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About Northwest labor press. (Portland , Ore.) 1987-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 7, 2007)
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 AFSCME reaches tentative deal for 4,000 state workers American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Ore- gon Council 75 has reached a tentative agreement on behalf of some 4,000 em- ployees at the State of Oregon. The two-year agreement includes a 3 percent cost-of-living adjustment retroactive to July 1 and a 3.2 percent COLA on Nov. 1, 2008. State employees will continue to re- ceive fully-paid health insurance for the life of the contract. Other improvements include: • Selective salary adjustments for 16 job classifications, affecting some 200 workers. • Shift differential of at least 75 cents per hour for shifts occurring between 6 p.m. and 6 a.m. • Contracting out language that sets up a situation where those who are po- tentially at risk of being contracted out will have the opportunity to “bid in” on the work, plus prior notification of any potential contracting out decisions. • Improved union-leave language that will make it easier for union offi- cers to get time off for union business. “This is a good settlement,” said Oregon AFSCME Executive Director Ken Allen, the union’s chief negotiator. “Fully-paid health insurance is a huge deal for us. We are the last state in the U.S. that pays 100 percent of the health care costs for its state employees, so it is no small feat to keep that for another contract.” Oregon Department of Corrections employees represented by AFSCME are not covered under this agreement. Separate negotiations are continuing for both Security and Security Plus units. Earlier this year the State of Oregon reached a similar agreement with Ser- vice Employees Local 503. That union represents about 18,000 state employ- ees. Carpenters organizer allowed to leave U.S. on his own 866-729-6016 Ext. 3016 866-729-6016 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 A federal immigration case against a local union organizer came to a close last month. Mexican national José Co- bián, known to friends by his assumed name José Luis Mendoza, was al- lowed to leave the United States on his own rather than be forcibly deported. Cobián, a union organizer for the Pacific Northwest Regional Council of Carpenters, pled guilty to passport fraud last September and spent two weeks in jail. Then for almost a year, he remained in the United States while his deportation case moved through a series of court appearances. He was unable to legally work, but he and his family were maintained by donations from union co-workers. Cobián was able to sell his house in Molalla. Q On Aug. 24, a federal judge gave him a deadline of Aug. 31 to leave the country. His wife and two U.S.-born children had left earlier to stay with her parents in Tampico. Cobían told the Labor Press he planned to oversee shipment of the family’s belongings, and then return to Mexico to look for work. “Unless the law changes,” Cobián said, “I don’t think I’ll ever be able to come back.” “I hate to see him go,” said Car- penters organizer Cliff Puckett, a for- mer co-worker who attended the final court appearance. “For all intents and purposes he was just an honest human being trying to provide for his family.” Quest Investment Management, Inc. • Serving Multi-Employer Multi-Employer Serving Trusts for for Over Twenty Years Trusts Twenty Years } Cam Johnson Cam Johnson Adrian Hamilton Adrian Hamilton Doug Goebel Goebel Doug Garth Nisbet Greg Sherwood Greg Sherwood Monte Johnson Monte Johnson Bill Zenk Zenk Bill Pat Worley 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 PAGE 4 NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS SEPTEMBER 7, 2007
