In this article, you will find NOLC labor leader Laurie Wimmer:
- conspiring to undermine the city charter with a Stoel Rives lawyer,
- lobbying to keep progressive councilors out of city leadership,
- failing to report her lobbying after Q1 2025,
- calling DSA the “MAGA of the left”,
[more 👇]
New records reveal a top labor executive quietly pushed a Portland councilor to sue the city and let the mayor pick the next council president—raising fresh questions about power and transparency at City Hall.
In light of the Mercury article I guess I’ll just name this was Laurie Wimmer.
Standing up for Palestine early on had consequences, and I don’t regret it. I have to face myself in the mirror each day, despite politics and consequences.
I believe if we do that, the people will rally behind us.
We’ve been saying…
portlanddsa.org/the-thorn/
- rescinding a party invitation (with an unhinged voicemail) from Councilor Koyama Lane for taking a public position against the police union joining NOLC,
- accusing progressive councilors of race baiting for identifying structural racism, &
- SO MUCH MORE!
In this article, you will find NOLC labor leader Laurie Wimmer:
- conspiring to undermine the city charter with a Stoel Rives lawyer,
- lobbying to keep progressive councilors out of city leadership,
- failing to report her lobbying after Q1 2025,
- calling DSA the “MAGA of the left”,
[more 👇]
It's official- Portland DSA has more than 3000 members! We're going from strength to strength, with democracy and solidarity as our watchwords. If you want to be part of the largest socialist organization in the US, the time is now-> dsausa.org/join
@demsocialists.bsky.social is at 100,000 members!
@portlanddsa.bsky.social is at 3000 members!
And now Salem DSA is at 200 members!
Hell yeah!
Come join DSA in your local area if you want to make a difference!
dsausa.org/join
We’re at the Federation of Faculty and Academic Professionals and the Federation of Classified Employees strike rally today!
Hey Portland Community College, stop disrespecting your workers and undermining public education!
City and state leaders fall all over themselves to please the agents of the ruling class and their patrons — even though they are a tiny minority of the population — because money is power in our system.
Media tries to convince us that these lobbyists are legitimate and authoritative voices.
These people work to break unions, dismantle public services, and erode environmental protections.
They steer public money toward private actors who are already connected and powerful.
They try to destroy preschool for all. They want to raid the Portland Clean Energy Fund.
Institutions of the ruling class — like chambers of commerce — cynically use the language of “small business” to try to cover who they really work for: the richest people and most powerful corporations.
The PMC works for Google, Amazon, the big banks, Zenith Energy, and local downtown developers.
Incredibly, the local ruling class has managed to get you to pay the salaries of their operatives at the Portland Metro Chamber.
If we are going to have an economy that works for all of us, we need to understand who these people are and sever their control over the levers of government.
At the national / international level, we are seeing the ruling class unmasked. We are seeing more clearly who these people are and how they hold and exercise power.
Portland has its own ruling class.
They create institutions like the Portland Metro Chamber to do their will at the city & state.
Wait, so you’re telling me that a bunch of high-paid corporate lobbyists subsidized by public $ were misleading the public about tax flight to try to cut taxes for the rich?
Nah, couldn’t be!
Wait, so you’re telling me that a bunch of high-paid corporate lobbyists subsidized by public $ were misleading the public about tax flight to try to cut taxes for the rich?
Nah, couldn’t be!
!["Portland Metro Chamber President and CEO Andrew Hoan is another vocal skeptic of the PFA tax. Last year, he told Willamette Week that there were "years of clear and irrefutable data [indicating the tax] is having an impact on our highly mobile middle class and higher-income earners who are choosing to leave."
