U.S. House approves union
rights for police, firefighters
WASHINGTON, D.C. (PAI) — In
yet another indication of the changed
tone in Congress for workers’ rights,
the U.S. House of Representatives
voted July 17 to extend collective bar-
gaining rights to public safety workers
in every state. The bipartisan vote was
314-97.
Right now, public safety workers
such as firefighters, police and emer-
gency medical technicians have only
partial collective bargaining rights in
18 states (Oregon and Washington
have full collective bargaining rights).
Most of those impacted are in the
South. Public safety workers in Vir-
ginia and North Carolina have no col-
lective bargaining rights at all.
The bill specifically gives state and
local public safety workers the right to
join unions, the right to have their
unions recognized by their employers,
and the right to bargain collectively
over wages, hours, and terms and con-
ditions of employment, and the right to
a mediation or arbitration process if
there’s an impasse in talks. Unions
could also go to court to enforce the
bill’s provisions.
The bill bars public safety officers
from striking, and management from
locking out workers.
The bill is a top priority for the In-
ternational Association of Fire Fight-
ers, which put on a strong push for it in
2002, just after 343 New York fire-
fighters were killed in the 9/11 terrorist
attacks, while trying to rescue victims
from the collapsing Twin Towers of the
World Trade Center.
But a Republican filibuster in the
Senate that year stopped the bill. Re-
publicans now have 49 of the 100 Sen-
ate seats, enough to successfully con-
tinue another filibuster.
Oregon Congressman Earl Blume-
nauer, in a letter to the NW Labor
Press, said he has co-sponsored a bill
to extend federal collective bargaining
protections to public safety employees
in the last seven congresses.
“This bill has always had bipartisan
support, but the Tom Delay Republican
Congress refused to allow the legisla-
tive process to work and repeatedly
kept this bill bottled up in committee to
die,” he said (See Blumenauer’s entire
letter on Page 11).
“We’ve waited for this day for a
very long period of time,” Tom Nee,
president of the National Association
of Police Organizations, told Reuters.
Public safety workers “deserve these
basic, human, American rights.”
Sponsoring Democrats said the bill
gives justice to first responders who
counter both disasters and terrorist at-
tacks. “Our firefighters and police offi-
cers put themselves in harm’s way to
keep us safe,” said Rep. Dale Kildee
(D-Mich.) “Unfortunately, some states
in this country deny our public safety
employees the basic right to discuss
workplace issues with their employers
— a right many Americans take for
granted. My bill would grant these
brave men and women this right. We
owe it to them.”
Governor signs prevailing wage bill
Oregon Gov. Ted Kulongoski put his signature on a “top priority” bill for construction unions at a public ceremony
July 13 at the State Capitol in Salem. House Bill 2140 is a state prevailing wage law that establishes a clearer way to
determine when a public-private partnership construction project is subject to the law. State prevailing wage rates
are established by the Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries and are reflective of local wage conditions paid to the
majority of workers in each trade or occupation. Currently, public works projects are generally covered by the
prevailing wage rate if they are worth $50,000 or more, and are for construction, reconstruction, or major renovation
for public works projects that directly or indirectly use funding from a public agency. The advent of public-private
partnerships has created ambiguity in the law. The new law says that private projects with public funds equal to
$750,000 or greater now fall under state prevailing wage rules. Certain affordable housing projects and other projects
already under way are exempted, as are several identified situations defined under the public funds section of the
statute. “The prevailing wage is a vital part of our economy,” Kulongoski said. “This bill helps create a clear line in
the prevailing wage law and guarantees that more Oregonians have access to living-wage jobs, providing greater
opportunities for more Oregon families.”
Judge OKs $14.5 million school custodian settlement
U.S. Magistrate Judge John Jelderks
has approved a civil rights class action
settlement that will pay $14.5 million
to 280 custodians replaced by Portland
Public Schools five years ago.
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It represents the largest litigation set-
tlement ever paid by the Portland
School District.
The lawsuit arose out of the termi-
nation of 280 civil service school cus-
todians — members of Service Em-
ployees Local 140 — in 2002 when the
school district decided to outsource its
custodial jobs to a lower-wage, lower-
benefit private janitorial contractor.
In late 2005, the Oregon Supreme
Court ruled that the terminations of the
custodians were unlawful because of a
civil service statute.
The settlement resolves all damage
claims by the custodians in Oregon fed-
eral and state courts. Each custodian
will receive a cash payment in excess
of $37,000 after payment of all court
costs and attorney fees. Checks are ex-
pected to be issued in September.
In addition, custodians who had ex-
traordinary health care costs that would
have been paid for by the school dis-
trict’s insurance carriers, but did not be-
cause of the termination, will receive
reimbursement for those costs.
There are also provisions for pay-
ment of lost contributions to the Public
Employees Retirement System.
According to plaintiff attorneys, no
custodians objected to the settlement or
opted out of the class action lawsuit.
Approximately 120 of the janitors
who were laid off have since gone back
to work for the school district.
The district will borrow the money
to pay the settlement, then pay off that
debt over the next several years.
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