April 17, 2009 Volume 110 Number 8
 

Governor to dedicate new Fallen Workers Memorial
 The Oregon AFL-CIO will hold a memorial service at the new Fallen Workers Memorial [left] on the Capitol Mall in Salem April 28 — Workers Memorial Day. Gov. Ted Kulongoski will speak and dedicate the permanent memorial located near the main entrance of the Labor and Industries Building.

Millions of workers exposed to "dirty diesel"
It’s in the air we breathe. Diesel exhaust contains at least 40 toxic air contaminants, plus soot particles so small that they bypass filters in the human body. And millions of American workers are exposed at work to diesel exhaust — truckers and loading dock workers, obviously, but also longshore, maritime, and railroad workers, school and city bus drivers, firefighters, construction workers, and others who work near heavy equipment.
SolarWorld gets tax breaks while dumping union workforce
The German-owned company will get nearly $43 million in tax breaks and subsidies, while cutting family-wage union jobs in Vancouver and hiring lower-paid nonunion workers in Hillsboro. 
Retired Painter named ‘Firefighter of the Year’
John Kirkpatrick, a retired union representative for Painters and Allied Trades District Council 5, was named “Firefighter of the Year” at Estacada Rural Fire District #69.
NECA-IBEW, other unionized businesses acknowledged at Oregon safety forum
Thirteen leaders in safety and health — many with union ties — were spotlighted March 11 at the Oregon Governor’s Occupational Safety and Health (GOSH) Conference.