, but the board topped itself in September with a sweeping series of decisions that cut to the core of workers' freedom to form unions and bargain collectively.
In Washington, D.C., more than 1,000 workers rallied at the AFL-CIO headquarters and then marched to the national NLRB office.
Strike
By Randy Stapilus ...
Portland the last couple of weeks, you've seen something unusual -
visual evidence of a labor strike (other than by teachers, which
isn't so rare). In this case, the strikers are members of the carpenters
union (in western Oregon...
Ridenbaugh Press - http://www.ridenbaugh.com
Citizens need to know about Sen. Kurt
Schrader's misguided priorities. While he is
starving the new SEIU Political Activism program
at U ... . of O., he's busy reviving the
castration of Oregon prisoners. in
The Oregonion News Service
When the Oregon
Legislature adjourned two years ago,
health care advocates could only stand
back and count their losses. ... Times have certainly changed!
Is
U.S. Safer Since
9/11?
Clinton and Rivals Spar
By MICHAEL COOPER and PATRICK HEALY
~~Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton has
come under attack for defying a popular
line of argument among Democratic
officials.
Gitmo: A National Disgrace
The detention camp at Guantánamo Bay,
Cuba, was created on a myth, built on a
lie and organized around a fiction.
It
is time to get rid of it.
Israel's 40 Years of Occupation: From Democratic State to Violent
Oppressor
By Chris Hedges, Truthdig
Israel captured and occupied the
Gaza Strip and the West Bank 40 years ago this week. Over that time,
Israel's image has shifted from an open society amid a
sea of despotic regimes to that of an international pariah.
Newton,
Iowa, April 13 --
Democratic presidential candidate Dennis Kucinich blasted the Bush
administration on the Iraq war and cautioned that a move to invade Iran
would be a disastrous mistake leading to a "nightmare."
The California Assembly Committee
on Higher Education approved
AB 1343, California’s FACE legislation by a vote of 4-1 sending
the legislation to the Assembly’s Appropriations Committee. Read
the
Press Release.
The Democratic Governor of Oregon, Ted
Kulongoski, received a standing ovation from more than 200
delegates, staff and guests on the opening day of the 2007 IAM
Aerospace Conference in Portland, OR. The applause grew louder
during his remarks as the former truck driver displayed a solid
understanding of the issues that matter to working families and
a sincere appreciation for the contributions made by union
members.
“Every time this nation has asked for a
sacrifice, it was you and your children who stepped up – whether
it was the economy or wars – it was you,” said Kulongoski, who
pledged to continue the fight for good jobs and unions' right to
bargain. “You are what this country is all about and you should
take great pride in that.”
Local and district leaders gathered in
Portland for the three-day working conference also heard from IP
Tom Buffenbarger, who thanked the delegates for their
accomplishments in the last election, calling it a victory, but
not a complete victory. “You delivered big time, but we still
need to recover the White House so that legislation on health
care, pensions and organizing rights can get signed and become
the law of the land.”
GST Warren Mart reviewed financial programs
and initiatives designed to give the union every chance to
thrive despite rampant outsourcing, political pressures and
increased costs. “From the Centralized Accounting System, to the
steadily growing Organizing Fund, our programs are working,”
said Mart. “But we cannot expect to have real financial
stability until our organizing efforts start paying dividends in
the form of new members.”
The theme of this year’s conference, “Focus on
Growth” was apparent in every presentation. “The entire
aerospace industry is going through changes, but there are
opportunities amid the turmoil,” said Headquarters GVP Rich
Michalski, who chaired the conference. “From organizing workers
under the Service Contract Act to negotiating new contracts that
feature the IAM National Pension Plan, there are ways to grow
this union. And we need to remember, there has never been a
shortage of workers who want to join the Machinists Union. We
need to find ways to give them that opportunity.”
The IAM Aerospace Conference is held every 18
months and is being hosted this year by District 24 and
Willamette Local 63, the oldest IAM local west of the
Mississippi River.
