Official See Inside Meeting Notices Page 4 Volume 112 Number 22 November 18, 2011 Portland Labor strives to keep the focus on Occupy message BY DON M CINTOSH goal of the Occupy movement is to viduals; it’s pension funds,” Digman ASSOCIATE EDITOR make systemic changes in the eco - told the Labor Press. “But the people The Occupy Wall Street movement, nomic and political systems in this that really run the corporations, man - nine weeks old as of Nov. 19, has the country that are failing the 99 percent agement … are running it to enrich nation’s attention. Yet much of the of Americans who see our wealth de - themselves, not to defend or enrich news media continues to focus on creasing as the wealth of the 0.01 per - shareholders. They’re there every day. problems in the encampments or con - cent of Americans who control policy They’re running the game. Is it unrea - flicts that erupt when authorities try to in this country increases.” sonable to think that they would run evict occupiers — instead of on the Such messages explain why organ - the game for themselves?” economic and political problems that ized labor — from the local rank-and- On Nov. 9, Digman was one of hun - brought the movement about. file to top national leadership — con - dreds of people around the United Jim Oliver, a participant in Occupy tinues to support Occupy. States to lead a “teach-in” that was de - Portland, made that point Nov. 11 in “Sustaining this movement is some - veloped by the group Rebuild the front of a national audience on the PBS thing that should be important to every Dream and organized by MoveOn.org. NewsHour. Sitting next to Portland progressive ally that they’ve made,” Entitled “How the 1% Crashed the Mayor Sam Adams, Oliver was asked says Jessica Giannettino, Oregon AFL- Economy,” the teach-in explained that by interviewer Jeffrey Brown if occu - CIO field organizer — who was one of since the 1970s, Wall Street has influ - piers planned to heed Adams’ Nov. 12 a handful of unionists to overnight with enced politicians to rewrite the rules — deadline to clear out of Chapman and the Portland occupation early on. to cut taxes on wealth and to allow Lownsdale parks. “Their message resonates. It echoes banks to merge until they became “too “The mainstream media has been one that we’ve been saying for a long big to fail.” Now it’s time to come to - talking a lot about petty crimes,” Oliver time.” gether to reverse that, Digman said. replied, “in an effort to detract from the HHH HHH message of the Occupy movement. We’ve been staying focused on our Joe Digman is an organizer at Serv - Oregon AFL-CIO President Tom Chamberlain delivers a message of union For Steve Hughes, the answer is message of social change, trying to call ice Employees International Union support for Occupy Portland at an Oct. 28 solidarity rally organized by the banking local. Hughes is state director attention to who the real criminals are (SEIU) Local 503. Through his staff band Pink Martini at Pioneer Courthouse Square. Sharing the stage with of the Oregon Working Families Party, in our society — people like Jamie Di - union, he’s secretary-treasurer of Com - Chamberlain were Ainsworth United Church of Christ pastor Lynn Smouse- a union-backed third party which has mon, the CEO of JP Morgan Chase, munications Workers of America Lopez, performer Storm Large, and Oregon State Rep. Lew Frederick called for the state government to pull [who] gave himself a $19 million raise (CWA) Local 7901. But for 20 years, (pictured) as well as Congressmen Peter DeFazio and Earl Blumenauer. its money out of the big banks. Hughes last year while thousands of Americans Digman was a stock broker at Dean argues that the big Wall Street banks are being thrown out of their homes.” Witter (now part-owned by CitiGroup) actually hurt local economies, and calls “We are petitioning our government and later A.G. Edwards (now part of “You hear, especially among the left man said. “You hear all this hyperbole. their local branches, “deposit-collect - for a redress of grievances, as is out - Wells Fargo.) So Digman has a back - and labor, that [Wall Street] is all I’m here to tell you: It’s way worse.” ing agencies.” lined in the First Amendment of the ground in finance, and a message to crooked and corrupt and it’s going to “Most of the money invested in U.S. Constitution,” Oliver said. “The deliver. be a disaster for working people,” Dig - companies is not from wealthy indi - (Turn to Page 2) ELECTION RESULTS: Clark County voters support C-Tran, Wylie Washington voters said “yes” to Costco, “no” should invest in circumventing the Legislature: Southwest Washington Central Labor Council, in - with help from organized labor. In Washougal, to Tim Eyman, and “yes” again to standards for pay petitioners, put money into ads, and get laws creases the local sales tax by 0.2 percent to pre - labor-endorsed Joyce Lindsay unseated incum - home care workers. It was a classic “mixed-result” changed that way.” serve C-TRAN bus and paratransit service. bent Michael Delavar on the City Council. election for the state’s labor movement, says But Washington voters narrowly rejected Ini - • Washington State Labor Council-endorsed David Groves, publications director for the Wash - tiative 1125, an anti-tolling measure authored by Sharon Wylie defeated Craig Riley in a special OREGON ington State Labor Council, AFL-CIO. perpetual union foe Tim Eyman. “1125 would election for state representative in the 49th District Congressional District 1 The Costco-backed ballot measure to privatize have had a far more direct and negative impact on (Vancouver). Wylie captured nearly 56 percent of Oregon State Sen. Suzanne Bonamici easily Washington liquor sales passed by a three-to-two the state of the economy and jobs,” Groves said, the vote. Wylie, a former two-term Oregon Dem - won the Congressional District 1 Democratic spe - margin, just a year after voters rejected two simi - “so that was a big win to defeat.” ocratic legislator, was appointed to the seat in cial primary with 65 percent of the vote, while lar measures. The difference? Costco, which And voters supported by a two-to-one margin a April following the resignation of Rep. Jim Jacks. Oregon Labor Commissioner Brad Avakian got wanted to sell liquor, put a record $23 million into measure backed by Service Employees Interna - She will have to run for re-election again next 22 percent, and State Rep. Brad Witt — a union the campaign. United Food and Commercial tional Union (SEIU) that will reinstate back - year. rep for United Food and Commercial Workers Lo - Workers Local 21 estimates nearly 1,000 mem - ground checks, training, and other requirements In Vancouver City Council races, labor-en - cal 555 — placed third with 8 percent. bers will lose family-wage jobs when the 166 state for long-term care workers and providers. dorsed incumbents Bart Hansen and Larry Smith Bonamici had the sole endorsement of just one liquor stores close starting next April. Another were handily re-elected, while challenger Anne union, Oregon Nurses Association. Avakian was hundred or so Teamsters will lose jobs in the In Southwest Washington: McEnerny-Ogle lost to Bill Turlay. Turlay will backed by Oregon Education Association, state’s liquor warehouse and distribution system. • A local sales tax measure to support C-TRAN succeed Pat Campbell, who lost in the August pri - Painters, Sheet Metal Workers, Operating Engi - “It’s worrisome,” Groves said. “It promotes the passed 54-46 percent. The measure, backed by mary. neers, Laborers, Teamsters, Communication idea for other corporate interests, that maybe they Amalgamated Transit Union Local 757 and the In LaCenter, Jim Irish was re-elected mayor (Turn to Page 3) ...Occupy — the idea — continues to spread (From Page 1) In Sandy, Oregon, there’s a home the home of his mother-in-law. Brown listened as Occupy Portland’s ing to clear the parks?” “Their job is to funnel those de - where James Irvine Jr. used to live. HHH Oliver made his points about big bank “We intend to maintain our occupa - posits upward through the corporate Irvine, a union millwright with Car - greed. tion,” Oliver replied, “in solidarity with structure, generally to out-of-state in - penters Local 96, once built a conveyor On Nov. 13, police forcibly evicted “Yes, we’ve talked a lot about that Occupy Wall Street and with working system at Portland airport, and made Occupy Portland participants from on the program,” Brown said, “and I class Americans who are being thrown terests. What a big box store is to re - $75,000 a year rebuilding turbines at Chapman and Lownsdale parks, by or - appreciate your bringing it up again, out of their homes all across the coun - tail, big banks are to banking: They Bonneville Dam. But he lost work in der of the mayor. Adams said he was but again I want to ask … are you go - try.” pull the money out and up, and it goes the economic crisis that began with the forced to act because of an increase in to their investment priorities.” collapse of mortgage securities, and he crime around the encampment and These days, that often means eco - fell behind on his Chase Bank mort - drug overdoses in the camp — though nomic expansion in China, Hughes gage. Irvine says he navigated the he attributed the problems not to the Harkin/DeFazio ‘Robin Hood said.