NEWS
LETTER
July 2000
INDEX
Vote: Your livelihood depends on it AFL-CIO statistics show 73 percent of our members are registered to vote. That's 27 percent UNREGISTERED! If you are one of the unregistered, please consider voting. Our enemies would like to make labor unions illegal, after all . businesses aren't the only ones who need to pull together to maximize their clout. Why would workers need to pull together for their mutual good? We have ballot measures and candidates that both could have very negative effects on our wage and benefit standards. We have voter registration forms for both Oregon & Washington, at the office. Call or stop by. Talk to your family, friends and co-workers . We need EVERYONE registered and participating. VOTE!
Carpenters Local 247 sent three delegates to the recent Oregon AFL-CIO convention in Albany. The upcoming elections in November dominated the agenda. The AFL-CIO Executive Board also proposed an invigorating organizing plan, which was accepted unanimously by delegates. Please read the rest of the Labor Press for more information. One of the employees from Powell's Books gave an inspirational presentation which highlighted some of the problems low-wage workers are experiencing. Not being able to buy new shoes for children was an example of one of their problems. Upon hearing this, Local 247 Vice President Willie Gore and Local 247 Warden Gene Lawhorn started to pass the hat. Several minutes later, Willie took over when he interrupted business to present Powell's workers with over $400. They were overjoyed and later reported that they would put the money in their strike fund, to help their neediest workers. Willie brought the house down when he made the presentation.
We have been trying to get Safeway to implement some responsible standards within their bid specifications, to allow union contractors a fair shot at Safeway construction projects. Safeway is unwilling to require fringe benefits be paid by their contractors. We have started letting the public know, by distributing handbills at their stores. We feel that this will get their attention. If you are willing to help at your local Safeway store, please call Linda at the Local 247 office or Ben at the Regional Council office. Broken Promises The House Appropriations Committee broke its 1997 commitment to refrain from adding anti-ergonomic amendments to future Labor/Health and Human Services departments' appropriations bills and voted to ban OSHA from using any Fiscal Year 2001 funds to advance the agency's proposed ergonomics standard. The full House is expected to take up the Labor spending bill in June. The Senate version does not contain an anti-ergonomics amendment, and President Clinton has said he will veto the bill if it retains the ban.
The vote in the House of Representative May 24 was a victory for corporate power over the interest of workers and citizens in the global economy. Giving China a blank check to become a "most favored nation" trading partner means we will lose what little leverage we now have to hold China accountable for its labor and human rights practices. We applaud Congressmen David Wu and Peter DeFazio for standing up to the corporate interests and opposing the normalization of trade relations with China.
Some 1,000 striking Steelworkers who were denied reinstatement by Oregon Steel's CF&I steel mill in Colorado won reinstatement and back pay awards that now total more than $120 million in a decision handed down by NLRB Administrative Law Judge Albert Metz last month. The judge found that the company had violated the law by refusing to bargain with the union, threatening and intimidating the workforce and refusing to reinstate the strikers after they offered to return to work. Although the company is likely to appeal the decision, the union believes there is virtually no chance that the decision documented in a 111-page ruling, will be overturned. The decision, combined with numerous instances of serious safety violations and worker injuries at the CF&I plant, gives added weight to the efforts of the Steelworkers to keep Tri-Met from purchasing CF&I rail for the Interstate MAX light rail extension. Labor is united when it comes to the Interstate MAX project: "We want light rail that's the right rail." Labor's votes make a difference in close primary votes Labor's votes counted in the recent primary election - most notably in contested primary elections for the state legislature. In 10 of the 11 contested legislative races featured in the AFL-CIO Voters' Guide, the union-endorsed candidate prevailed. Among those was Martin Taylor, who won by just 17 votes in the final unofficial tally over three other candidates for the Democratic Party slot in House District 11, and Paul Zastrow, who won the Democratic primary in House District 56 by 137 votes. Taylor's race was a target in our outreach to union members, which included mailings and phone calls from volunteers from our new automated dial phone banks. The Oregon AFL-CIO will review the results of our primary election activities and begin planning for the larger effort to organize the union vote in November election at its next Labor 2000 Coordinators meeting. Also on the agenda for that meeting is an analysis of what union members are saying about Bill Sizemore's anti-union ballot initiatives, courtesy of LGD Insight and their recently completed focus groups among private and public sector union members.
