Weekly Update: The Gas Tax

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Where has the American Dream gone?

On Friday August 26th as the monument to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is unveiled, the National AFL-CIO will hold a symposium to commemorate the 48th anniversary of Dr. Marin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech.  

Do you think Dr. King’s speech retains its relevance today?  

Submit your questions for the symposium here.

RSVP to the online event here.

Congress to Square Off Over Transportation Funding

The fires of the debt limit debate are still smoldering as Congress prepares for another massive showdown.  This time, transportation funding is the issue and hopefully Congress will not balance the deal on the backs of workers, jobs and our economic future by shortchanging infrastructure improvement.
Congress has until September 30th to renew the federal gas tax which funds transit and highway projects across the country. 

The FAA budget debate in the House cost $350 million in revenue and put 4,000 workers out of a job for two weeks.  This time, we hope our leaders in Washington DC can do better.

The impact will be felt locally if the gas tax isn’t renewed.  Projects like the Columbia River Crossing and rebuilding the crumbling Sellwood Bridge require federal transportation funding to proceed.   Public transportation and interstate repair will also suffer without gas tax renewal.  ATU 757 President Jon Hunt recently explained the need for strong public transit systems at a town hall in Bend, watch the video here. (Apologies to those who received the Weekly Update email and found this link to be broken.)

Do you think the gas tax should be renewed?  Tell us why on our Facebook page.

In Other News...

Verizon Agrees to Negotiate

45,000 striking Verizon workers returned to work yesterday, after the company’s management agreed to sit down and negotiate with their workers. Union members, supporters and activists rallied nationwide in solidarity with the striking CWA and IBEW workers by picketing Verizon stores. Thank you to everyone who took part, or was planning to attend an action at a Verizon store this week!  The next phase of the campaign is to be determined and we'll keep you posted.

The Guild Goes Union!

On August 13th, the six employees of the Guild Public House signed cards to join CWA local 7901, making the Guild the only unionized restaurant in Oregon that we know of that's not attached to a hotel.  Support the Guild and congratulate their employees on becoming members of Oregon’s union movement!

Read more about the election process over at the NW Labor Press.