Machinists Herald Global Union
The IAM announced this week the formation of a
Global Union Alliance to better represent and organize workers
at Boeing’s many locations around the world.
Union representatives from the United States,
Canada, Australia, Germany, Italy, Japan, and Sweden established
the alliance during the first ever Boeing Workers World
Conference, held this week in Portland, Oregon. The meeting was
hosted by the IAM and organized by the Geneva, Switzerland-based
International Metalworkers Federation.
“Just as Boeing is a global company, the
unions representing its workers must act like a global union,”
said IP Tom Buffenbarger. “No longer can Boeing workers in one
nation afford to bargain or organize in isolation. Our goal is
fair treatment for Boeing’s global workforce, without regard to
language, borders or nationality.”
Representatives at the summit agreed to
coordinate their efforts to organize Boeing’s workers worldwide,
including workers at Boeing suppliers. Participants also agreed
to increased communication and coordination with respect to
collective bargaining.
The participants also called on Boeing and its
suppliers to recognize and enforce internationally recognized
labor standards in its operations throughout the world. “As one
of the most successful corporations in the world, it is
incumbent on Boeing to set the highest standards when it comes
to fundamental human rights, which include the right to form
labor unions and to engage in collective bargaining,” said
Buffenbarger.
Freightliner to Close Portland Assembly Line
The last commercial Freightliner truck will
roll off the assembly line in Portland, OR, this week, adding
another casualty to the list of iconic American-made products
that will no longer be manufactured in the U.S. More than 630
members of Local 1005 will be laid off thanks to Freightliner’s
decision to shut down the Portland assembly line and transfer
production to a facility near Mexico City.
For 60 years, Freightliner trucks with their
innovative Cab-Over-Engine models were popular with drivers and
freight haulers, in large part due to innovations and expertise
offered by its union workers.
The U.S. Labor Department has twice certified
that previous Freightliner production has gone to Mexico as a
result of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). More
than 3,000 union employees worked at Freightliner in Portland in
1999. After the latest round of layoffs, the number will be
reduced to 900. The remaining workers will continue building the
prestigious Western Star brand trucks as well as vehicles for
the military. The top-of-the-line Freightliner Coronado model,
previously only made in Portland, will now only be made in
Mexico.
“This is a sad occasion,” said District 24
Business Rep. Joe Kear. “Some Freightliner employees are 2nd and
3rd generation, and many spent their working lives assembling
Freightliner trucks. It is a testament to their involvement in
the workplace, that many employees express their feelings as if
they are losing a member of the family.”
To assist the furloughed workers, the IAM
petitioned the U.S. Labor Department and received certification
for extended benefits and training. Additional services and
assistance, including a job fair and information on training are
also being provided.
IAM Claim at NWA Moves Forward
A bankruptcy judge in New York said the court
would hold a hearing on a pre-bankruptcy ruling that IAM members
are entitled to repayment for sacrifices made before Northwest
Airlines entered bankruptcy.
The IAM and NWA will jointly file a motion on
an expedited basis to allow the $212 million Series C judgment
before a scheduled May 16, 2007 hearing to confirm Northwest's
plan of reorganization.
While Northwest stated in court that it
supported allowing the Series C judgment claims, some creditors
who were not a party to the 1993 agreement are trying to
increase their stake in Northwest at the expense of Series C
claim holders.
“We have waited years for Northwest to pay
this debt, and the IAM will strongly fight any objections,” said
District 143 President Steve Gordon. “Furthermore, if our Series
C claim is not allowed, the IAM will vigorously object to
Northwest's Plan of Reorganization, which would place the
Company's expected May emergence from bankruptcy in jeopardy.”
Senate Begins Hearings on Employee Free
Choice Act
The U.S. Senate began hearings on the Employee
Free Choice Act this week, with a wide range of witnesses
testifying before the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions
Committee about the importance of fair union elections.
“By reducing the opportunity for employers to
intimidate and discourage workers from unionizing after they
have reached a collective decision to do so, the Employee Free
Choice Act can help spread the benefits that unions bring to
workers and the economy,” said Larry Mishel, President of the
Economic Policy Institute.
