No On R’s Campaign Finance Report (Form 460)
Pacific Seafood headquartered out of Clackamas OR and, oddly, Crystal Greene, from Beaverton OR. really don’t want Job Creators to pay Eurekans living wages. Pacific Seafood paid $3000 to support Eureka’s secretive organization built to stop R from passing. Besides P.S., Charlie Bean, Matthew in the Middle, Chet Atkins, Mike Newman, the Chamber of Commerce’s Don Smullin, the money behind the campaign is doing what it can to stay anonymous.
No on R’s Treasurer found a way to pool $10,109 of donations under the catch-all <$100. This means that $10K comes in as anonymous.
Pacific Seafood isn’t the only thing on that page that smells fishy. (hey-oh?)
This seems very, very curious to me. I’m not sure if the FPPC is willing to look into something like this, but if you are interested in reporting this here is their web page.
The total unitemized donations comes to $10,109, or 100 Job Creators paying $99 to support No ON R and one paying $11. Having spent a year now looking and working on 460’s, this is really an exceptional report, or the result of an exceptional fundraising tactic.
BTW, Pac Sea, do you know what else that $3K could have been spent on? Worker’s salaries. That amounts to 1000 hrs right there. Thats one week of the extra cash needed to help bring 25 of your workers closer to a living wage. With that kind of discretionary income spent opposing a little measure for a little town in Northern California, I’m wagering paying for the other 51 weeks will not be an impossible task.
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The good news – votes trump money. This is going to be an exceptionally low turnout election. Your vote and that of your friends, family and acquaintances will have more influence than usual. The best place to take on financial report wizardly as demonstrated by No on R’s august Mr. Fullerton is at the ballot box – or – at your own mail box as vote-by-mail ballots go out this week I believe.
Additionally the Fair Wage Folks could use donations as it appears we are about to be inundated by No On R ads. Here is their web site, and don’t be as shy as those Job Creators. A little transparency will not burn – at least as long as you are doing the right thing. Which the YES! On R folks are.
(Note: You can click here or on the sub-title above to see No On R’s 460. A special thank you note to Eureka City’s City Clerk Pam Powell and her staff who have simplified access to public campaign finance records even for those of us making a go at the intertubes.)
(d)emocratic Humboldt 
Excellent reporting.
thank you lime green – seems to have fallen on deaf ears. We’ll see.
Since Pacific Choice recently announce they would likely move the operation to Oregon and lay off 200 people if Measure R passed, it seems like they made a wise investment here. One more shot for people to keep their jobs. Who in the heck came up with this thing? Besides someone who works for a business with 26 employees, inside the city limits with no union contract. What’s fair about Winco, which is employee owned, getting punished for being in the city while Safeway gets a competitive edge because they are across Harrison. Yes, they both start entry level workers below $12 per hour. I can’t believe you would endorse such an unfair selective Measure. I work at a small cafe. Do I not deserve a “living wage”? I have to go work at McDonalds, because they have over 25 employees? Really? I’ve officially lost faith in the Democratic Party after they cam up with this one. I won’t be a Republican, but I sure won’t be a Democrat anymore. And Natalie and Kim lost my vote. I just heard they were endorsing this thing.
Dismayed. A quick Google fact check brings up this post from John C.
http://johnchiv.blogspot.com/2014/10/pacific-seafood-and-other-businesses.html
So your facts are a little alarmist, and a little opposite of the truth. Pacific Choice isn’t going anywhere, they are not going to lay off 200 people, they make too much money doing what they do to do that. If they were smart, they would maybe decrease the salaries of their office folk and managers a little as spread the success a little more evenly to both those investing and managing and those providing the labor.
Dismayed. how do you feel about our country’s wealth disparity? Are you going to make me bring out that link again, because if you haven’t seen it you should. OK, dammit I will.
You bring up “unfair” I’m hearing that a bunch from the No On R’ ers. Can you please tell me what is fair about this*. If increased minimum wages, progressive tax rates, estate taxes are not the solution to this dangerous inequality, can you please provide your solution?
A $12 minimum wage in Eureka will not solve this, but it’s implementation will be a step in the right direction.
