Main Street

Word on the Street: Keep Dr. King’s Dream Alive

Michael Crabbe – Portland, Oregon

Tara Murphy, Working America (AFL-CIO) organized about 100 die hard supporters for the We Are Working America Petition-Signing Rally. The weather did not hamper people’s spirits but only energized them even more to fight for working class Americans and Oregonians.

We marched two blocks and joined the We Are One Rally in progress. The rally assembled all the major unions in and around Portland such as AFL-CIO,ILWU, AFSCME, OSEA, JOBS for JUSTICE, EWMC, Amalgamated Transit Union Local 757, AFGE Local 2157, BCTGM Local 114, IBEW 48, IATSE 28, InlandBoatmen’s Union and dozens more.

KPOJ’s Carl Wolfson led the cheers and introduced representatives from many of the local unions including Tom Chambers from the local AFL-CIO, and William Adams from ILWU-International Secretary/Treasurer from San Francisco. The gathering attracted a wide cross section of people including, teachers, bakery workers, longshoremen, MoveOn.org, Oregon school employees, grain millers, RadicalWomen.org, United Steel Workers, Painters & Allied Trades, Union Stagehands and Wardrobe along with family friends and even a handful of children.

Chants of “W E A R E… U N I O N” echoed off the walls of downtown skyscrapers throughout the evening. The cloud cast dreary rain did little to hamper the fighting spirit of unity. It was clearly evident that nothing the likes of Wisconsin would happen in union strong Portland! Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker with the backing of the Koch Brothers are holding up contract negotiations for workers in Oregon at Georgia Pacific and the Wauna paper mill.