By Tom Chamberlain, Oregon AFL-CIO president
I’ve been a subscriber to The Oregonian since I was 21 years old. It’s been the first thing I read in the morning, every day, for decades. Newspapers are important to me: They present the big stories that impact us and determine what we will discuss throughout our day with co-workers, family, and friends. It’s a timeless medium that has long served us well.
But these days not all newspapers are equal. And it’s for that reason I am no longer a subscriber to The Oregonian.
When considering who has our back, as workers and as Oregonians, we need a statewide newspaper that shares our vision for Oregon’s future, one that understands that the minimum wage is too low and that there are serious issues when a workforce’s wages require billions of dollars in taxpayer subsidies just to make ends meet.
As reported last month in Northwest Labor Press reporter Don McIntosh’s article “Up is down,” it is very troubling to see a paper like The Oregonian flip-flop on a major issue within the span of a week, especially when that issue is a straight shot at giving thousands of Oregonians a better life by raising our minimum wage.
Sadly, I’ve grown accustomed to seeing attacks on workers pop up in The Oregonian, and it’s made it quite clear whose side they are on. Not ours. Not when ripping PERS, lobbing rocks at our labor movement, and ignoring the issues that Oregon’s workers really care about is a common theme.
Newspapers are a hallmark of our society, and we deserve a paper for Oregon’s people, not a mouthpiece for the loud opinions of an editorial board that just doesn’t understand the economy that we’re all living in.
Income inequality is the defining issue of our time. What we do to fight it — whether that be raising wages, forming unions, or working toward a secure retirement — will set the stage for the next generation. I don’t want to see my grandkids grow up in a world where 1 percent of the people can create lopsided policies that keep them rich and the rest of us struggling.
Based on their coverage and opinions, I’m convinced The Oregonian doesn’t share that perspective. That’s not the kind of newspaper I want to read. It’s the same reason I don’t watch Fox News. There’s just too much distortion and not enough balance to their coverage.
I’m done supporting media that vilify workers who are standing up for a fair shot. Anytime a worker speaks out, they should be commended for taking action, for trying to raise the bar, and for inspiring the hopes and dreams of everyone who works for a living. That’s why I’m canceling my subscription to The Oregonian, turning off biased news programs, and seeking the truth from publications who take their journalistic integrity seriously.
I’m not clear if you’re criticizing the paper’s editorial policies or its news coverage. I would agree that their editorial policies are terrible and anti-worker. But I still perceive their news coverage as pretty straight-arrow, with many good veteran reporters still on the paper’s dwindling staff. (I’m a now-retired past president of the Eugene Newspaper Guild.)
The paper, like most, has a “business” section. . .
which, as ever, begs a “worker” (people) section that never materializes.
The only “‘people’ section” continues to be the society page, by any other name (ie: “Seen About Town”, or whatever the Oregonian calls it these days. . .)
Not sure what took so long. As a kid my parents got the Oregonian and the Journal. I wouldn’t use the Oregonian to wipe my arse.