*
Jon, You seem to have completely dodged the question. What is “fair” about the employee owned Winco being put at a competitive disadvantage to corporate owned Safeway, just because Safeway is across Harris. What is fair about people working in small restaurants being excluded? And what’s up with the union exception? Seems like you have an agenda, and you are hiding behind the word “Fair”, when you’ve put together a Measure that is “unfair” to me. As for the office workers at Pacific Choice, I don’t think taking money form them is fair either. You have a warped view of “fair”
Dismayed – if it’s unfair – we can change that in 2016 with a county wide measure. What say you? Let’s start with Eureka, you do realize that a county wide measure would be a non-starter right now right? With advocates like you and the many other R opponents who are crying about this being unfair to Eureka measures as their main point of disagreement, we will be sure to set things right in 2016 as all of us vote to change the wage county wide.
I’ve answered your question, can you answer the 100 trillion dollar question? What is your solution to wealth inequality if it isn’t done by legislative actions such as living wage minimums, progressive tax rates, estate taxes, etc?
BTW, the office workers at PC would also get the raise if they are making less than $12/hour.
As I just posted in response to you on the TE Jon, Yes. I make a living wage. I make $10.15 per hour. But that’s not the point. My employer has 23 employees. I won’t make any more unless I go work for Walmart. And I’m suppose to hope this will pass for more businesses next year when there are even fewer people who care??? The TE and Liberal Jon are off the rails on this one. I’ll be voting “No”. Why would you guys write a Measure that punishes certain employees in favor of others?? I have to pay more things, so Big Box employees can get a raise. No thanks. I guess as long as you get yours, all is good, yeah?
I agree Jon, after we defeat the disaster called Measure R I would be glad to work with a group of people to devise a new measure for the 2016 ballot that would raise the minimum wage in a responsible manner. A way that would not cause the dramatic loss of local jobs and would apply to the whole county.
Nobody is hiding anything Liberal Jon. Over 110 people have now donated and four to five more checks are coming in every day. They can donate any amount they wish. They include liberals & conservatives, Republicans, Democrats & Decline to States. The only thing we have in common is our love for Eureka and our understanding of the economic damage that Measure R will do. Yesterday HCAR said they may not be able to survive if Measure R passes.
There is a right way to raise the minimum wage and a wrong way. Measure R was written by people who have never owned a business, met a payroll or even understand the local economy.
I favor raising the minimum wage but Measure R is a job killer.
“They include liberals & conservatives, Republicans, Democrats & Decline to States. ”
Kind of hard to prove that when the donations are all under the radar.
The Pro-R folks are pretty up front about who they are. Funny how the Anti-R’s don’t seem to be proud of their stand.
Kim and Natalie lost my vote over this issue. I heard they were behind it. What’s fair about this? Walmart employees get a raise while the rest of us get stiffed paying higher prices?
Dismayed – you seem to be throwing pasta against the wall to see what sticks.
No Pacific Seafoods did not threaten to leave. No Natalie and Kim are not behind this.
And that false information seems to lead you to faulty conclusions. It’s not about “us getting ours” narrow. It’s about us getting what is rightfully ours broadly. All of us. Not just John F’s clients. (BTW there is not a market to make a living helping minimum wage earners balance a budget – so John F. can be excused as myopic on this.)
Look at that graph Dismayed. In the actual distribution of wealth, can you even see the light blue and dark blue groups? That’s 40% of our country. That probably includes both you and I. 40% of our country owns less that 5% (and probably much less) of the wealth and this number is getting worse, not better.
What do we do as a society about this? I’m glad John F is suddenly a minimum wage advocate, but it sounds a little bit like the Board of Supervisor’s efforts at campaign finance reform. The BOS efforts and all but surely John F’s efforts would be to pass just enough reform to make real reform impossible.
John F. We don’t agree on the premise of course. I guess that is one of your debating tactics. Let’s work on getting the county measure that so many of your contributors seem to make their highest concern on the 5th of November. That will give us plenty of time to ensure the entire county (including Safeway) will have a $12 minimum wage.
John, let’s be honest for a moment. Your interests, your focus, your knowledge base is focused on the income of your clients. What percentage of your clients are making more than enough to be comfortably over minimum wage? What about the portion of the population that cannot afford to make it through your doors?
Finally, D and J, I understand you are against R. Please address the income inequality graph. John, I’m sure you understand those with wealth are in prime position to make more – money makes money in our society. This leaves us with an untenable wealth distribution that is only getting worse.
