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A GALA AFFAIR
Our spring
luncheon May 16 was an outstanding success! Well over eighty people attended.
Some were there from Local 23, Tacoma and others from as far away as Longview.
There was not an empty table at the place. There was an overall spirit of
celebration of the new contract.
The program of
several speakers was welcomed. The food was better than in the past - a real
variety of dishes, salad, dessert and coffee - more than meting our
expectations.
We have to give
real credit to BOB MACKNER who chaired the organizing. We think even he was
surprised at how well things went.
PAUL McCABE,
Vice President, Local 19 pensioners opened the meeting and turned the chair over
to JOHN JOHNSON, Vice President of PCPA, also from Local 19 Pensioners, who
introduced the speakers.
The invocation
was given by TONY HAYCOCK from the Catholic Seamen's Club who not only gave us a
prayer, but ended with a song sung in his native tongue.
RICK BENDER,
state AFL-CIO President, spoke on the industrial recession in our state and
urged everyone to be sure to vote Bush out in 2004.
JOE WENZEL,
Coast Committeeman and Local 19 member spoke on the great victory for labor
represented m our new contract, and warned that we face a real struggle to
defend our gains in the next six years. Professor CHUCK BERGQUIST from the Harry
Bridges Center for labor Studies at the
University of Washington, spoke one how multinational corporations
are whipsawing labor. We have to recognize we are now in a full fledged class
struggle and mobilize our forces by organizing more workers as our best defense.
This will require political action by labor as it has never been done before.
It was noted by
all that HECTOR GOULET, our only '34 strike survivor was present and was as
victorious as ever at the age 94.
A raffle ended
things with many fine birdhouses handed out to winners.
In a short
discussion after lunch, KRISTINA ANDERSON, office head at the Bridges Labor
Center, agreed with our suggestion that the center and our Club could work
together in organizing future Pension luncheons.
All in all everyone left
the luncheon feeling well satisfied and ready to take on the struggles ahead.
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