Due to April 15 falling on a Sunday this year, April 17 was designated Tax Day by the IRS — the dreaded deadline day to file your taxes. Oregon AFSCME, along with several other unions and economically progressive groups, joined in staged events in several Oregon cities to promote April 17 instead as "Tax Fairness Day."

 

Some type of event was staged in Portland, Salem, Eugene and Bend for sure; smaller events in other cities were also planned. In Portland, for example, people gathered at Terry Schrunk Plaza downtown, listened to speakers and participated in games of "Tax Dodgeball," rigged games where the 1 percent had a decided advantage over those representing the 99 percent. In Salem, protesters focused efforts near the Salem Main Post Office, chatting up drivers dropping off their last minute tax returns and offering literature on corporate tax-dodgers.

 

The Postal Workers Union had a particularly strong presence in Salem as well, as the main P.O. is one of several scheduled for partial closure, with mail sorting and distribution slated to head north to Seattle.

 

"These are good events for us to participate in," said Oregon AFSCME Field Services Director Greg Schneider. "It helps send a message to the public, and it promotes union and like-minded organization solidarity. I hope to see us do more of these kinds of events in the future."

 

You can click here to see more photos from the Portland and Salem events. Once there, make sure you are in the "Details View" (the link should take you there). It's then easiest to click on the first picture on the upper right and, once that picture opens, use the arrow buttons to navigate through the rest of the photo gallery.