If we as a society don’t at the very least work to protect those willing to put in 40 hrs of labor each week, what then would your recommend as solutions to our growing income inequality?
With your $10.15 hourly check D, you make $21,115 a year, assuming you work every day every week (maybe you are lucky enough to work for an employer who gives you a low end vacation and holiday schedule) Say rent is $800 a month and food $500 a month – that’s 15,600 a year. Leaving you about $6K for taxes and everything else. Good luck with that.
At $12 the yearly income is $24,960. Still not much better, but it adds some breathing room. It’s a step in the right direction.
D, what John F and other folks not brave enough to stand behind R are selling is the real conservative vision. It’s not really one about pulling yourself up by your bootstraps. They don’t really care if the state has to pay for their businesses externalities such as health coverage, food supplements, etc – even when their employees put in a full week’s work.
What they care about is maintaining their comfortable or better profit margin. This is fine and right. That other 40, 60, 80 % and growing also get a chance to say we too should be able to maintain at the very least a comfortable life. There are fundamental changes we as a society have to make. This is a good first step for our local population as a whole.
Your specialty is dodging question Jon but trying answering for once.
Let us take a local restaurant as an example, one that isn’t my client. A Mexican restaurant I go to must have at least 30 employees. A raise to $12 per hour compared to $8 per hour only a few months ago is going to cost the owner almost $10,000 per full time minimum wage employee when you factor in employer payroll taxes & worker’s comp insurance.
Do you seriously believe that restaurant owner can simply absorbed $300,000 per year in additional expense? Can you expect us to take you seriously if you deny she must raise her prices drastically or lay off workers ?
I’m the one whose specialty is dodging questions? What about local conservatives?*
I guess liberals should take these charges as complements. We are held to a higher standard than you hold yourselves.
Thank you John, I appreciate that. And I hope us liberals will continue to meet this high standard.
Do you seriously believe that restaurant owner can simply absorbed $300,000 per year in additional expense?
How do we know these are the numbers? We are to take your word for it? For one, in one of the few verifiable numbers you use, the $8 min wage, you conveniently use the one from June, not the current $9 minimum wage. What other numbers are similarly messaged?
John, have you once mentioned the provision in the Measure that allows for workers and owners to negotiate lower the minimum wage if needed? If that’s truly a problem for that wonderful and successful owner (sincerely), then why not share this with workers and come to an agreement. Believe or not, workers don’t want to loss jobs either if the numbers truly don’t work. As an example ASFCME workers have not had major raises during this downturn in government revenues.
But what unions and this measures does is give the workers in those employers who have over 25 employees a small leg up. It is a small step in changing the dialog, for a change, from what about the owners to what about the workers.
John, who is doing the budgets you just did with that business owner? Who is saying it is OK to pay a single mother doing everything she can for herself and her child $9 for 24 hrs of work?
Have you done a budget for the minimum wage? Can you prove that even when working 40 hrs a minimum wage worker would not be eligible for public assistance?
R should by all rights be a conservative measure. This is the type of measure Republicans, who tout individual responsibility should be first in line to support.
Of course, this is when we discover that all this boot-strap talk is just that – talk. The only bottom line that matters is the business-owner (sorry, Job Creators) bottom line.
* http://lostcoastoutpost.com/elections/
Jon, I admire the way you are able to dodge every question again without any feeling of shame.
Thanks for publicly admitting one of Measure R’s goals is to unionize private sector businesses. That explains why 90% of the monies contributed to the Measure R campaign comes directly from unions including almost $2,000 from unions with Sacramento addresses.
The other shameless goal of Measure R was to get liberals elected to the Eureka City Council. That is why Occupy Eureka wrote their measure without any attempt to get input from business people so they could write a responsible measure. Instead of the radical measure R, the job killer.
That’s a lie Jon. Natalie told some of our employees directly she was behind this measure. As for the inequality graph, no, I have no interest in voting in a raise for people who work at Walmart. I don’t want to work there to make $12 If Natalie cared about working people she wouldn’t be behind the unfairness. If this passes, it will be damn near impossible to pass it countywide because that many more people will be above the 12. You guys are stiffing us. That’s what I think of your chart.