L ABOR
What’s
Happening
Letter Carriers
Food Drive set for
Saturday, May 13
The National Association of Let-
ter Carriers Food Drive will take
place Saturday, May 13. It is the
largest single-day collection of food
in the nation.
It’s simple to participate. During
the second week of May, watch your
mailbox for a card announcing the
Food Drive and a plastic bag do-
nated by Fred Meyer and numerous
local unions.
Simply fill the bag with nonper-
ishable food items such as tuna fish,
peanut butter, soups, stews, chili,
canned fruits, vegetables, beans, rice
and pasta. Do not include glass
items, homemade items or previ-
ously opened containers.
Place the filled bag by your mail-
box in the morning on Saturday,
May 13.
Letter carriers will collect the
food donations along their routes
and take them to their local station.
Trucks will pick up the food and de-
liver it to the Oregon Food Bank.
Last year, postal customers in
Oregon and Clark County, Wash.,
donated more than 1.3 million
pounds of food.
For more information, call Briana
Winterborn at 503-282-0555, exten-
sion 244, or bwinterborn@oregon-
foodbank.org.
AND
P OLITICAL
NEWS FR OM AR OUND THE
Tickets for the buffet dinner are
$10 each. Raffle tickets also will be
sold, with all proceeds going to the
Emergency Fund of Labor’s Com-
munity Service Agency.
A highlight of the event is the
recognition of outstanding men and
women in the labor community.
Award nominees can be an individ-
ual union member, shop steward,
staff member or someone from the
community who has worked cooper-
atively with labor.
Nomination forms are available at
the labor council or by calling 503-
235-9444. The deadline to submit
nominations is Monday, May 22.
Motorcycle event
slated June 10 to
benefit hospital
Tickets are on sale to win a 2006
Harley-Davidson low-rider FXDLI,
part of a fundraiser for the fourth an-
nual “Unions For Kids” motorcycle
poker run and chili cookoff.
Only 3,000 tickets will be sold at a
cost of $10 each. The winner will be
drawn on the day of the poker run Sat-
urday, June 10, at the IBEW Local 48
hall, 15937 NE Airport Way, Portland.
Since its inception in 2003, the
poker run has raised $16,000 for Do-
ernbecher Children’s Hospital. This
year the group hopes to raise more
than $20,000.
Motorcycle raffle tickets are on sale
at union halls, credit unions and area
businesses. The motorcycle is on dis-
play at the Teamsters Credit Union in
Northeast Portland.
For more information, call Lee
Duncan at 503-260-5905 or go to their
Web site at unionsforkids.org .
Painters get bonus checks for safety, job training
Members of Painters and Drywall Finishers Locals 10 (Portland), 78 (Longview), 360 (Vancouver), 724 (Salem) and
1277 (Eugene) hold up bonus checks they received April 20 as part of a reward program for taking safety training and
skill advancement classes and certification tests. A new provision in the union’s contract with the Signatory Painting
Contractors Organization offers journey-level painters who complete six classes and/or certifications, plus an
additional 24 hours of skill advancement training over a one-year period an opportunity to receive a bonus of as much
as $400. The program is funded by employer contributions of 20 cents an hour into a special fund. Classes include first
aid, CPR, fall protection, OSHA 10 and others. Classes are held in the evenings and on weekends at the union’s
training center in Northeast Portland. “It’s a good program that offers workers skills and training they will use for a
lifetime,” said Business Representative Tim Carrier. Approximately $12,000 was handed out to the union workers.
The keynote speaker on Saturday,
June 3, will be Elaine Bernard, exec-
utive director of the Labor and Work-
life Program at the Harvard Law
School. That evening at 7 p.m. will
be a banquet and awards ceremony.
On Friday, June 2, conferees will
tour Wobbly-related sites in Cen-
tralia, where 90 years ago Wesley
Everest was murdered after Wobblies
shot and killed Legionnaires who at-
tacked the union hall.
Registration before May 15 is
$50. After that the fee goes to $65.
Cost for the banquet is $30.
For more information, call Ross
Rieder at 253-875-9498.
Labor Appreciation NW labor history
Night June 3 at
group to convene
Westmoreland
in Olympia June 2-4 Fire Fighters rally
The ninth annual Labor Apprecia-
OLYMPIA, Wash. — “Labor
tion and Recognition Night spon-
around Pendleton
Struggles
on the Edge: Ports, Bor-
sored by the Northwest Oregon La-
ders and Workers in the Pacific
local facing cuts
bor Council will be held Saturday,
Northwest” is the theme of the 38th
June 3, at 6 p.m. at Westmoreland
Union Manor, 6404 SE 23rd Ave.,
Portland. This year’s theme is “The
1950s.”
annual Pacific Northwest Labor His-
tory Conference June 2-4 at Ever-
green State College here.
Zachary
Zabinsky
• Social Security
• SSI - Disability Claims
Personal Attention To Every Case
Working For Disability Rights
Since 1983
PENDLETON — Union firefight-
ers from around the state traveled to
Pendleton April 18 to support fellow
K
firefighters. A 19-member unit at
Pendleton Fire and Ambulance has
had trouble getting an acceptable
union contract for over a year.
More than 50 fire fighters from
Salem, Hillsboro, Tualatin Valley, and
Gresham and Portland rode a charter
bus from Portland, while other fire
fighters drove from Hood River, Kla-
math Falls, Albany, Hermiston, and
Roseburg. Wearing the shirts of their
union, International Association of
Fire Fighters (IAFF), workers rallied
at city hall, outside the convention
center where an arbitration was un-
derway, and in front of a fire station
where the city has proposed to reduce
hours of operation.
John R Wooten — president of
IAFF Local 2296 in Pendleton —
says the city manager is proposing
that the fire department absorb an un-
reasonable share of an estimated
$800,000 budget shortfall, while leav-
ing a $2.5 million reserve untouched.
Firefighter salaries range from
$53,000 to $70,000, not counting
overtime. Under the city’s proposal,
firefighter compensation would be cut
slightly by changing the definition of
full time. Firefighters would be given
a less generous health plan. And one
of Pendleton’s two city-staffed fire
stations would operate less than 24
hours a day. The city is also asking for
various changes to contract language
— which Wooten says would weaken
the union’s ability to protect workers.
The unit’s previous union contract
expired June 30, 2005 without a new
agreement in place. Because firefight-
ers are not allowed to strike under
Oregon’s Public Employee Collective
Bargaining Act, when the two sides
determine they can’t reach agreement,
the contract is decided by a binding
arbitrator.
In this case, the arbitrator will hear
final arguments from the two sides
May 19, and is expected to make a de-
cision at the beginning of June.
ramers/metro
mailing service
3201 N.W. YEON
PORTLAND, OREGON 97210
(503) 274-1638 FAX (503) 227-1245
THE ONLY UNION MAILER
NO FEE WITHOUT RECOVERY
IN OREGON
621 SW Morrison, Portland
Visit our Web site at www.kramersmailing.com
223-8517
PAGE 4
P A C I F I C N O R T H W E S T
MEMBERS OF TEAMSTERS LOCAL 223
— Eric Brending, Owner —
NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS
MAY 5, 2006