Hoan maintains his concerns, despite the new county data. In a March 5 comment, Hoan told the Mercury that "it is no accident that Multnomah County is deep in economic recession while surrounding counties like Clark County are seeing economic success it is our policy choices." He pointed to Preschool for All, as well as Metro's Supportive Housing Services marginal income tax, as examples of the policy choices he believes have caused wealthy people to leave the Portland metro area. The Metro Chamber uses IRS data, which isn't as up-to-date as county tax return statistics, to support their conclusions."](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:gsejldqrfqdgjfyce5fc46gv/bafkreibq4m2milhmkdiyzs2zhsvy2tbxrt6ixn3jnb5haqblyx4dvhqqoy)
"Portland Metro Chamber President and CEO Andrew Hoan is another vocal skeptic of the PFA tax. Last year, he told Willamette Week that there were "years of clear and irrefutable data [indicating the tax] is having an impact on our highly mobile middle class and higher-income earners who are choosing to leave." Hoan maintains his concerns, despite the new county data. In a March 5 comment, Hoan told the Mercury that "it is no accident that Multnomah County is deep in economic recession while surrounding counties like Clark County are seeing economic success it is our policy choices." He pointed to Preschool for All, as well as Metro's Supportive Housing Services marginal income tax, as examples of the policy choices he believes have caused wealthy people to leave the Portland metro area. The Metro Chamber uses IRS data, which isn't as up-to-date as county tax return statistics, to support their conclusions."
I personally am more concerned about my public dollars helping pay 45% of Andrew Hoan's $333,000 salary through Clean & Safe. PERSONALLY.
(from: www.portlandmercury.com/news/2026/03...)
DID YOU KNOW that the City of Portland extracts $10 million a year from downtown property owners in order to partially subsidize the city’s most active lobbying org?
Join DSA.
Members of Oregon’s largest teachers union will not endorse any of the current candidates for governor, including incumbent Democratic Gov. Tina Kotek.
I think it's worth noting that Rep. Nosse, who represents arguably the most bike- and ped-friendly district, was the one to motion to adopt the amendment that will defund Safe Routes to School, off-road trails, and rail.
-$17 million in cuts to the Safe Routes to School program, which builds out sidewalks and bike lanes near schools, -$42 million in cuts to Connect Oregon, which funds Amtrak Cascades among other transportation services, -$35 million in cuts to miscellaneous safety projects, like bridge preservation and seismic resilience -$8 million in cuts to the Community Paths program, which builds our multi-use paths
folks, SB 1601 is bad news. from the @portlanddsa.bsky.social ecosocialist working group newsletter, it would result in the following cuts:
In his newsletter this weekend, Councilor Eric Zimmerman (incorrectly) says that the Portland Clean Energy Fund is available to give handouts for Moda Center renovations.
This is a naked attempt by the Portland Business Alliance and its city allies like Zimmerman and Donnie Oliveira to raid PCEF.
No war on Iran graphic
They're not even trying to convince us. Image for free download on the Justseeds hi-res graphics page justseeds.org/graphic/no-w...
In a leaked video, Portland City Administrator Raymond Lee says city officials are committed to the ICE facility staying open.
Activists have pushed to close the facility for months, but multiple extensions have been given to the building’s owner to challenge the land use violation.
Read more:
The Soviet Union disbanded over 30 years ago and was immediately plundered by Russian oligarchs and Western capitalists.
It’s a fascistic hellscape now run by a dictator who invaded its neighbor.
Please learn something.
“The more you can slow down this machine, the more you can disrupt deportations. And people are literally dying when they get deported. So, it's not hyperbole to say that people's lives are at stake here.”
- @jwjpdx.bsky.social
In a sworn statement in federal court:
“Portland police Cmdr. Craig Dobson said the tear gas use was “excessive and disproportionate to the threat posed” on Jan. 31 during a labor-organized march that drew thousands to the city streets and ended outside the ICE building south of downtown.”
Over 50 unions and labor organizations have called on Wilson and District Attorney Vasquez to enforce the law against ICE and their landlord.
Wilson’s suggestion that children, the elderly, & union members caused ICE to tear gas us is beyond the pale.
PPB swore in court ICE used excessive force.
