Josephine Co. doesn’t adhere to order
to rehire 100 workers let go after strike
By DON LOVING
Oregon AFSCME
GRANTS PASS — Despite a
strongly-worded order from the Ore-
gon Employment Relations Board
(ERB) last fall that Josephine County
must rehire within 30 days about 100
former members of the American Fed-
eration of State, County and Munici-
pal Employees (AFSCME) Local
3694, those former members remain
outside the county’s employment, and
it appears likely the issue will land in
court.
Oregon AFSCME Council 75 filed
an unfair labor practice complaint
against Josephine County alleging that
the county had privatized over 100
mental health workers in retaliation
for Local 3694’s four-day strike in
early 2006. The vast majority of Local
3694’s bargaining team and strike ac-
tivists worked for the Josephine
County Mental Health Department.
ERB agreed with the union, and
the Board’s unprecedented order said
the county had to rehire all those em-
ployees, make them whole for any lost
wages and benefits, reimburse Coun-
cil 75 for lost union dues and pay a
$1,000 civil penalty — the last being
the maximum fine the ERB is allowed
to levy under Oregon law.
The ERB order came with some
wiggle-room, as it gave the two sides
30 days to negotiate a settlement out-
side the ERB decision. The union ex-
tended that deadline a second 30 days,
which ended in late December. But
there’s still no agreement.
“On the surface, we are still negoti-
ating,” said Oregon AFSCME Staff
Representative Daniel Burdis. “But
the pace of the process is frustratingly
slow.”
Burdis has truly lived this issue. He
was the interim Local 3694 president
and the bargaining chair during the
strike. He was also a county mental
health employee who would have
been one of those privatized if not for
taking over the Council 75 staff rep
position in the Grants Pass field office.
Burdis and Oregon AFSCME Field
Services Director Rick Henson have
met with county officials a half dozen
times or so. But Josephine County has
made two legal moves. First, they’ve
asked the ERB for a stay of the order.
They’ve also filed an intent to appeal
the ERB decision to the Oregon Court
of Appeals.
“The county is dragging its feet,
apparently hoping to buy time for a
court decision,” said Burdis. “We’ve
agreed not to talk publicly about the
specifics of the negotiations, but in
general their position is that it’s sim-
ply impossible to bring all the em-
ployees back, regardless of the ERB
order. We agree that may be true for
some former employees, but certainly
not for all of them. So we have a cou-
ple of future dates set for meetings,
but I’m guessing this will ultimately
be resolved in court.”
Labor attorney Barbara Diamond
agrees with Burdis’ assessment. Dia-
mond handled the legal work on the
original ULP complaint, and she’s
currently working on the union’s re-
sponse to both the request for a stay
and the court appeal.
“We probably shouldn’t be sur-
prised,” Diamond said. “ERB asked
the parties to try to come to an agree-
ment, which is good in theory. But
from a practical standpoint, when you
have an employer that was — from
our point of view — engaged in nu-
merous illegal actions, it’s not likely
they’re going to turn around 180 de-
grees just like that. The two parties are
just at such different places.”
Diamond expects a ruling from
ERB on the stay request within two
weeks. Should Josephine County not
receive injunctive relief from ERB,
they could make the same request to
the courts.
Diamond will also ask the court to
toss out an appeal from Options for
Southern Oregon, Inc. to join the legal
fray. Better known locally as “Op-
tions,” it is a private, non-profit agency
that most of the former county mental
health employees now work for.
“It’s very late in the game for Op-
tions to claim it’s an interested party,”
Diamond said. “They didn’t try to in-
tervene earlier. From my perspective,
they have no standing in this case.”
(Editor’s Note: Don Loving is the
communications director of Oregon
AFSCME Council 75.)
Swanson, Thomas &Coon
ATTORNEYS AT LAW
Since 1981
James Coon
Jacqueline Jacobson
Ray Thomas
Kimberly Tucker
Margaret Weddell
Cynthia F. Newton
Tip of the week: If you are injured or disabled, keep a
good relationship with your treating doctor. Your doctor’s
opinion is often the most important evidence in your case.
We represent people on all types of injury and disease related claims.
• Workers’ Compensation
•
• Personal Injury/Product Liability
Construction Injuries
• Death Claims
• Asbestos/Mesothelioma
• Social Security Disability
We provide straight answers at no cost on any of the above areas of law.
CALL US or VISIT OUR WEB SITE
( 503) 228-5222
PAGE 4
http://www.stc-law.com
NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS
Local Motion
December 2007
Union activity in Oregon and Southwest Washington,
according to the National Labor Relations Board
and the Oregon Employment Relations Board
Election results
Results:
Company
Date
Union
Location
American Medical Response
12/17 Teamsters vs. SEIU
Portland
Union
No
Union
297 52 4
Unitus Community Credit Union (decertification)
12/17 CWA Local 7901
Portland, Salem
Columbia River People’s Utility District
12/24 IBEW Local 125
Deer Island
31
31
card check,
unit of 24
Representation petitions
Company
Union
Location
# of employees
Kaiser Foundation Health Plan (print, copy, mail center)
Service Employees International Union Local 49
Clackamas
10
Kaiser Foundation Health Plan (materials specialists)
Service Employees International Union Local 49
Clackamas
2
Bend manufacturer announces
closure during IAM bargaining
BEND — Leaders of Woodworkers
District Lodge W1 of the International
Association of Machinists are per-
plexed by a decertification petition filed
with the National Labor Relations
Board by an employee at BEKO Mem-
brane Technology.
Chuck Macrae, directing business
representative of Lodge W1, said work-
ers voted last June to join their union.
The vote was 6-1.
BEKO, headquartered in Germany,
opened an operation in Bend in 1996.
Workers at the Bend facility make com-
pressed air dryers.
Macrae said bargaining was moving
at a slow pace, when in October the
company announced it was closing the
facility and moving it to Georgia.
“We negotiated a closure agreement
for the bargaining unit, and that was
that,” Macrae said.
On Nov. 29, a decertification peti-
tion was filed with the NLRB. The no-
tice indicated that the petition was sup-
ported by at least 30 percent of the
12-person workforce.
“We received the decert notice, but
we disclaimed the unit, because it is our
understanding the company is moving,”
Macrae said.
Win a bass fishing boat
Looking for a new bass boat to help you cast away your winter blues when
spring finally rolls around? The Union Sportsmen’s Alliance (USA) and Triton
Boats are giving one away.
All you need to do is be a member of the Union Sportsmen’s Alliance and
enter the drawing for a new Triton 18 Explorer powered by a union-made Mercury
engine, with depth-finder, trolling motor, trailer and more. The boat and trailer
package is valued at approximately $25,000.
The USA, launched last July, is a joint venture between 21 unions and the
Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership (TRCP). One of the main goals of
the two groups is to support the TRCP’s long-standing dedication to guaranteeing
access for hunters and anglers, conserving fish and wildlife habitat and increasing
funding for conservation.
For more information on joining the Union Sportsmen’s Alliance and on the
bass boat giveaway, go online to www.unionsportsmen.org.
The drawing will be held April 4.
JANUARY 18, 2008