This opinion piece is by Tom Chamberlain, president of the Oregon AFL-CIO, regarding the development of West Hayden Island, directly across from Portland’s container terminal 6.
Tom Chamberlain, Oregon AFL-CIO president, says Portand must respect West Hayden Island's designation as industrial land and support port use as well as preservation.
Sustainability is two-pronged: it must address both our pristine natural areas, and support a middle class. … The 1,200 good jobs that could be generated on this land will not be generated elsewhere in our region.
The Oregon AFL-CIO puts a tremendous amount of effort into sustainability and “green jobs.” We believe that jobs and a serious ecological ethic can coexist, and in fact can be mutually supporting. But if we are to have “green jobs” and (presumably) green products, and if we are committed to keeping those good, green, jobs in Oregon, we will need to export our green products. In a state that needs more exports and trade activity, where we have a shrinking middle class with steadily falling wages, it is bewildering that facilitating port development and job creation could be considered optional.