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About Northwest labor press. (Portland , Ore.) 1987-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 15, 2008)
NAFTA-style trade pact with Colombia unlikely to pass Democratic Congress WASHINGTON (PAI) — Lead- ing congressional Democrats plan to withhold ratification of President Bush’s “free trade” agreement with Colombia, at least until aid is re- newed to workers who lose jobs to unfair foreign imports. Even then, Dems say, approval is unlikely for the Colombia pact and similar treaties with South Korea and Panama. The Democratic statements came after Bush, in his State of the Union address, put the Colombia pact first in line. He did not mention the mur- der of thousands of unionists by right-wing government-backed “paramilitaries.” The deaths are among the key reasons unions op- pose legislation implementing the Colombia trade pact. Instead, Bush said passing the Colombia pact would send a signal the U.S. is willing to aid Latin Amer- ican democracies via trade pacts that he said would benefit Latin Ameri- can workers. But House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nevada) said Democrats had “widespread con- cern” about the murders of the unionists. Senator Max Baucus (D-Mont.), who chairs the Senate committee that looks at trade agreements, said re- newing the government’s Trade Ad- justment Assistance (TAA) program must come first. The program ex- pired Dec. 31, and new Senate Mi- nority Whip John Kyl (R-Ariz.) was able to block its renewal. U.S. work- ers are anxious about the impact of trade and globalization on their jobs, Baucus told the National Press Club Jan. 30. Last year, the House approved legislation extending and expanding the TAA program, opening it to serv- ice workers who lose their jobs to un- fair foreign competition and to work- ers who lose jobs when their services are no longer needed by workers who lost their jobs to unfair imports. So, for example, TAA would be- come available to workers at a diner next to a textile mill that closes due to imports. Right now, only the tex- tile mill workers, and factory work- ers in general, are eligible for TAA. Baucus also wants to double an- nual TAA money for retraining to $440 million, expand a tax credit to help trade-dislocated workers pay for health insurance, and extend TAA to workers who lose jobs regardless of whether the imports come from a na- tion with a free trade pact with the United States. … PPS: One union still without contract (From Page 1) and-a-half-year contract that covers the period Jan. 1, 2006 to June 30, 2010. It’s also a better deal than the one ATU members rejected last year, said Local 757 Vice President Sam Schwarz. It contains 2.5 percent annual pay in- creases; right now, the drivers earn $12.66 to $16.51 an hour. The em- ployee share of monthly health insur- ance premiums would go down to $160 a month from the current $200, though doctor’s visit co-pays would rise from $5 to $20. The school board is sched- uled to approve the deal Feb. 25; the union hasn’t scheduled a contract ratifi- cation vote yet, but the bargaining team will recommend approval. Incredibly, the two sides have been negotiating since December 2005. The school board is scheduled to ap- prove the SEIU and ATU contracts at its Feb. 25 meeting. Meanwhile, negotiations will con- tinue on a new contract for PFTCE — the classified employees union. Infor- mal bargaining sessions are scheduled for Feb. 15 and 22, and if no agreement is reached, a state-appointed mediator will work with the two sides Feb. 26. After two years of 1.5 percent raises, PFTCE wants cost-of-living adjust- ments tied to increases in the Consumer Price Index — and an end to a freeze on step increases. The district’s wage coun- teroffer hasn’t gone above about 2 per- cent. Members currently make $12.50 to $19, depending on classification and experience. The union has begun conducting in- formational pickets at least a week. Thus far, pickets have gone up outside Benson High School, Cleveland High School and Pioneer Middle School. But PFTCE President Tom Smith is hope- ful the district may be ready to settle. Negotiations are expected to begin in March on the next contract for the dis- trict’s largest bargaining unit — the Portland Association of Teachers, an af- filiated of the Oregon Education Asso- cation. Local Motion January 2008 Union activity in Oregon and Southwest Washington, according to the National Labor Relations Board and the Oregon Employment Relations Board Election results Company Date Union Results: Union Location No Union Kaiser Foundation Health Plan (print, copy, mail ctr) 2 1/3 SEIU Local 49 Portland 0 Kaiser Foundation Health Plan (materials specialists) 1/3 SEIU Local 49 Portland, Salem 9 1 Representation petitions Company Union Location # of employees McKay’s Market (deli) (decertification) United Food & Commercial Workers Local 555 McKay’s Market (grocery & produce) (decertification) United Food & Commercial Workers Local 555 Wildish Sand & Gravel (decertification) Teamsters Local 206 Bandon 5 Coos Bay 106 Eugene 57 “At the banquet of nature, there are no reserved seats. You get what you can take and you keep what you can hold. And if you can't take, you can't get. And if you can't hold, you can't keep. And without organization, you can't take.” — A. Phillip Randolph (1889-1979) Civil rights and union movement leader, and founder of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters Zachary Zabinsky • Social Security • SSI - Disability Claims Personal Attention To Every Case Working For Disability Rights Since 1983 NO FEE WITHOUT RECOVERY 621 SW Morrison, Portland 223-8517 FEBRUARY 15, 2008 NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS PAGE 5
