Scrooge of the Year Holiday Party!

Dec 11, 2010 07:00 PM

The Peace House

Who Wants to Party??

Join us at

Jobs with Justice Scrooge of the Year Holiday Party

Click here to get tickets and directions

 “Scrooge of the Year” is a Jobs with Justice dis-honor, given to the individual or corporation that has done the most harm to working families in our community this year. The winner is decided by the number of votes that are purchased.  That’s right—the votes are for sale—we like to call it “corporate-style democracy”. But don't worry; the election will be completely free and fair—for those that pay!

We then present the winner with their award sometime soon after the party.

There are some great contenders for this coveted award, deciding will surely be difficult. This year’s nominees are: Alan Simpson, Co-Chair of the Deficit Commission; Ken Wegner, Georgia Pacific; Janet Napolitano, Dept. of Homeland Security; Elimane Mbengue and the Portland French School Board of Directors; and Securitas. So many choices—and you can write in others. This award is so important that the police usually show up at the surprise presentation ceremony!

Figure out who you want to support, then come on down and buy some votes. 

This is certainly a time to celebrate, but we still have lots of work to do. So let's party, elect the Scrooge of the Year, and raise money for Jobs with Justice!

2010 Scrooge of the Year Nominees

Alan Simpson, Co-Chair of the Deficit Commission

This former Senator, 33^rd degree Freemason, and hater of Social Security happens to co-chair Obama’s Deficit Commission. Not surprisingly, his recommendations for fixing the deficit include raising the retirement age to 69. Making people work longer seems like a dumb way to address the unemployment problem. Bah, Humbug!

 Ken Wegner, Georgia Pacific
As workers are bargaining on a new contract at Georgia Pacific, the employer is proposing huge increases in their health care costs, and sitting idly by as workers' retirement goes down the drain. Their proposals are so bad that Ken is too ashamed to show his face at any bargaining sessions. Such greedy behavior during the holiday season makes Ken Wegner an ideal Scrooge of the Year!

 Janet Napolitano, Head of DHS

Former governor of the “hate state”, Arizona, Janet now heads the Department of Homeland Security. While the latest news from her work focuses on the TSA’s “enthusiastic” scanning and frisking, Janet has been nominated because of her work with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) which has deported record numbers of immigrants since she took over, and is coercing local law enforcement to hand over innocent people through the Secure Communities program. Scrooge-a-rific!

Elimane Mbengue and the Portland French School Board of Directors

Last spring teachers and staff at the Portland French School began their efforts to organize a union so they could better advocate for the needs of their students and to bargain for dignity and respect at work.  They received a rude awakening when the school management reacted to their request for voluntary recognition of their union with an aggressive anti-union campaign. They fired union supporters, told employees that the school would close if a union was formed, made promises to employees in order to get them to drop their support for the union and more. Seven months after the union election, PFS continues its illegal and contemptible campaign by publicly maligning union activists despite being enjoined by a Federal District Court to stop its union busting campaign.

 Securitas

Securitas Security Officers in Portland and SW Washington are organizing to raise standards in the security industry.  Wages are low and training is inadequate.  The good news is that Securitas is a wonderful global citizen, as demonstrated by their Global Agreement  with UNI, a worldwide union federation to respect workers' right to organize.  But something has gone wrong in the U.S. Securitas workers in Portland, Denver, Cincinnati, and Indianapolis are being denied that right. They won't even dialogue with workers, and called the cops in Indianapolis and refuse to even acknowledge that the Global Agreement exists.