Local Motion
March 2007
Union election activity in Oregon and SW Washington,
according to the National Labor Relations Board
and the Oregon Employment Relations Board
Elections held
Results:
Company
Date
Union
Union
Location
Homeshield
3/21
Teamsters Local 670
No
Union
The Dalles
11
11
Eugene
3
1
Portland
97
141
Coast Rehabilitation Services (decertification)
3/29
AFSCME Council 75
Warrenton
72
43
Northern Management Services
3/22
UFCW Local 555
Frito-Lay (decertification)
3/26
Teamsters 58, 206, 305, 324
Elections requested
Company
Union
Location
# of employees
Beaverton
6
Haggen
Bakers Local 114
Kaiser Permanente (accounts payable)
Service Employees International Union Local 49
Portland
10
Kaiser Permanente (purchasing, supply center)
Service Employees International Union Local 49
Portland
9
First Student
Oregon School Employees Association
Molalla
40
Oregon Housing & Associated Services
Amalgamated Transit Union Local 757
Salem
22
Providence Home Services Division
Oregon Nurses Association
Portland
168
Kaiser Foundation Health Plan of the Northwest
Service Employees International Union Local 49
Portland
26
Clatsop Care Center
Service Employees International Union Local 503
Astoria
55
In response to labor lawsuit, Labor Dept.
agrees to employer payment for safety gear
WASHINGTON, D.C. — In re-
sponse to a lawsuit filed by the na-
tional AFL-CIO and the Change to
Win labor federation’s United Food
and Commercial Workers (UFCW),
the Bush Administration has agreed
to issue a final rule on employer pay-
ment for personal protective equip-
ment for employees.
In 1999, the Occupational Safety
and Health Administration (OSHA)
first proposed a personal protective
equipment rule that would require
employers to pay the costs of protec-
tive clothing, lifelines, face shields,
gloves and other equipment used by
an estimated 20 million workers to
protect them from job hazards.
“This rulemaking has taken far too
long,” said AFL-CIO President John
Sweeney. “We will be monitoring the
Department of Labor’s actions to
make sure they honor this commit-
ment and issue a strong protective
rule.”
On Jan. 3, 2007, the AFL-CIO and
UFCW filed a lawsuit against the
Bush Administration over its failure
to finalize the payment for personal
protective equipment rule. The court
ordered the Bush Administration to
respond to the lawsuit by March 19.
On March 14, the secretary of labor
filed papers with the court commit-
ting to issue a final rule in November
2007.
“This is a victory for workers who
have suffered needlessly while await-
ing action by the Bush Administra-
tion,” said Joe Hansen, international
president of UFCW. “According to
OSHA’s own estimates, 400,000
workers have been injured and 50
have died while the rule has been in
limbo. We expect a strong final rule
this November.”
Workers in the meatpacking, poul-
try and construction industries, and
low-wage and immigrant workers are
most vulnerable to injury.
The rule was first announced in
1997 and proposed in 1999 by OSHA
Construction workers gain protection against
cancer-causing compound in Portland cement
WASHINGTON, D.C. (PAI) —
The Laborers, the Teamsters and the
AFL-CIO Building and Construction
Trades Department won federal agree-
ment to inspect and protect construction
workers against a cancer-causing com-
pound — hexavalent chromium —
found in one of the most-common types
of cement, Portland cement.
The pact, announced April 10, will
order Occupational Safety and Health
Administration (OSHA) inspectors to
make sure employers follow proper
safety procedures — such as having
proper washing facilities and protective
equipment for workers — against “hex
chrome,” as it is called.
Building Trades Department Presi-
dent Edward Sullivan said OSHA also
APRIL 20. 2007
must show which construction sites use
Portland cement, so that the agency and
BCTD can monitor exposure.
Hexavalent chromium is not only
cancer-causing, but it’s a toxin haz-
ardous to workers’skin, eyes and lungs,
BCTD said. Construction workers who
handle cement laced with the com-
pound can also contract a career-ending
disease, allergic contact dermatitis.
OSHA previously settled a long
“hex chrome” lawsuit with the Steel-
workers Union and environmental
groups. They sued because OSHA de-
liberately did not want to write a rule
against the compound. The agency that
is charged with protecting workers from
dangerous jobs finally moved after the
Third U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in
Philadelphia ordered them to do so, un-
der threat of contempt of court.
But that order excluded construction
work, even though the unions argued for
it. A lawsuit was filed in 2006 to bring
construction workers under the “hex
chrome” protection standard.
When wet, Portland cement is highly
caustic and can cause cracking and
thickening of skin when exposed, said
BCTD safety and health director Pete
Stafford. Long-term exposure “can
cause severe caustic burns and can dam-
age the skin so much that the worker re-
quires skin grafts or even limb amputa-
tion,” he added.
Inhaling dry Portland cement with
hex chrome in it can cause lung dam-
age.
NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS
In 1999, OSHA promised
to issue the final personal
protective equipment
rule in July 2000. But it
missed that deadline and
has missed every self-
imposed deadline since.
after a ruling by the Occupational
Safety and Health Review Commis-
sion that OSHA’s existing personal
protective equipment standard could
not be interpreted to require employ-
ers to pay for protective equipment.
The rule proposed in 1999 did not im-
pose any new obligations on employ-
ers to provide safety equipment; it
simply codified OSHA’s policy that
employers, not employees, have the
responsibility to pay for it.
In 1999, OSHA promised to issue
the final personal protective equip-
ment rule in July 2000. But it missed
that deadline and has missed every
self-imposed deadline since.
The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. Court
of Appeals for the District of Colum-
bia Circuit, asked the court to issue an
order directing the secretary of labor
to complete the personal protective
equipment rule within 60 days of the
court’s order.
Tel: 503-645-5400
www.wademccarthy.com
Zachary
Zabinsky
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