Old articles that might be of interest

Local 8 Pres. Smith Joins Governor at Lockout Bill Signing

Local 8 President Jeff Smith participated in a bill-signing ceremony June 26 that is big news to ILWU members in Oregon: Gov. Ted Kulongoski signed HB 3339, which will allow Oregon workers to collect unemployment insurance benefits if our employer locks us out. Most of us learned in 2002 that California and Washington already allow UI benefits during lockouts.

Gov. Kulongoski said he was simply “leveling the playing field” when he signed the bill.

State Sen. Vicki Walker (D-Eugene) said, “Working people should not be excluded from help during a dispute when they are not involved. This is about fairness for working people.”

For years in Oregon, employees locked out by employers in a single-employer bargaining unit have been allowed to receive unemployment benefits during a lockout. However, in multi-employer units, employees in those units affiliated with those in a dispute can be locked out even if they are not directly a part of the dispute. HB 3339 will simply allow them to get unemployment benefits like those in a single-employer bargaining unit.

In 2002, Longshore Workers along the entire West Coast were locked out when the multi-employer group representing approximately 70 employer groups locked out 25,000 Longshore workers in Oregon, Washington and California. Locked-out workers in Washington and California received benefits, but Oregon workers did not. At least 30 states do not preclude locked out workers from receiving unemployment benefits.

HB 3339 was the No. 1 priority bill for State Rep. Brad Witt (D-Clatskanie), the former Secretary-Treasurer of the Oregon AFL-CIO. Jeff Smith, President of International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 8, lobbied the State Legislature on several occasions for the bill, and credited Oregon AFL-CIO Political Director Duke Shepard for working tirelessly to pass it. “Duke did amazing work for our members,” said Smith.

Local 8's Bruce Holte Appointed to Port Commission

Go to: Who We Are

July 5th is Bloody Thursday

Emotional Ceremony Will Honor Fallen Port Workers

See photos of 2007 picnic at 2007 Local 8 Bloody Thursday Picnic

Workers from across the greater Portland area will gather in Oaks Park on Thursday, July 5th, to honor heroes who have fallen on the job while “fighting for truth, justice, and the American Way.” The group will toss a large colorful wreath of flowers into the Willamette River to mark the occasion.

“Our entire community owes a debt to these men and women who made it possible for all of us to live better lives today,” said Bill Wyatt, Executive Director of the Port of Portland. Wyatt will attend the July 5th event, along with Tom Chamberlain, President of the Oregon State AFL-CIO.

The annual ceremony dates back to 1934, when six waterfront workers were killed and hundreds were seriously injured on the west coast while trying to establish a labor union, which became today’s International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU), with hundreds of members who work in the Portland area.

The ceremony will also honor two waterfront workers who were killed in the past year while working on the job: Joe Aliseo, 42, who died April 19th while working on the Seattle waterfront, and Piper Cameron, 26, who was killed while she worked as a deckhand on a tug boat in Southern California.

Each year, waterfront workers gather to throw a wreath in the water to honor their fallen heroes. This year’s ceremony will take place at 11am. A community picnic will follow the ceremony, with speeches by local officials at 1pm.

Seaport Celebration Coming Up

Last year Local 8 participated in an open house at Terminal 6 (see: Seaport Celebration Photos). This year we will again be co-hosting an event for the public to see what goes on at Portland's largest marine terminal. There will be special children's activities, demonstrations of equipment by longshore workers, tours of the dock, including views of the large container cranes, music and food. Please call the number above if you would like to attend.

Oregon State Fair, August 24 - September 3, 2007.

The AFL has a booth for the entire week at the fair and some unions have adopted a day to staff the booth. Local 8 will be there August 24th. Sign up's are for 2 hour blocks starting at 10am till 11pm. Volunteers please call the secretary.

Link to the Fair website: http://www.oregonstatefair.org/fair/index.htm

Portland Member Made Labor Vital to 2006 Elections.

Go to: Political Action

November, 2006 NW Labor Delegation to Venezuela and Colombia

Nine delegates representing unions in the Portland area returned November 20th from Venezuela and Colombia where they met with labor leaders and saw first hand the role of the United States in these two South American countries. Organized by the Cross Border Labor Organizing Council (CBLOC), this group included: Daniel Bonham, UBC Local 1065 Salem OR, Executive Director, Fair Contracting Foundation; Dan Denvir, CBLOC/PCASC staff; Michael Hanna, AFSME Local 88; Peter Parks, ILWU Local 8; Rosalie Pedroza, SEIU Local 503; Robert Poppe, ILWU Local 4; Lorene Scheer, SEIU 503 staff; Steven Toff, AWPPW staff; and May Wallace, teacher at Parkrose High School and member of OEA.

One message we bring back from labor leaders and community leaders in Venezuela and Colombia is a big thank you for your work changing the U.S. Congress in the November elections. Leaders in South America expect better relations with the new U.S. Congress, including less intervention in other countries internal affairs, and more favorable trade agreements.

See pictures from the trip at Venezuela and Colombia Photos.

For a longer article on the trip, go to Labor Delegation Article