U.S. Chamber of Commerce Elected 2009's National Scrooge of the Year

J O B S * W I T H * J U S T I C E, 21.12.2009 21:54

DECEMBER 21, 2009--Southern Oregon Jobs with Justice (SOJwJ) announces: U.S. Chamber of Commerce Elected 2009's National Scrooge of the Year.

The Chamber's narrow, radical agenda advocating for anti-worker, profit-focused solutions to the broken health care, labor, and environmental systems garnered them the most votes for the national Jobs with Justice "Scrooge of the Year" award.

Southern Oregon has been alarmed at local Chambers of Commerces with First Amendment violations waged by the City of Ashland's Chamber after its sponsorship of the 2007 Fourth of July Parade. In 2008 SOJwJ and ACLU of Southern Oregon gave the Ashland Chamber of Commerce a Free Speech lesson  http://www.rogueimc.org/en/2008/07/13203.shtml

This year's Scrooge contest pitted the Chamber of Commerce against Bank of America, nominated for their role in the sub-prime lending crisis and failure to extend credit to small businesses. SOJwJ previously shouted out a patriotic warning about BoA on Dec. 12, 2008 with the People's Bail-Out Rally in Medford, Oregon  http://www.rogueimc.org/en/2008/12/14290.shtml

Keep readin' for the full story about the just-elected "2009 National Scrooge of the Year"

The U.S. Chamber represents corporate pigs

U.S. Chamber of Commerce Elected 2009's National Scrooge of the Year

The Chamber's narrow, radical agenda advocating for anti-worker, profit-focused solutions to the broken health care, labor, and environmental systems garnered them the most votes for the national Jobs with Justice "Scrooge of the Year" award.

Thousands of votes were cast in the Jobs with Justice annual contest to determine which greedy, cold-hearted organization or person deserves the title "Scrooge of the Year." Voters chose the Chamber of Commerce as their winner this year as it's became increasingly clear that the U.S. Chamber of Commerce has developed into a front group for a few narrow interests, not a membership association that represents the voice of mainstream American businesses. The Chamber has spent millions of dollars lobbying against legislation that would benefit workers and families like the Employee Free Choice Act, health insurance reform, paid sick days, and environmental regulations. Their extreme positions have led some companies and local chapters of the Chamber to disaffiliate from the national group.

This year's Scrooge contest pitted the Chamber of Commerce against Bank of America, nominated for their role in the sub-prime lending crisis and failure to extend credit to small businesses, Hyatt Hotels for their Scrooge-like firing of 100 housekeepers in Boston and other anti-worker actions, Publix Supermarkets for their resisting the call to be part of the solution to human rights violations in Florida fields by continuing to buy tomatoes from growers prosecuted for modern-day slavery, and student loan lenders Sallie Mae and Citibank for their expensive, variable rate loans for students. An impressive write-in campaign was also waged for United Airlines, for their slashing of workers' wages and pensions while continuing to award lavish bonuses to top executives.

"There was plenty of competition for the award this year," said Jobs with Justice Executive Director Sarita Gupta, "but the similarities between Scrooge and the Chamber of Commerce were hard to beat. The ghost of years past would show that the policies they've promoted including deregulation and maximizing profits at the expense of workers are directly connected to the destruction of America's middle class."

Throughout the country, many people remain unemployed and more are working harder and longer than ever before to make ends meet, as highlighted in our recently released report examining the impact of the economic crisis on working people.

Over the holidays and in the coming weeks, Jobs with Justice will begin a campaign to engage working people in the fight for the creation of a national jobs program.

"We fully expect the Chamber of Commerce to come out in opposition to our demand for good paying and family sustaining jobs," said Gupta, "but we will not cede this moment nor shy away from this fight. The ghost of future years will show that in this time of crisis, it was our efforts that helped put people back to work."

Visit this web address to learn more about Jobs with Justice:  http://www.jwj.org

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US Chamber of Commerce and AOI file lawsuit 24.12.2009 - 17:56 US Chamber is Scrooge of the Year Yesterday the US Chamber of Commerce and Associated Oregon Industries filed a lawsuit trying to prevent the Worker Freedom Act from taking effect on January 1st. Below is our response. For Immediate Release Contact: Elana Guiney 503-803-3151 Chamber, AOI, Sue to Force Workers into Captive Audience Meeting AOI and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce filed a lawsuit today arguing that S.B. 519 is unconstitutional. S.B. 519, known as the Worker Freedom Act, prevents employers from punishing workers who opt-out of mandatory meetings on topics like politics and religion. Some large employers, like Wal-Mart, are known for calling workers into a meeting where they are then lectured about how their employer thinks they should vote in an upcoming election. See "Wal-Mart Warns Workers of Democratic Win"  http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121755649066303381.html AOI and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce claim S.B. 519, which takes affect January 1st, violates federal law and the first Amendment. In actuality, it addresses separate issues from the laws they refer to, and specifically protects both an employer's right to free speech (see Section 2[4]h) and a workers right to be free from unwanted communication (see Hill v. Colorado, 530 US 703 [2000]). "Some employers seem to be threatened by the idea that they will no longer be able to fire or punish workers who don't want to sit down and listen to their opinions on non-work-related topics," said Tom Chamberlain, Oregon AFL-CIO President. "But for too may years Oregonians have felt threatened by their bosses telling them how to vote or what to believe. SB 519 is necessary, overwhelmingly supported by Oregonians, and legal." The Oregon AFL-CIO is unsure of why members of AOI and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce think that being punished for asking not to attend a lecture on political and religious views is a reasonable condition of employment in Oregon. The full text of S.B. 519 is available here-  http://www.leg.state.or.us/09reg/measpdf/sb0500.dir/sb0519.en.pdf from Oregon AFL-CIO> Homepage:: http://