Story and photos by Pete Shaw In coordination with actions in 11 other US cities, and in the spirit of the one-year anniversary of the Occupy movement, over 100 people gathered in Portland on September 17 to demand justice for General Motors workers on hunger strike in Columbia. “The fact that General Motors is firing…
Story and photos by Pete Shaw Holding signs reading “fairness,” “dignity,” “voice,” “security,” and “respect,” supporters of Metro’s seasonal park workers attended the September 13 Metro council meeting to demand it stop interfering with worker attempts to organize as part of Laborers Local 483. Metro seasonal workers have been trying to organize since December, 2011.…
Story and photos by Pete Shaw As 45 people rallied and educated passersby outside the Mark O. Hatfield United States Courthouse on SW 3rd Avenue last Thursday, Leah-Lynn Plante was readying to refuse to cooperate with the special grand jury in Seattle investigating the anarchist movement. The crowd had gathered to support Plante and other…
Chief Reese Deletes “I disagree with the Department of Justice’s findings” From His Online Statement Story by Pete Shaw At a crowded press conference on the 14th floor of the Portland Justice Center on Thursday, the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) announced its findings of an investigation, launched on June 8, 2011. The…
Story and photos by Pete Shaw Lunch time in the Summer is usually a festive occasion at Pioneer Square. People take to the tables or bricks with their brown bags or a hot dog bought at a nearby cart and there is often some kind of music scene going down. Wednesday August 15th was no…
Story and photos by Pete Shaw Back in the day, civics class taught us that the grand jury was among the government institutions that made the United States the greatest country on Earth. It was a shining example of our commitment to justice – a body that ensured you could not be accused of a…
Story and photos by Pete Shaw The notice on the door of Room 3000 at 1900 SW 4th Avenue — home of Portland’s Bureau of Development Services (BDS) — listed the various administrative hearings that would be taking place on September 6, 2012. I was present because I expected a 9 a.m. hearing between the…
Story and photos by Pete Shaw A boisterous crowd of over 100 people descended on the Northwest Headquarters of the Army Corps of Engineers on August 28 to demand an environmental and public health impact study for all four possible export coal terminal sites, as well as planned routes for the trains and barges that…
Story and photos by Pete Shaw “Protecting a competitive race to the lowest wages is crucial,” said Tom Chamberlain, President of the Oregon AFL-CIO. After a confused pause, Chamberlain restated himself, replacing “protecting” with “preventing.” It was a slightly awkward moment at this strange gathering billed as a “Listening Session on the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP)”.…
Story and photos by Pete Shaw The Lombard Overpass of the railroad cut that bisects St. John’s – from the Willamette River to the Columbia Slough – was the site of an August 18 demonstration, with over 75 activists protesting and educating people about the proposed transportation of coal through Oregon and Washington. With faces…
