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Human Rights Watch: Employee Free Choice Is a Human Right TheWordsmithCollection

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The minor party with major possibilities. Portland Area WFP Meeting (Party for the Party!) By BARBARA DUDLEY Please join us for the first OWFP meeting (and party) of the year. There will be discussion about issue campaigns, voter registration, and plans to take advantage of the first year of Oreogn fusion voting Please join us for the socializing (and even dancing if you are so inclined) that will follow as soon as business wraps up. Stay tuned for meetings in other parts of the state.
What: Party for the People!
When: Tuesday, March 30th, 6:00 PM
Where: The Kennedy School Gym, 5736 NE 33rd Ave, Portland (at Jessup St)
RSVP to info@oregonwfp.org
See you on the 30th. Working Families Party Members and Friends invites activists and progressives to the first Oregon Working Families Party meeting of 2010. Since fusion voting passed in July last year, WFP has been working hard and we want you to be a part of it. Please let WFP know if you can make it by email. "Barbara Dudley, Oregon Working Families Party" info@OregonWFP.org And please notify your friends, especially folks who are interested to learn more about the WFP.

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PCCFFAP Portland Community College Federation Portal: PCCFFAP Update, Salem Update,
visit our blog: http://thewordsmithcollection.blogspot.com/2010/02/lets-get-nation-back-on-track.html

Minimum-wage workers in Oregon are better off Statesman Journal
Organized labor's role in raising the minimum wage demonstrates a commitment ...more

Gallup: Strong Support for Freedom to Form Unions

The fine folks at the Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR) have released a series of one-page reports summarizing what unions mean for workers all around the country.

Reading, Writing, and Union-Building
Monthly Review - Herndon,VA,USA
In labor circles, the percentage of recent readers may be even smaller. ..... catalogue and Powell's, the unionized book-seller in Portland, Oregon. ...it's long past time for progressives in labor to find new methods of encouraging rank-and-file reading -- or to revive some of the old-fashioned ones

The Iraqi Teachers Union has issued an emergency appeal for support
- the union faces a government takeover.

The social networking site for trade unionists.
Now with 1820 registered users. If this is your first visit to the site, please click here.

Resolution Format How to take action at your state convention.

Union Membership Grows in 2008. When People Can Join Unions, They Do

by Mike Hall, Jan 28, 2010

For the second year in a row, the percentage of workers who belong to a union grew, according to the annual survey of union membership released this morning by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).

In 2008, union membership grew by 428,000, increasing the percentage of union members in the workforce to 12.4 percent, up from 12.1 percent in 2007. Overall, 16.1 million workers carry union cards.

Union membership, AFL-CIO President John Sweeney says, is especially valuable to working families as the nations economy is in the worst recession in decades.

Todays numbers confirm what many working people already know: that if given the chance, American workers are choosing to join unions in larger numbers. Workers in unions are much more likely to have health care benefits and a pension than those without a union; in todays economy, thats the difference between sinking and swimming.

The BLS survey also reports on the union advantage workers receive on payday. In 2008, full-time union workers earned a median weekly salary of $886 while nonunion workers were paid 28 percent less per week, $691.

Some 60 million workers say they would join a union if they had the opportunity. But when workers try to form unions through the flawed National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) process, employers routinely respond with threats, intimidation, firings and harassment.

Of the 311,000 new workers who joined unions in 2007, the latest year for which such figures are available, only 70,000 workers were able to form a union through the NLRB process. Today, most workers who form new unions do so after their employer has agreed to recognize their union through a majority sign-up processa major provision of the Employee Free Choice Act.

The Employee Free Choice Act would restore the freedom of workers to form unions and bargain for a better life. While some 78 percent of the public support the legislation, Big Business is waging a multimillion-dollar disinformation campaign against the bill.

On top of that, congressional Republicans are vowing to kill the workers rights legislation. They have even gone so far as to threaten to block President Barack Obamas choice of Hilda Solis as secretary of labor. Says Sweeney:

In todays economy, Americas working men and women need a fair shot at forming a union, now more than ever. The Employee Free Choice Act will give workers the freedom to bargain with their employers for better benefits, wages, and job security, and it will allow themnot their companyto decide how to form their union.

Union growth was broadly shared across demographic lines and occupations. Growth was strongest in the public sector, among Hispanics, and in Western states.

Click here for the full report, including a demographic breakdown of union membership by occupation, race, gender, state and more.

Oregon Carpenters' Local Endorses HR 676

Portland, Oregon. Carpenters' Local 247 has endorsed HR 676, single
payer healthcare legislation introduced by Congressman John Conyers
(D-MI).

An informal group of union members from different crafts, calling
themselves Cross Trade Solidarity, has organized to push for endorsements
of the Conyers legislation in Portland area locals.

HR 676 would institute a single payer health care system in the U.S. by
expanding a greatly improved Medicare system to every resident.

HR 676 would cover every person in the U. S. for all necessary medical
care including prescription drugs, hospital, surgical, outpatient
services, primary and preventive care, emergency services, dental, mental
health, home health, physical therapy, rehabilitation (including for
substance abuse), vision care, chiropractic and long term care.

HR 676 ends deductibles and co-payments. HR 676 would save billions
annually by eliminating the high overhead and profits of the private
health insurance industry and HMOs.