New Alliance meetings to begin after the November election
In letters to Oregon union leaders, AFL-CIO President John Sweeney has announced that a first meeting of the New Alliance "drafting committee" has been postponed until after the November election. President Sweeney noted that an attempt to convene a first meeting on May 18 had to be abandoned because of "the busy agendas of all the participants" and because "all of your unions are working hard to send a strong message to those that continue to attack working families in Oregon." The New Alliance is a program designed to strengthen state federations and central labor councils by better defining and supporting their core programs, developing full participation by all affiliates and redesigning governance structures to meet the need of the labor movement in each state.
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Volunteers from Local 247 pose on the deck they built for Edie, a server at the Mousetrap, a pub near union headquarters. From left to right: Willie Gore, Andy Wagner, Gene Lawhorn, Larry Burkholder, Bruce Dennis, and, kneeling in front, Jerry Davis. |
Below are the election results of our Special Called Meeting June 13 for the delegates to the Pacific Northwest Regional Council of Carpenters and Trustee of Carpenters Local 247. Carpenters Local 247 is entitled to 13 delegates to the Pacific Northwest Regional Council of Carpenters. We elected 13 delegates.
Bruce Ashback
John Hahn
Joe Baron
Gene Lawhorn
Larry Burkhalter
Eldon Middleton
Chet Caruthers
Pete Savage
Shawn Cushman
Kevin Stokes
Bruce Dennis
Steve Wright
Willie Gore
Eldon Middleton was elected trustee.
Hello, members. Just a note to let everyone know how important it is this year to RSVP for our picnic. This year we anticipate having at least 750 members and their children. Now if you have ever worked out the logistics on this amount of folks you would know that there's a lot of planning involved, so it's important that we get a count. If you didn't go last year for whatever reason, this year will be even better. Our picnic committee is seasoned from last year and knows already what to expect. We still need volunteers to help no more than an hour or so, to ensure success; so if you haven't called and are available, please call Linda at the hall and get on the list.
Thanks, Willie Gore
Chairman
Carpenters
Local 247 Picnic
Sunday, Aug. 13
Picnic invitations and RSVP forms were mailed out mid-June. Make sure to return your RSVP form to Local 247's office no later than July 12. Due to catering constraints we need to know if you and your family are attending by this date. We are having a picnic planning meeting on Saturday, July 8, at 10 a.m. at Oaks Park. We will meet at the main gate and once everyone has arrived we will walk over to the The Grove area where our picnic location in the park will be. Please be aware on July 8 "The Grove" area will be in use, so we do not want to disturb their festivities. If you want to volunteer to help with making signs, children's games, registration and help the day of the picnic, come to this meeting on July 8 or call Linda Watson at Carpenters Local 247 to sign up as a volunteer for the picnic.
Please note: our e-mail address
is:
carpenters@ubc247.com
Zenith Administrators, Inc. has
MOVED
New address: 9600 SW Oak, Suite 380, Tigard, OR
97223
Use the following direct phone numbers (they have not changed): Local: (503)
276-1148 Toll Free: (888) 286-3159
(503)226-2741
Please support Brother Wayne
Wallace on the K2000
Expedition. We have K2 T-Shirts for sale at Local 247 for $25.
Embroidered Denim Shirts: $34
Hunter Green Carhartt Jackets w/ embroidered 247 patch: $65
T-Shirts w/247 & PNWRCC logo: Reg. & XX, $16.75; XXX, $17.75
Black Hats with embroidered 247 patch: $11
3" 247 Patch: $3
10" 247 Patch: $32
Plumb Bobs: $22.50
Magnet & Reels Set: $25
