Story and photo by Pete Shaw After two years of attempts to receive compensation for injured General Motors workers, protesters are bringing the fight to GM dealerships, the real points of profit for GM. On Saturday November 2, a group of 15 activists gathered at Wentworth Chevrolet on SE Grand Avenue as part of the…
Tag: labor
Fast Food Workers Forcing Fight Over Fair Wages
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Story and photo by Pete Shaw “If food is essential for survival, then why are the people who bring it to us paid so little?” That question was recently asked at a forum regarding the many fast food worker strikes across the country over the past year. Those workers, many of whom make the federal…
Protesters Occupy Postal Management Offices; Demand End To Privatization
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By Jamie Partridge Eleven protesters invaded the office space of Portland’s senior US Postal Service management on September 18. Slipping past security barriers on the third floor of the Main Post Office, the group occupied the hallway outside the offices of Brenda Jackson, transportation manager for the Portland district. Demanding a meeting with Jackson, the…
City Workers Fight Privatization; Demand Fair Contract
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Story and photos by Pete Shaw Over 300 people converged in downtown Portland on August 14 to to demand that city managers negotiate in good faith with the District Council of Trade Unions (DCTU), the 7-union coalition that operates jointly in bargaining with the city. DCTU members–who hail from AFSCME Local 189, Laborers Local 483,…
Postal Activists Blockade Private FIrm USPS Sliding Out of Public Hands
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Story by Jamie Partridge Ten protesters blocked a private mail truck leaving the Mt. Hood Distribution Center (US Postal Service) today, demanding that postal management stop subcontracting the trucking of “the people’s mail.” Claiming concerns about safety, cost and corruption, the blockaders left after police ordered them to disperse. No arrests were made. ”Postal truckers are losing…
Protesters Target Postal Privatization, Demand Corporate Mail Theft End
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Story by Jamie Partridge • Photos by Jerry Atkin Over forty demonstrators, ten of whom blocked the entrance to the Portland Air Cargo Center (US Postal Service), declared victory against “postal privatizers” today. According to postal service managers, several morning mail runs by subcontractor Dill Star trucking were disrupted by the protest. ”Postal truckers, mail…
Big Grain Shuts Out Longshoremen Struggling for Workplace Equity
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Story and photos by Pete Shaw Columbia Grain locked out ILWU Local 8’s grain handlers on May 4 in Portland, accusing them of “engaging in inside game’ tactics, including slowdowns, work-to-rule, and demands for repeated inspections of the same equipment – all designed to negatively impact Columbia Grain’s operations.” Late the next day, twenty of…
ILWU Strength Imperiled by Dangerous Course
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Story and photos by Pete Shaw A crowd of over 200 Longshore workers, other union members, and community supporters rallied at Esther Short Park in Vancouver, WA, on March 8 in support of ILWU Local 4 grain handlers locked out of their jobs by United Grain Corporation in late February. After some speeches, the assembly,…
The Choice In Portland: Austerity Versus a People’s Budget
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By Mark Vorpahl It’s no secret that most cities, counties, states and school districts in the U.S. are facing big deficits. What is less understood is the extent to which austerity cuts have become politicians’ bipartisan response to the situation. The dramatic measures being implemented in Portland, Oregon are no exception. By “austerity” is meant…
Longshore Struggle Brews On Both Coasts: Trouble in the Northwest
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By Mark Vorpahl Second of two parts In the Northwest, at the terminals on the Columbia River, Puget Sound, and Portland, Oregon, the membership of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) are on the defensive against the Northwest Grain Handlers Association (NWGHA). The conflict involves nearly 3,000 workers at terminals that handle a quarter…