The Employee Free Choice Act, which the House
passed earlier this month by a vote of 241-185, would enable
workers to bargain for better wages, benefits and working
conditions by strengthening their rights to form unions.
“It’s time to return to a world where workers
obtain their fair share of the nation’s economic growth,” said
committee chairman Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-MA). “The best way to
do this is to give them a stronger voice in the workplace.
Unions mean the difference between an economy that is fair and
an economy where working people are left behind.”
It's unions vs. business in heavyweight election bout
OregonLive.com
- Portland,OR,USA
Politically speaking, unions benefit from a system in which five
elected officials share power. Even if the mayor isn'ta strong labor
supporter, ...
Labor Rights Are Not Optional By Susan Ariel Aaronson,
TomPaine.com The U.S. should not
enforce labor laws only for people living within its
borders, which is what the Bush Administration has been
doing to save money. Will the new Congress correct these
costly mistakes?
"What is objectionable, what is dangerous about extremists is not that they are extreme,
but that they are intolerant. The evil is not what they say about their causes,
but what they say about their opponents." RFK 1964
The
Growing Wage GapJeff Madrick |
A winning economic strategy for
Democrats: Push for realistic policies to relieve workers'
frustrations, rebuild their damaged confidence and improve
lifetime security.
Oregonian Leedham challenges Hoffa for top job at Teamsters
kgw.com (subscription) -
Portland,OR,USA ... Hunter, former chief council for the National Labor
Relations Board ... down to 7 percent and said unions need to
... common man, said Richard Menghello, a Portland, Ore ... Oregon man aims to lead Teamsters
Mail Tribune - Medford,OR,USA PORTLAND — From a remote Oregon base, Tom Leedham is ...
Gary Chaison, who teaches labor relations at Clark University in
... are being faced by all unions, such as ...
Friday, September 8, 2006 ·
Professor put on leave over 9-11 claim THE
ASSOCIATED PRESS PROVO, Utah -- A professor who has suggested the World Trade Center was
brought down by explosives has been placed on paid leave by Brigham Young
University while the Mormon church-owned school investigates his claims.
"Our
commanders and diplomats on the ground believe that Iraq has not descended
into a civil war," Bush said in his weekly radio address. "They report that
only a small number of Iraqis are engaged in sectarian violence, while the
overwhelming majority want peace and a normal life in a unified country." Commanders on the
ground, however, tell a completely different story.
N.Y.U.
Teaching Aides End Strike, With Union Unrecognized
In a victory for
New York University, its graduate
teaching and research assistants have ended the contentious strike that
disrupted hundreds of classes last November, without having won
recognition of their union.
Who's
Getting Ahead This Labor Day?
Chuck Sheketoff Even
though Oregon has one of the best performing economies in the nation, this
Labor Day Oregon’s workers have too few opportunities to improve their
economic status.
DeFazio blends anger, political
savvy
OregonLive.com, OR - He's an active legislator.
Anger has been a common emotion through many of his remarks.
But DeFazio isn't just against things. ...
August 20, 2006Farm workers
union will start low power radio station WOODBURN,
Ore. - When union-run KPCN-FM formally hits the air in November it won't
reach far. But it will hit thousands of Mexican farm workers who speak
various languages, worry about labor and immigration issues, and seek
information hard to get elsewhere.
KATU 2 - Portland, Oregon
The 100-watt station, being built largely with volunteer
labor and advice, will
be run by Oregon's farmworker's union PCUN in Woodburn.
...
Mostly
InnocentOf the more than 700 men and boys who have
been housed there in the last four and half years, only 10 have been charged
with criminal offenses.
The most important lesson the United States
can learn from the latest war in Lebanon is that the Bush administration's
policy of disengagement has been a catastrophic failure.
Disengagement from World
Affairs Is a Failed Policy
The Silent Majority
It is time for progressive reformers to embrace American
values and let the chips fall where they may.