In the 110th Congress, HR 676 had 93 co-sponsors in addition to Conyers

HR 676 has been endorsed by 481 union organizations in 49 states including
118 Central Labor Councils and Area Labor Federations and 39 state
AFL-CIO's (KY, PA, CT, OH, DE, ND, WA, SC, WY, VT, FL, WI, WV, SD, NC, MO,
MN, ME, AR, MD-DC, TX, IA, AZ, TN, OR, GA, OK, KS, CO, IN, AL, CA, AK, MI,
MT, NE, NY, NV & MA).

For further information, a list of union endorsers, or a sample
endorsement resolution, contact:

Kay Tillow
All Unions Committee For Single Payer Health Care--HR 676
c/o Nurses Professional Organization (NPO)
1169 Eastern Parkway, Suite 2218
Louisville, KY 40217
(502) 636 1551
Email: nursenpo@aol.com
http://unionsforsinglepayerHR676.org
01/28/09

Church maintains that labor movement can help everyone By SDACT(SDACT)
Portland Jobs with Justice is a coalition of 85 labor unions and community groups that act in solidarity with workers in efforts to obtain their rights. Butler tells the story of how one employer changed worker sentiment from 80 percent ...SDACT Blog - http://www.sdact.com/blog/

Act Activism AFL-CIO Portal Alternatives Breaking News Critical Issues Support UNIONS Jobs With Justice: Turn up the Heat JWJ Organizing JWJ Update Join Local 2277 Links Union Bashing Union Trends Where to go from here? Archives

Labor

Google News Alert for: Portland Oregon Labor Unions

An eye on the future: Labor - President of the Oregon AFL-CIO says ...
The Oregonian - OregonLive.com - Portland,OR,USA "It's been building to this for quite some time," said Chamberlain, president of the Oregon AFL-CIO

AFL-CIO Portal www.aflcio.org - America's Union Movement www.writingresource.info/election2008.html PCCFFAP Summer Newsletter (Vol. 8 #3) Past issues

As reported by WWire on Friday, the 40-member Professional Staff Organization of the Oregon Education Association is at an impasse with the OEA board.

Normally, a strike by a 40-member labor group wouldn't be big news. But the OEA staff does much of the organizational work for the powerful 47,000-member statewide teachers' union, especially during the election season when the OEA is mobilizing on statewide measures and trying to organize for candidates it's supporting.

Here's the text of a release OEA staff sent out announcing the strike:

OREGON EDUCATION ASSOCIATION PROFESSIONAL STAFF ON STRIKE

Portland, September 14, 2008 The Professional Staff Organization (PSO) of the Oregon education Association (OEA) is on strike as of 12:01 A.M., Monday, September 15. Pickets will begin Monday morning at all OEA offices throughout Oregon. All union members are expected to honor those pickets.

Alternative News Resources for Research and Activism

The American Federation of Teachers: www.aft-oregon.org/                  AFT ACTION LINK!
www.aflcio.org - America's Union Movement
Portland Community College Faculty Federation Join P C C F F !
Federation Members online forum: http://pccff.org/phpBB2/
KBOO 90.7 FM LABOR RADIO Hour   Labor Radio Hour KBOO Updates                        http://oregonaflcio.blogspot.com/    AFL-CIO Portal   www.aflcio.org - America's Union Movement
www.uoregon.edu/~lerc Univ. of Oregon Labor Education & Research Center
AFSCME Councils and Locals - West         AFT-Oregon Locals    Portland Jobs With Justice

How Will Bush’s Social Security Plan Affect You? Go Figure   To see how President Bush’s proposal would affect your Social Security benefits, check out the Social Security calculator. It’s designed for anyone who was born in 1950 or later. It’s easy to use, but it’s not fun.   submitted by Mark Schwebke   mschwebke@comcast.net
Meet progressive people with visionary world views. Democrats, Greens,
activists - progressives of all flavors are what you'll find at this site.
It's free to join... democraticsingles.net/

The Portland Alliance   Progressive Directory   Support Local Media

The Asian Reporter
   The Oregon Peaceworker         Portland Peace Portal       Portland.Indymedia.org        The Skanner
The Portland Alliance      Community Calendar       UnionResource.org/

Sign-up for "The Rundown: Election 2008"

Oregon has voted against him, but Sizemore fights on The Oregonian - OregonLive.com - Portland,OR,USA And because Sizemore has not gone away, a coalition that stretches from labor unions to civic, religious and environmental groups to business organizations ... See all stories on this topic

The Who, What, Why, When, Where, and How of Employee Free Choice!

Oregon Ballot Measure for November 2008! What's up? Where do unions stand? How should we vote?
Get the Skinny!

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AFT ACTION: Had Enough of Bush’s Anti-Worker Agenda?

Click here to volunteer The Bush administration and its congressional allies are determined to destroy
workers’ freedom to form unions. Help elect a Congress that will work for working families.

idealist.org

WWW Virtual Library
Labour History

Send Wal-Mart back to School!

Union Buyers Guide:

About Big Brother, wiretapping, torture, betrayal, delusions, denial, destruction, cynicism,
arrogance, hubris, death, disaster, incompetence, & dishonor.

Organizing Union Activism! Union Quotes!