October 2nd

ON FACEBOOK

Labor Day

The first Labor Day originated from 1870s-era labor disputes in Toronto, Ontario. In 1872, a parade was held in support of a strike for a 58-hour workweek. 24 leaders of the union who organized the parade were arrested under anti-union laws.
The first state to make Labor Day a state holiday was Oregon, which passed the necessary law in February of 1887.
We might all be used to working eight-hour workdays for five days a week, but when the first Labor Day holidays were celebrated, twelve-hour days were quite common. The first Labor Day rally, held on a Tuesday, was to gain support for an eight-hour workday.

Election

Congratulations Local 10 on voting Roben White as your new President! RESPECT welcomes him with Solidarity.

National Day of Action Against SB 1070

No racial profiling in Arizona or Oregon!!

Vigil & March from Terry Schrunk Plaza (SW 3rd &Madison) Portland, Oregon. May 29, Saturday 2010 5pm

Get off the couch, get to the hall and VOTE!!!!!!!

May Day Rally and March

A DAY OF SOLIDARITY!!
2010 Mayday links:
MAYDAYPDX
FREE CUPCAKES
PDX PEACE
ORIGINS OF MAY DAY
HISTORY OF MAYDAY
SCOOTER RALLY-EUGENE, OREGON

Cross-Trade Solidarity

For local rank and file news be sure to check this out. The Cross-trade group have published their first newsletter and this blog has made it down-loadable in pdf. format.
Cross-Trade Solidarity is a Portland activist group dedicated to building unity among building trades unionists. We believe that the pressures and struggles each local faces are similar and that these issues could be better tackled by all the trades fighting together.
For more info on Cross-Trade down-load the newsletter HERE. or check them out on Facebook HERE

A nice sumary of union history to contemplate.

In 1886, at a meeting of members of various trade union representatives in Chicago, the American Federation of Labor was formed. Cigar maker Samuel Gompers was elected president, and J.P. McGuire of the Brotherhood of Carpenters was elected secretary. The AFL now represented by far the largest number of workers, with 25 unions and 300,000 members. As struggles for better working conditions, livable wages, and a shorter workweek from the mines of Pennsylvania to the factories of Illinois, allowed the AFL to 1,700,000 members in it's first ten years. By the 1930's, some AFL leaders recognized the need for industrial unions, and formed the Congress of Industrial Organizations in 1935. The CIO increasingly organized mass production workers such as auto workers and steel workers. Throughout the 30's, both the AFL and CIO continued to gain membership, and were able to win many rights for US workers including the right to join a union, the right to workplace safety, and the right to overtime pay. On Dec. 5th 1955, the AFL and CIO decided to reunite into one big union, and elected George Meany as their president.
The formation of the AFL came on the heels of the fight for the eight hour day, which culminated on May 1st 1886 with hundreds of thousands of American workers participating in strikes and demonstrations demanding a federal eight hour day. At a rally in Chicago, Illinois in Haymarket Square, several demonstrators were killed and many more wounded when an explosion went off in the crowd and police subsequently opened fire. Eight anarchists were arrested and charged for causing the explosion and four were executed by the state of Illinois. These four became known as the Haymarket Martyrs, and May 1 st became the international celebration of workers day, commemorating the fight for the 8 hour day. It also became a commemoration of the Haymarket Martyrs and an example of the violence the US government is willing to use against us.
One example of the US government's willingness to engage in violence on behalf of bosses was the Pullman Strike of 1894, lead by Eugene Debbs. "Workers in the non­AFL affiliated American Railroad Union struck their manufacturing plant in Pullman Illinois, calling for ~ boycott of all their railroad cars. Within a week, 125,000 railroad workers had joined them in solidarity, including many AFL members. The immediate response of the government was to bring 3,400 armed strikebreakers to put down the strike, and then to mobilize Federal troops. 34 railway workers were killed. When the strikers still did not return to work, the federal government issued an injunction forcing railroad workers back to work. The injunction became a popular weapon for bosses to use
. against their workers, using the threat of fines, jail time, and even death to undercut organizing efforts.
The sit-down strike was one tactic employed by union members that won several gains for US workers. The tactic was first used in Flint, Michigan by the United Auto Workers in December, 1936. Workers in the factory instead of walking out and allowing strike breakers to re-open the plant, simply stayed inside, refusing to leave their machines. Outside, the Women's auxiliary and other supporters provided food and defense for the striking workers. General Motors was forced to recognize the union, and the sit-down became popular worldwide for it's effectiveness and low levels of violence: as factory owners were reluctant to attack their own property. "Unfortunately: because it was so successful, the sit-down strike was outlawed in the US in 1939 by the Supreme Court.

Care to share some union history-
email: patfr.respect@yahoo.com

Your Legal Rights Online.

Cyber-Democracy for Unionists: Your Legal Rights Online.

Democracy makes unions stronger. The key to union democracy is an educated, informed, and active membership. Fortunately, you have legal rights that protect internal union activity, including activity that takes place online. This summary describes your rights under a Federal Law: the Labor Management Reporting and Disclosure Act (LMRDA) as they apply to online activism.

1. The Right to Participate in Your Union

You have the right as a union member to participate in union affairs, including meetings and elections. This means you have the right to:

* participate in official union chat groups or discussion lists,
* participate in elections: run for office, vote, and observe the vote count (there are other important election rights),
* equal access to union publications -- including union e-mail lists, web sites, listserves, and e-mail publications -- in election campaigns,
* due process if you are disciplined by the union.

NOTE: It is illegal for the union or the employer to retaliate against you, or threaten you, for exercising your rights under the LMRDA. Participation in union activities is subject to reasonable rules and procedures.

2. The Right to Essential Information

As a union member, you have the right to certain types of information, much of which is available online:

* Copies of annual financial reports, including the LM-2 forms, available from the Office of Labor Management Standards--OLMS,
* Copies of union contracts and side agreements that affect your job,
* Copies of the union constitution and bylaws.

NOTE: You are free to publish and distribute, in print and electronic form, the information in the reports and documents described above.

3. The Right to Free Speech

Your right to free speech about union affairs (in the union and in public) is very broad and includes e-mail and web speech. You are free to:

* criticize (or praise) union policies, officers, staff, or candidates,
* discuss union policies and issues,
* write about, draw cartoons about, sing about, etc. union representatives,
* complain, protest, demand and advocate.

NOTE: You can be disciplined if you advocate "decertifying" -- leaving the union, or changing unions -- or for violations of the union constitution that are not otherwise protected by the law.

4. The Right to Free Assembly

Like your rights to free speech, your rights to organize with your coworkers are very broad. Among other things, you can:

* form a committee or a caucus,
* meet on or offline without official union permission or participation,
* set up a website, blog, discussion list, newsletter, chat room, or other online publication or forum,
* limit access to all or parts of your site to members of your committee,
* link to other websites, organizations, and unions (including your own),
* take collective action to influence the union (online pickets, PDF flyers, e-mail petitions, web sites, etc.).

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ARBITRATION




The rank/file painters of local ten need answers! We've been in the dark for five months about what's going on in our arbitration. There are things we can do as rank/file members under arbitration, but first we should at least know where we stand. Let's make our voices heard!