Why We Don't Know Our Enemy
Ignorance of the enemy was by design -- which is why Bush opposed any
serious investigation of Sept. 11. Failing, after a bitter struggle, to
prevent even the formation of a bipartisan 9/11 commission, he permitted key
members of his administration and the military, of which he is the commander
in chief, to undermine the investigation
ISRAEL'S WALL: Chris Hedges, Truthdig
Israel's
security wall, erected outside its borders on land it does not own,
plays havoc with the lives of Palestinians living in its shadow.
http://www.alternet.org/story/39715/ BUSH'S ENEMY DU JOUR: more bait and switch Marjorie
Cohn, AlterNet
Hezbollah, and Israel's misdirected assault on Lebanon, is a convenient
way for Bush to shift focus
from the escalating tide (100 deaths per day, 3000 deaths per month) of
gruesome violence in Iraq.http://www.alternet.org/story/39708/
Rampant Corruption at home and abroad:
Audit Finds U.S. Hid Cost of Iraq Projects
By JAMES GLANZ
The State Department agency in charge of $1.4 billion in reconstruction
money used an accounting shell game to hide ballooning cost overruns.
The "uniter" has divided the nation:
Partisan Divide on Iraq Exceeds Split on Vietnam
By ROBIN TONER and JIM
RUTENBERG
No military conflict in modern times has divided Americans on partisan
lines more than the war in Iraq.
Our
Free Press and the
War in Iraq "disappear."
OP-ED COLUMNIST
The
Peculiar Disappearance of the War in Iraq
By FRANK RICH Americans want
the war in Iraq canceled, and corporate networks are more than happy to
oblige.
And the Rove spin machine blunders on...
WHO MUST REALLY ANSWER FOR 9/11? David Sirota, AlterNet
Republicans running for re-election believe the American public will
swallow another batch of lies and distortions about 9/11 -- but this time,
Democrats are pushing back. http://www.alternet.org/story/39566/
but in spite of the corruption, lies, and
divisions.... Americans are fighting back against the corporate elites...
MAKING A HOUSE CALL ON CONGRESS Rose Aguilar, AlterNet
Military families are determined to bring their troops back home -- even
if they have to talk to every politician in Washington.
http://www.alternet.org/waroniraq/39537/
The silent majority intends to take back
this nation.
Bush and his base, the richest of the rich, are on notice and the clock is
ticking....
KATU 2 - Portland, OregonPORTLAND - Unions and
left-leaning groups are closing ranks around incumbent Democratic ...
suggest a rapprochement between the governor and labor unions
UPDATE ON BEIRUT/LEBANON
Fellow Travelers' Advisory from
Anne Feeney - AUGUST
2006
Her
son's first
person report on the conflict. And American Jewish community
response to the humanitarian disaster. Brit Tzedek
v’Shalom, the Jewish Alliance for Justice and Peace
*The latest on Osama
Jul. 5, 2006. 01:00 AM MARK MAZZETTI NEW YORK TIMES
WASHINGTON—The CIA has closed down a secret unit that for a decade had
the mission of hunting Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden and his top
lieutenants, intelligence officials say.
“If the American people heard these stories..." About
Law,
Immigration, Freedom, Justice, and
Solidarity A Primer on
Immigration
Clearly the behavior of European settlers was abominable
and much of the retaliation was also a travesty.
The ethical concerns are stark and inarguable. The
land which is now American did not belong to the European interlopers, and
it was their bad behavior which precipitated the violence... Selah... Where
to go from here...
A Portrait of a Progressive Congressman Congressman
Jim McDermott became involved in politics through his opposition to the
Vietnam war. He came to Washington 17 years ago hoping to create national
health coverage. Instead he's spent much of his time opposing new wars and
war crimes. McDermott's record on matters of peace and war is unsurpassed in
the Congress.
CITY BY CITY, AN ANTIPOVERTY GROUP PLANTS SEEDS OF CHANGE
Amherst Times.com - Amherst,NY,USA
... in alliance with the growing union movement among low
... Mr. Bhargava said the activism was "approaching a ...
many groups share similar "social justice" philosophies ...
