nwlaborpress.org | September 15, 2006

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September 15, 2006 Volume 107 Number 18 News
		Topping Out The Tram Members of Iron Workers Local 29 placed the last piece of steel on the upper station of the Portland Aerial Tram Aug. 31. The tram will provide a link between Oregon Health and Science University’s Marquam Hill Campus in Southwest Portland and the new development taking shape on the South Waterfront.
State of Working America: Wages have declined over the last five years America's workers are losing ground to America's elites, according to the State of Working America and several other recent reports. Convention report: Building Trades to train members as disaster responders Building trades unions are taking steps to better prepare their members to respond to disaster situations in Oregon. Internet furor prompts restaurant owner to rethink position A year and a half after she called for a sub-minimum wage for workers who get tips, a non-union Portland restaurant owner has publicly disavowed her position. Past exposure by the Oregon AFL-CIO — and recent heat from local bloggers — may have been a factor in her change of heart. Coalition asks Portland not to buy sweatshop goods A newly formed group is asking Portland City Council for an anti-sweatshop ordinance similar to one being considered by Berkeley, California. The campaign is the latest phase of a national movement that began on college campuses to focus attention on poor factory conditions, especially among Third World clothing manufacturers. Union nurses battle hospital and DHS over Oregon’s safe staffing guidelines The final phase of a patient safety law the Oregon Legislature passed in 2001 and modified last year is due to take effect in January, but the details, as worked out by the Oregon Department of Human Services (DHS), have drawn fire from nurses. Machinists, Teamsters end ULP strike at Cummins NW Machinists and Teamsters at Cummins NW plants in Portland, Pendleton, Renton, Wash., and Spokane, Wash., ended an unfair labor practice strike Aug. 28. Workers at all the unionized plants walked out July 7 after the new owner voided all contracts with the Machinists and Teamsters unions. At the bargaining table, the new owner has not moved off demands for open-shop language and implementation of a 401(k) pension plan to replace the union plan. Analysis Think again By Tim Nesbitt Labor Daze:When bad politics trumps a good economy Does George W. Bush get to veto the laws of economics? Or did he issue one of those signing statements that said we can only have an economic recovery if working families don't recover?