Northwest labor press., March 21, 2008, Page 3, Image 3

Portland school board narrowly
ratifies custodial contract, 4-3
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MARCH 21, 2008
Oregon AFSCME backs Obama
Oregon AFSCME Council 75 endorsed Barack Obama for president at its
March 15 Executive Board meeting in Portland. The vote was 60 to 4.
The political action in Oregon breaks ranks with the international union, which
endorsed Hillary Clinton.
“Council 75 took action prior to the upcoming Oregon primary because Obama
has a history of standing up and fighting for working people,” said Oregon AF-
SCME Executive Director Ken Allen. “In Illinois, Sen. Obama fought alongside
AFSCME to keep vital public services open, including mental hospitals and pris-
ons. He also worked to help organize thousands of workers at Resurrection Hos-
pital, and supported card check recognition for other workers seeking to unionize
in their workplace.”
Illinois AFSCME also has endorsed Obama.
Allen said AFSCME plans to mail to its members and participate in other get-
out-the-vote activities on behalf of Obama and other endorsed candidates in
statewide and local races.
BARACK OBAMA
United Food and Commercial
Workers; Teamsters; Service Em-
ployees International Union;
UNITE HERE; Boilermakers;
Plumbers and Fitters; Change to
Win labor federation; Utility
Workers Union; International
Longshore and Warehouse Union;
Oregon Education Association;
Oregon AFSCME Council 75.
HILLARY CLINTON
AFSCME; American Federation of
Teachers; Amalgamated Transit
Union; Bricklayers; National Asso-
ciation of Letter Carriers; Machin-
ists Union; Office and Professional
Employees; Painters and Allied
Trades; Sheet Metal Workers;
Transportation-Communications
Union/IAM; Theatrical Stage Em-
ployees; United Transportation
Union.
Carpenters, Electricians, Laborers, Glaziers, Sheetmetal Workers, Floorcoverers, Bricklayers, Cement Masons, Roofers, Asbestos Workers, Millwrights, Painters, Elevators, Plasterers, Family
Please
e join
n the
e Creditt Union
n
“Annuall Meeting””
Celebration
n 2008
8
Tuesday,, Aprill 15th
h att 7:00pm
m
IBEW
W Locall 48
8
15937
7 NE
E Airportt Wayy
Portland,, Oregon
n 97230
0
Opportunitiess to
o win
n
prizess throughoutt the
e
meetingg
Lasagna
a Dinnerr willl be
e served
d att 6:30pm
m
e bringg yourr familyy and
d fellow
w union
n memberss
Please
Forr more
e information
n calll (503)) 253-8193
3 *
(800)) 356-6507
7
Speciall give-a-wayy to
o alll
attendeess
Carpenters, Electricians, Laborers, Glaziers, Sheetmetal Workers, Floorcoverers, Bricklayers, Cement Masons, Roofers, Asbestos Workers, Millwrights, Painters, Elevators, Plasterers, Family
NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS
Carpenters, Electricians, Laborers, Glaziers, Sheetmetal Workers, Floorcoverers, Bricklayers, Cement Masons, Roofers, Asbestos Workers, Millwrights, Painters, Elevators, Plasterers,
The Oregon AFL-CIO has hired a
new communications and research di-
rector. Rebekah Orr, 32, began Feb. 28.
She replaces Jennifer Sargent, who left
in December to take a job doing com-
munications for the International Long-
shore & Warehouse Union.
Orr comes to the state labor federa-
tion after a short stint at Metropolitan
Group, a public relations firm with of-
fices in Portland, Chicago, and Wash-
ington, DC. During the 2007 session of
the Oregon Legislature, Orr was com-
munications director for the Oregon
House Democratic Caucus, working
for Democratic Majority Leader Dave
Hunt. Prior to that she was the commu-
nications director for Basic Rights Ore-
gon.
Orr grew up in Silverton, Oregon,
the daughter of a family doctor and a
dental hygienist, and graduated from
Silverton High School. She earned a
bachelor’s degree in journalism and
women’s studies from the University of
Oregon in 1999.
Though Orr said she’s new to the
union movement, in a sense her new
job is her second union job. She was a
member of American Federation of
State, County & Municipal Employees
for several years working at Oregon
Health & Science University doing in-
ternal communications for the IT de-
partment. Now, as a staffperson at the
state labor federation, she’ll be repre-
sented by International Brotherhood of
Electrical Workers Local 48.
Carpenters, Electricians, Laborers, Glaziers, Sheetmetal Workers, Floorcoverers, Bricklayers, Cement Masons, Roofers, Asbestos Workers, Millwrights, Painters, Elevators, Plasterers,
Rebekah Orr new
PR director for
Oregon AFL-CIO
It was never clear how many school board members agreed with Portland Pub-
lic Schools when, for months, the district demanded pay cuts of up to 30 percent
from the district’s long-suffering custodians. In the end, the district dropped that
demand in union contract bargaining, and let custodians continue with nothing
worse than a three-year pay freeze.
Some of the board members showed their colors, however, when the agree-
ment went before them for ratification. Three of the seven voted against the con-
tract, arguing that the district was too generous. The three were Sonja Henning, a
lawyer for Nike; Bobbie Regan, West Hills mom and wife of a Pacificorp vice
president; and Trudy Sargent, a property manager and tax attorney.
PPS custodian pay ranges from $14 to $23 an hour, and most custodians earn
under $20 an hour. They are represented by Service Employees Local 503.
Sargent said under this contract the district will spend $4 million a year more
than it did when the schools were being cleaned by Portland Habilitation Center.
The Oregon Supreme Court ruled in 2005 that the district’s outsourcing to PHC
was illegal, and PPS had to rehire the custodians it had let go.
“The millions of dollars we left on the table in this negotiation would have been
better used in the classroom,” Sargent said.
How Presidential Labor
Endorsements Stack Up
PAGE 3