Unions promote
home fire safety
at hockey game
Let me say this about that
—By Gene Klare
Members of Plumbers and
Fitters Local 290 and Fire
Fighters Local 43 participate
in annual “Broom Ball”
hockey game between periods
of the Portland Winter Hawks
game March 9 at Memorial
Coliseum. Contestants don
tennis shoes and plastic
brooms and try to slap a foam
ball into the net. The event is
used to promote residential
fire sprinkler safety. “No one
has ever died in a house fire
when it’s equipped with a
sprinkler system,” said Ron
Murray, a business rep for
Local 290. The union offers
the only training program for
residential fire sprinkler
system installation that is
endorsed by the Portland Fire
Bureau and the Oregon
Building Codes Division. The
firefighters retained the
“Broom Ball” cup after
sloshing to a 0-0 tie. (Photo
courtesy of Randy Malin)
Focus on Roseburg
A STRUGGLE BY NURSES in Oregon’s Roseburg was the focus of a na-
tional AFL-CIO advertisement in the New York Times to illustrate the need for
passage by Congress of the Employee Free Choice Act to help workers bargain
collectively for a better life.
The ad, three columns wide by 10 inches deep, ran on the page opposite the ed-
itorial page at the end of February. The headline on it asked: “What happened to
RNs Peg and Laura when they decided to form a union?” Above the headline
was a picture of Peg Knapp and Laura Garren, registered nurses at Mercy Med-
ical Center in Roseburg, which is in Southern Oregon’s Douglas County. Their
union is the Oregon Nurses Association, based in Portland.
THE AFL-CIO told this story in answer to the question asked in the headline:
“Between them, Peg Knapp and Laura Garren have been caring for mothers
and newborn babies for 47 years. As they saw hospital care change, they believed
nurses needed a stronger voice for patients. ‘We worried that inadequate staffing
levels were hurting patient care,’ Peg recalls. An overwhelming majority of the
nurses at Mercy Medical Center in Roseburg, Ore., felt the same way and signed
cards to form a union.
“The hospital’s reaction was ‘an eye-opener,’Laura says. ‘They forced us to go
through an election conducted by the National Labor Relations Board and it was
intimidating.’
“She says the hospital used the election period to conduct a campaign of fear
and misinformation. Anti-union mailings three times a week. Videos saying
unions are violent and would slash their tires. Laura says she looked around the
room and couldn’t believe any of her co-workers would slash her tires.
Nurses were pulled off the job and forced to attend anti-union meetings. Laura
remembers hearing a colleague say, ‘While I’m here in this mandatory meeting,
the nurse upstairs covering for me is now taking care of 10 patients.’
“Despite the hospital’s campaign, the nurses stuck together and won. But now
they are struggling to get a contract. ‘Management comes to bargaining meet-
ings unprepared to negotiate, stalling the negotiations,’ Laura explains.
“Today, a full year after the election was certified, Peg, Laura and their col-
leagues are still waiting for the hospital to respect their choice.
“That’s why we need the Employee Free Choice Act. So workers can make a
free choice to bargain for better treatment at work and a better life for their fam-
ilies.”
★★★
WITHIN DAYS of the AFL-CIO advertisement, the Democratic-controlled
U.S. House of Representatives passed the Employee Free Choice Act. Now the
legislation moves to the Senate where the minority Republicans have enough
votes to delay passage. At the White House, the anti-worker Republican President
George W. Bush threatens to veto the Employee Free Choice Act if it reaches his
desk.
★★★
KENNETH I. AHO of Portland, a 50-year member of Bricklayers and Allied
Craftworkers Local 1, died on Feb. 27 at age 89.
He was born on Jan. 10, 1918 in Portland. He graduated from Benson Tech
High School. In World War II he served in the U.S. Merchant Marine. After the
war he became a tile setter and joined Local 1.
“KEN WAS AN AVID OUTDOORSMAN who loved to fish and hunt,” his
family said, adding: “Upon retirement he spent much of his time at his second
home in Netarts, enjoying the beach and outdoor hobbies.”
Survivors include his wife, Florence, whom he married in 1959; eight daugh-
ters and sons, Kenneth, Kathy, Joanne, John, Jackie, Jerry Jeanne and Jay; 25
grandchildren; 31 great-grandchildren; and two great-great-grandchildren. He
was preceded in death by his twin brother Arnold.
A Memorial service was held March 5 at Mt. Scott Funeral Home.
★★★
(Turn to Page 11)
PAGE 2
b h
m k
Broadway Floral
Bennett Hartman
Morris & Kaplan, llp
Attorneys at Law
for the BEST flowers call
503-288-5537
1638 NE Broadway, Portland
Oregon’s Full Service Union Law Firm
Representing Workers Since 1960
Serious Injury and Death Cases
• Construction Injuries
• Automobile Accidents
• Medical, Dental, and Legal Malpractice
• Bicycle and Motorcycle Accidents
• Pedestrian Accidents
• Premises Liability (injuries on premises)
• Workers’ Compensation Injuries
• Social Security Claims
We Work Hard for Hard-Working People!
111 SW Fifth Avenue, Suite 1650
Portland, Oregon 97204
(503) 227-4600
www.bennetthartman.com
(International Standard Serial Number 0894-444X)
Established in 1900 at Portland, Oregon
as a voice of the labor movement.
4275 NE Halsey St., P.O. Box 13150,
Portland, Ore. 97213
Telephone: (503) 288-3311
Fax Number: (503) 288-3320
Editor: Michael Gutwig
Staff: Don McIntosh, Cheri Rice
Published on a semi-monthly basis on the first and third Fridays of
each month by the Oregon Labor Press Publishing Co. Inc., a non-
profit corporation owned by 20 unions and councils including the
Oregon AFL-CIO. Serving more than 120 union organizations in Ore-
gon and SW Washington. Subscriptions $13.75 per year for union
members.
Group rates available to trade union organizations.
PERIODICALS POSTAGE PAID
AT PORTLAND, OREGON.
CHANGE OF ADDRESS NOTICE: Three weeks are required for a
change of address. When ordering a change, please give your old
and new addresses and the name and number of your local union.
POSTMASTER: Send address changes to
NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS, P.O. BOX 13150-0150,
PORTLAND, OR 97213
Press Associates Inc.
Our Legal Staff are Proud Members of UFCW Local 555
NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS
MARCH 16, 2007