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About Northwest labor press. (Portland , Ore.) 1987-current | View Entire Issue (May 4, 2007)
T HE M ARCO C ONSULTING G ROUP T HE M ARCO C ONSULTING G ROUP INVESTMENT CONSULTANTS TO MULTI - EMPLOYER BENEFIT FUNDS P LEASE CALL J ASON Z ENK IN T ACOMA , WA AT (253) 759-6768 W EST C OAST O FFICE M IDWEST O FFICE E AST C OAST O FFICE 2912 N ORTH 26 TH S TREET T ACOMA , WA 98407 P: 253-759-6768 F: 312-575-9840 550 W EST W ASHINGTON B LVD . N INTH F LOOR C HICAGO , IL 60661 P: 312 575-9000 F: 312 575-9840 1220 A DAMS S TREET F IRST F LOOR B OSTON , MA 02124 P: 617 298-0967 F: 617 298-0966 OT pay after 8 hours will have to wait By DON McINTOSH Associate Editor SALEM — With Democrats in control of the Oregon Legislature for the first time since 1989, Labor Com- missioner Dan Gardner thought it might be time to return to the glory days. Before 1985, Oregon workers had an eight-hour workday. Or at least, employers had to pay overtime — time-and-a-half — when hourly em- ployees worked beyond eight hours in a day. That's the law today in Califor- nia, too. But in 1985, the Oregon Legisla- ture (then also led by Democrats) changed the eight-hour day to the 40- hour week for private sector workers, and Gov. Neil Goldschmidt, a Democ- Roger G. Worthington, P.C. leads the fight to find a cure for Mesothelioma cancer caused by asbestos exposure Since 1989, we have been dedicated to helping asbestos cancer patients get justice in the courtrooms and help in the hospitals. In the last ten years, we have recovered over $725 million for our clients. $34 Million: $20 Million: $12.6 Million: $10 Million: $8.4 Million: 60 year-old Navy veteran and carpenter 54 year-old engineer 69 year-old psychiatrist exposed at home 54 year-old woman exposed via father’s clothes 60 year-old Navy veteran and crane operator 800-831-9399 For a free booklet of medical/legal information, including medical experts, patient profiles, clinical trials and asbestos products, call us or visit our website. www.mesothel.com Mesothelioma typically We’ve helped hundreds develops 20 to 60 years after the first asbestos exposure. Each year about 3,000 new cases of mesothelioma are diagnosed in the U.S. of patients find the best doctors, coast to coast and we’re known for providing up-to-date medical information and patient education. Asbestos lawyers for life. rat, signed the bill. In 1995, a Republi- can House and Senate made that change for public sector workers as well, and Gov. John Kitzhaber, a De- mocrat, signed it. The campaign for the eight-hour day was a hallmark of the U.S. labor movement in the 19th and 20th cen- turies. But in truth, the federal Fair La- bor Standards Act of 1938, which de- fined maximum hours, was always complicated, with exceptions for dif- ferent industries and types of workers. And states had flexibility to go beyond the federal requirements. “Unfortunately, over time we’ve headed back toward the older strug- gles,” Gardner says. Gardner says some employers are abusing the 40-hour week by schedul- ing long shifts on short notice — with- out paying overtime, because the hours might not exceed 40 in a week. To end this abuse, and give workers more time with their families, Gardner got Rep. Brad Witt (D-Clatskanie) to introduce House Bill 2673, and 18 other House members signed on as co- sponsors. HB 2673 would return Ore- gon to the eight-hour day, with excep- tions for workplaces that have regularly scheduled alternative work- weeks, like four 10-hour shifts. House Business and Labor Com- mittee chair Mike Schaufler (D-Happy Valley) gave the bill a hearing on April 13. “I was surprised by how much op- position we got,” Gardner said. “I ex- pected opposition from the business lobby, but we had a few business De- mocrats who didn’t like it either.” First to testify was Witt, the bill’s sponsor: “This represents a return to protections enjoyed by Oregon’s workers prior to 1985,” Witt told com- mittee members, “and is in keeping with two centuries of progress.” But Maria Keltner, representing the Association of Oregon Counties, summed up the dominant employer Q view, which was shared by Associated Oregon Industries and the National Federation of Independent Business: “From our perspective,” Keltner testified, “it looks like a choice be- tween flexible choices for modern lifestyles or a concept from the past that looks at lifestyles and work arrangements from the past.” In other words, the eight-hour day is so 1930s. Get with the times. A representative of ADEC, a dental equipment manufacturer, praised his company’s schedule: four nine-hour days, followed by a four-hour Friday. Employees love it, he said. Gardner, for his part, has no doubt they do. And, he says, his bill wouldn’t ban such schedules, they’d just have to be regular, not made up week to week. Employers with irregular schedules would just have to do what they do in California when they force workers to stay past eight hours — pay them time-and-a-half. But Gardner’s bill needed the sup- port of the committee chair to get a vote and move on to the next level. Schaufler said he had reservations about it, even though he was a signed- on co-sponsor of the bill. Schaufler declined to schedule a vote on the bill; under the rules the Legislature set for itself this year. That meant the bill was declared dead at the end of the day April 30. Gardner, lobbying for the bill prior to the hearing, said he felt a sentiment among lawmakers that they’re already going a long way for organized labor this session; no more could be ex- pected. So Gardner, joined by Portland De- mocrat Diane Rosenbaum, speaker pro tem of the House, introduced the eight-hour-day bill as an initiative peti- tion. Gardner said they plan to shop it around after the legislative session ends to see if there’s support from or- ganized labor to get it on the ballot for voters to decide in 2008. Quest Investment Management, Inc. • Serving Multi-Employer Multi-Employer Serving Trusts for for Over Twenty Years Trusts Twenty Years } Cam Johnson Cam Johnson Adrian Adrian Hamilton Hamilton Doug Goebel Goebel Doug Garth Nisbet Greg Sherwood Greg Sherwood Monte Monte Johnson Johnson Bill Zenk Zenk Bill Pat Worley Offices in Los Angeles, Orange County, and Dallas, Texas • Lawyers licensed in California, Oregon, and Texas Roger G. Worthington, P.C. has donated more than $2.5 Million to medical research working on a cure for mesothelioma — more than all the asbestos companies combined. PAGE 8 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 MAY 4, 2007
