Powell’s Books workers
get closer to living wage
Let me say this about that
—By Gene Klare
Three unionists die
CY JARVIS of Sherwood, a member of the International Brotherhood of Elec-
trical Workers and a retired labor relations and public affairs representative for
Portland General Electric Co., died on Oct. 13 at age 89.
Cyril R. Jarvis was born March 13, 1918, in Salem. He served in the U.S. Coast
Guard in World War II. He was a member of the International Brotherhood of
Electrical Workers Local 125, worked for PGE as an electrician and a lineman and
was a business agent for the union. He later had a long career representing PGE. He
lived in Salem most of the time and was active in the Democratic Party. He married
Ida M. Buse in 1944; she died in 2006.
SURVIVORS INCLUDE his daughters, Nancy Allison and Kris Maneely; a
son, Joe; six grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.
His funeral was held Oct. 19 at St. Francis Catholic Church in Sherwood.
Memorial contributions can be made to the American Diabetes Association. Fu-
neral arrangements were handled by Alternative Burial and Cremation.
★★★
CELIA M. BROUNSTEIN of Portland, a retired administrative assistant for
Labor’s Community Service Agency, AFL-CIO, died Oct. 18 at age 93. She was a
retired member of Office and Professional Employees Local 11.
Celia Minsky was born on Nov. 7, 1913 in Portland and grew up in Spokane.
She returned to Portland in the mid-1930s and graduated from Northwestern Busi-
ness College. She worked at United Good Neighbors before joining the Labor’s
Community Service staff when the agency was set up by John Wilson in the 1960s.
Her husband, Bernard C. Brounstein, whom she married in 1939, died in 1975.
SURVIVORS INCLUDE a daughter, Carol J. Buckle; two sons, Gary W. and
Dale A.; a sister, Leah Harden; six grandchildren; and one great-grandchild.
Her funeral was held Oct. 21 at Weinstein Chapel of Neveh Zedek-Rose City
Lodge Cemetery with arrangements by Holman.
Remembrances can be sent to the Congregation Neveh Shalom, where she was
a member for six decades.
★★★
DAVID WILLIAM WATSON, a retired Committee on Political Education
(COPE) regional director of the AFL-CIO who spent a lot of time in Oregon, died
Oct. 21 following a valiant struggle against
cancer. He was 59.
A funeral Mass will be held at St.
Patrick’s Church in Honolulu, HI on Nov. 2.
A native of Hawaii, Watson was hired by
the AFL-CIO in August of 1988. As COPE
director he was in charge of running political
programs in Oregon, Washington, Alaska,
Hawaii and Idaho. Prior to that he was the
COPE director for the Hawaii AFL-CIO and
before that he ran political campaigns for the
late U.S. Sen. Spark Masayuki Matsunaga.
Watson’s first union was the American
Federation of State, County and Municipal
Employees. As a COPE staffer, he was a
member of The Newspaper Guild/Commu-
nications Workers of America.
Over the years at the AFL-CIO he also
DAVE WATSON
worked as a national field rep in Illinois and
California. He retired at the end of 2005.
Watson was born in Honolulu on June 10, 1948. He graduated from the Uni-
versity of Hawaii with a degree in political science. He married is wife, Patricia, on
Dec. 18, 1971. They were married at St. Patrick’s Church.
Watson is survived by Patricia; son, Craig; and brothers, Roland and Isaac.
Burial will be in St. Patrick’s Cemetery. Arrangements were by Diamond Head
Mortuary. Memorial contributions in David’s honor can be made to either the
American Cancer Society and/or the American Diabetes Association.
PAGE 2
Madelyn Elder
named to CWA
Executive Board
Madelyn Elder has been named to
the Executive Board of the Com-
munications Workers of America.
Elder is president of Portland Local
7901, a post she has held since 2000.
She served as secretary-treasurer of
the local from 1994-99. The local
represents more than 1,500 workers
primarily in communications. Eld-
er is one of 23 board members set-
ting policy and directing programs
for the national union, which rep-
resents 700,000 members in tele-
communications, media, the public
sector, health care, education,
manufacturing and airlines across
the United States, Canada and
Puerto Rico. Elder and three other
new CWA Executive Board mem-
bers were sworn in Oct. 17. Their
positions, approved by delegates to
the union’s annual convention in
July, were created to increase div-
ersity in CWA’s leadership by
bringing local officers and activists
on board.
It looks like “third time’s a charm”
at Portland-based Powell’s Books, the
only large bookstore in the United
States that is unionized.
Powell’s workers joined the Interna-
tional Longshore and Warehouse Union
(ILWU) in 1999, but it took several
short strikes in 2000 and 2004 to get an
acceptable first and second contract.
The third time around, union and man-
agement struck a deal, in three months
of bargaining, that makes noticeable
progress toward the workers’ original
goal in unionizing — to secure a living
wage in an industry that serves up
plenty of jobs but few careers.
Members approved the contract by a
wide margin in mail-in ballots counted
Oct. 27. Over the four-year contract,
wages for the store’s 400 union em-
ployees will rise 3.5 to 8 percent a year,
with lower-paid workers getting the
biggest raises, and the average worker
getting 4.5 percent a year. By compari-
son, annual raises were 6 percent in the
first contract and 2 percent in the sec-
ond contract. At the end of the previous
contract, workers averaged $12.59 an
hour.
b h
m k
“This is how contract negotiations
are supposed to go,” said Local 5 Pres-
ident Ryan Takas. “Two sides come to-
gether and reach an agreement that
moves workers’wages and benefits for-
ward, towards a living wage, and allows
the company to remain profitable.”
Several items are somewhat unusual
in the contract, including a one-third
TriMet bus pass subsidy for employees
who use the bus; $80 a year toward bike
tuneups for employees who bike to
work; and $400 a month toward day-
care for employees with children.
The company will continue to pay
most of the cost of health insurance;
employees currently pay 16 percent
($58 a month) toward the premium, or
$135 for family coverage. The em-
ployee contribution will rise to 20 per-
cent over the life of the agreement.
To celebrate the new contract, em-
ployees will take part in a “Buy Union”
rally Nov. 2 at 5:30 p.m. outside Pow-
ell’s Technical Books, 33 NW Park Ave.
Local 5 is calling on union members
and the public to support their employer
by shopping at Powell’s stores or its
Web site, www.powells.com.
Bennett Hartman
Morris & Kaplan, llp
Attorneys at Law
Oregon’s Full Service Union Law Firm
Representing Workers Since 1960
Serious Injury and Death Cases
UNION ORGANIZER
SEEKING WORK
Union organizer based in
Willamette Valley seeking employ-
ment in union member training and
development, long-term strategic
goal setting, community outreach
or related union work. Used to long
hours on a high-accountability
team. Call 503-838-6676 or write
PO Box 2766, Salem,OR. 97308.
Resume and references available.
NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS
• 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
Our Legal Staff are Proud Members of UFCW Local 555
NOVEMBER 2, 2007