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About Northwest labor press. (Portland , Ore.) 1987-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 15, 2006)
Farm Workers Union wins recognition at Threemile PROTECTING UNION MEMBERS’ SMILES AND WALLETS. Orthodontics Available Quality, Affordable Family Dental Care • General, cosmetic, and specialty care • Most insurance and union plans accepted • Easy credit and low monthly payments, O.A.C. • Evening and Saturday appointments • Ask about our Dental Discount Program Portland 3580 SE 82nd Ave. Portland, OR 97266 503-777-0761 Grants Pass 1021 NE 6th St. Grants Pass, OR 97526 541-479-6696 “I CAN GO TO ONE PLACE TO FIX IT ALL?” Northwest Dental Associates, P.C. Northwest Dental Associates, P.C. Gresham 443 NW Burnside Road Gresham, OR 97030 503-492-8487 Salem 831 Lancaster Mall Dr. NE Salem, OR 97301 503-362-8359 Northwest Dental Associates, P.C. Northwest Dental Associates, P.C. Wilsonville 25700 SW Argyle Ave. Wilsonville, OR 97070 503-682-8552 Salmon Creek 2101 NE 129th St. Vancouver, WA 98686 360-574-4574 Northwest Dental Associates, P.C. Klamath Falls 4052 S. 6th St. Klamath Falls, OR 97603 541-883-7706 Northwest Dental Associates, P.C. Milwaukie 17186 SE McLoughlin Blvd. Milwaukie, OR 97267 503-659-2525 Northwest Dental Associates, P.C. Chau Ngo, D.D.S., M.S. Phong Bui, D.M.D. Charles Stirewalt, D.D.S. Stirewalt, P.C. Fisher’s Landing 3250 SE 164th Ave. Vancouver, WA 98683 360-891-1999 Peter Vu, D.M.D. Chau Ngo, D.D.S. Charles Stirewalt, D.D.S. Stirewalt, P.C. 1-888-BRIGHT NOW www.brightnow.com Serving unions for over 25 years THE UNION PLUS ® MORTGAGE PROGRAM Provided Exclusively by Chase Home Finance When it comes to mortgages, we’re taking a stand for Union members. Chase is backing union members with the Union Plus® Mortgage Program — a home purchase and refinancing program exclusively for union members, their parents and children. • FREE Mortgage Assistance Benefit If you are unemployed or disabled. • A wide variety of mortgages Choose from fixed-rate, adjustable-rate, and low- or no-closing costs options. • Special Lending First-time homebuyer and less-than-perfect credit programs. • Savings on closing costs Member-only savings on new purchases and refinance. It all adds up to more home-buying power. Contact your local Union Plus® Mortgage Specialist Q AFL-CIO President Tom Chamber- lain. UFW is part of the Change to Win labor federation, but maintains affiliation through “Solidarity Char- ters” with the Oregon AFL-CIO and Washington State Labor Council. Oregon Governor Ted Kulongoski also praised the agreement in a Dec. 1 press release, calling it a model for fu- ture legislation. Employer neutrality, recognition through “card check” and binding arbitration for first contracts were in a farm worker collective bar- gaining bill Kulongoski proposed in the 2005 legislative session. Threemile Canyon markets itself as a sustainable farm, with an annual Corporate Social Responsibility Re- port and industry-exceeding wages and benefits. Threemile potatoes are used to make McDonalds french fries, while its milk is sold in Montana gro- cery stores and used to make Kraft and Tillamook cheese. Its organically- grown corn and potatoes go into Ket- tle Foods tortilla and potato chips and are sold in season in natural food spe- cialty stores. Oregon farm workers have one other union — an independent known by its Spanish-language initials PCUN, which has 95 workers under contract at several small farms. If UFW finalizes a deal at Three- mile, it will be the largest agricultural union contract in the Pacific North- west. Currently, the largest is the Chateau St. Michelle Winery in Woodinville, Washington. Southgate Mobile & RV Park 7911 SE 82nd Ave. Portland, Oregon Spaces Available up to 35’ 503-771-5262 Quest Investment Management, Inc. • Serving Multi-Employer Multi-Employer Serving Trusts Twenty Years Trusts for for Over Twenty Years } Cam Johnson Greg Sherwood Cam Johnson Greg Sherwood Adrian Hamilton Monte Johnson Adrian Hamilton Monte Johnson Doug Goebel Goebel Bill Zenk Zenk Doug Bill Garth Nisbet 866-729-6016 866-729-6016 Ext. 3016 Union Plus is a registered trademark of Union Privilege. Eligibility for mortgage assistance begins one year after closing on a Union Plus Mortgage through Chase Home Finance. This offer may not be combined with any other promotional offer or rebate, is not transferable, and is available to bona fide members of participating unions. For down payments of less than 20%, mortgage insurance (MI) is required and MI charges apply. All loans are subject to credit and property approval. Program terms and conditions are subject to change without notice. Not all products are available in all states or for all loan amounts. Other restrictions and limitations apply. ©2005 JPMorgan Chase & Co. All Rights Reserved. P-UP 104 2A-7604 10/05 PAGE 8 One of Oregon’s largest farms has struck a deal with the United Farm Workers (UFW). On Nov. 27, arbitrator Richard Stratton certified that a majority of workers at Threemile Canyon Farms want to join UFW, and the company agreed to voluntarily recognize the union as the representative of about 250 workers. UFW, which represents farm work- ers in California and Washington, has waged a three-and-a-half-year union campaign at Threemile. The farm, lo- cated west of Boardman, Oregon along the Columbia River, includes a 41,000-head dairy and about 33,000 acres of potatoes, plus 2,300 acres of organic potatoes, onions and wheat. Farm workers are excluded from the National Labor Relations Act, which spells out procedures for union- ization. But in August, after a sus- tained public pressure campaign from the union, Threemile management committed to a private agreement that specified a process for unionizing. Under that agreement, Threemile allowed union organizers on its prop- erty through December to talk to workers on lunch break and before and after work. If UFW could per- suade a majority of workers to sign authorization cards — verified by a neutral third party — the company would voluntarily recognize the union and bargain a labor agreement, sub- mitting to binding arbitration if the two sides can’t agree on the terms. UFW, for its part, committed to work cooperatively with Threemile to support sales and promote marketing of its products to customers. “I’m hoping it will be a preview of coming attractions, and that the agri- cultural industry will understand we’re not the bogeyman,” said Oregon NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS One SW SW Columbia St., Suite 1100, Portland, OR 97258 One 1100 Portland, 503-221-0158 503-221-0158 www.QuestInvestment.com www.QuestInvestment.com DECEMBER 15, 2006
