Union drive at Lottery in limbo
SALEM — A group workers at the
Oregon Lottery Commission has been
campaigning to unionize with Service
Employees International Union (SEIU)
Local 503 — the biggest of the unions
representing employees of the State of
Oregon. The Lottery is one of the few
large state agencies that is still nonunion,
and some workers are unhappy with
what they see as arbitrary work rules and
pay policies. Unlike other state employ-
ees, workers at the Lottery have no fixed
pay steps or cost-of-living increases.
In mid-November, SEIU turned in a
stack of signed union authorization cards
to show the union has majority support,
and the Oregon Employment Relations
Board, which handles union elections
among state employees, certified that
156 of 303 eligible workers had signed
the cards. Currently, state government
rules provide for this “card-check”
method of union certification as an alter-
native to the traditional union election.
The 156 cards represented 51.5 per-
cent — a majority — but Lottery man-
agement is holding off on recognizing
the union because 17 workers who
signed the cards later changed their
minds and asked for the cards back. The
Carpenters set toy drive record
Grand totals have been calculated,
and the Pacific Northwest Regional
Council of Carpenters set new records
for contributions to the Portland Fire
Bureau’s “Toy and Joy Makers” holi-
day program.
Last year, Carpenter unions, mem-
bers, contractors and associations col-
lected $4,200 in cash and 993 gifts to
be distributed in the metro area. An ad-
ditional 404 gifts were distributed in
outlying areas.
During the last seven years, the Car-
penters have raised more than $20,000
and collected nearly 10,000 toys, said
Bruce Dennis, president of the Regional
Council and coordinator of the toy
drive.
“This would not be possible without
our union contractors, associations and
various community organizations as
partners,” Dennis said.
Participants in the toy drive each re-
ceives a hardwood plaque of recogni-
tion specially made by students at the
Timberlake Job Corps Center.
K ramers/metro
state has no rules for what to do in such a
situation, so the campaign entered a state
of limbo.
Last month, 133 workers signed an
informal petition calling for a union elec-
tion to be held in order to settle the mat-
ter. The petition was signed by both pro-
and anti- union workers, with both sides
expecting to win.
At press time, pro-union workers
planned to meet to discuss their options.
Zachary
Zabinsky
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FEBRUARY 3, 2006
NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS
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