If
wanton murder is essential to the US campaign in Iraq, it's time to leave
The reported atrocities by American soldiers are not isolated incidents but
the inevitable offshoots of occupation
Gary Younge Monday June 26, 2006
The Guardian
"What PDC does by not paying prevailing
wages is they don't provide health care and retirement to the people who do
construction work," Gardner told the council. "What PDC in their own mission
statement says is they're for family wage jobs. But apparently not for
construction workers." Oregon Labor Commissioner
Dan Gardner
Portland wage issue a class war
Bank Data Sifted in Secret by U.S. This is another extra-legal program. By ERIC LICHTBLAU and JAMES RISEN
A secret program has given counterterrorism officials access to financial
records involving thousands of Americans
Labor
effort driven to form party
The Register-Guard -
Eugene,Oregon,USA Activists within many of Oregon's biggest unions have
been ... In that race, a labor union president won ...Barbara Dudley,
a Portland State University professor and ...
May 30 2006: On the record, in a court of the law, the government will have
to explain why the program-which operates outside of the FISA law-is lawful
and constitutional.
Wiretapping is Illegal!
There
is an incredible degree of
frustration
among Democrats.
Democrats and their allies, in these difficult times, must remember who we
are as a people, and get back to their roots. The
winning cards this fall will be grass roots populism, freedom, justice,
equity, fair play, and traditional American values. tmf
Optimistic or not...
The Democratic Party, with all of
its warts and wrinkles, remains the only show in town...
The Pentagon says it does not keep records of the numbers of civilians
killed in Iraq. A study published 18 months ago in The Lancet medical
journal suggested more than 100,000 could have been killed.
Massacre of Unarmed Civilians in Haditha, Iraq
at least 2,500 were killed in Iraq in March and April, while 85,000 were
forced to flee their homes.IRAQ:
Basra Begins to Fall Apart
- 22 hours ago
The Justice Department claims that its attempt to
investigate Bush's eavesdropping programs has gone nowhere
because its staff was denied security clearance.
http://www.alternet.org/rights/36232/
BIG BROTHER'S SECRET CALLING PLAN By
G. Pascal Zachary,
AlterNet.
Posted
May 12, 2006.
Disclosure of the NSA's illegal database of Americans'
telephone records has brought outraged demands for an
investigation -- and for legal action against the
government.
http://www.alternet.org/story/36180/
______________________________
State of the union Portland
Tribune
Portland Public Schools teachers and staff have a new leader to guide
them through the next two years of negotiations.
His name is Jeff Miller, a social
studies teacher of 22 years..
PORTLAND, OR Oregon
Education Association Convention
As Income
Inequality Grows, Union Advantage Increases
A report by the Center for Budget
and Policy Priorities and the Economic
Policy Institute reveals that income
inequality has increased since the 1980s.
The average income of the nation’s poorest
families grew by 18.9 percent, while the
incomes of the richest families increased
by 58.5 percent. In the early 2000s, the
poorest one-fifth of families had an average
income of $16,780, while the top one-fifth
of families had average incomes of more
than $122,150, more than seven times as
much.
According to the report, the biggest cause
of growing income inequality over the last
20 years has been the decline in wages for
the 70 percent of workers who do not have a
college degree. Furthermore, the report
says one of the main reasons for declining
wages is the weakening of unions and the
lack of effective labor laws to protect
workers seeking to form unions.
To see a copy of the Center for Budget and
Policy Priorities and the Economic Policy
Institute report, go to:
http://www.epi.org/content.cfm/studies_pulling_apart_2006
New figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, go
to:
http://www.bls.gov/news.release/union2.nr0.htm
It doesn't get more working class.
Browning spent her youth in Belfast. The 46-year-old mother of
three has become the deciding vote in the Suffolk County Legislature,
representing both Democrats and the Working Families Party.
Fair
Use
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