Wokers at Vancouver Hilton Hotel get first contract with UNITE HERE Local 9 VANCOUVER — Workers at the Hilton Vancouver Washington hotel and convention center ratified their first-ever union contract June 26, bringing to a close a two-year long contract cam- paign. Workers there joined UNITE HERE Local 9 in June 2006. The new contract clears the way for the formal end of Seattle and Portland boycotts of the Hilton. All three hotels are now under contracts that will expire simultaneously in 2011. The vote, by about 70 percent of the 140 employees, was eight-to-one in fa- vor of approving the contract, said chief negotiator Rick Sawyer. The contract contained the same job security lan- guage as the recently concluded Port- land deal, with rules against outsourc- ing, and successorship in the event of hotel sale. Wages and benefits, while not up to the Portland and Seattle standard, were good for a first hotel contract, Sawyer said. Non-tipped employees get a 5 per- cent increase, while banquet depart- ment employees get a 5 percent in- crease in their take from the service charge levied on banquet customers. Workers will be now paid time-and-a- half after eight hours in a shift, and dou- ble time starting the seventh consecu- tive day of work. Employees also get a one-time contract-signing bonus of $200, or $100 for on-call workers and recent hires within the last six months. Monthly employee premiums on the company’s employee-only health insur- ance plan dropped to $40 a month from $89. Workers will now have access to the union’s 401(k) pension plan, though contributions to that are still up to the employee, with no employer match. And they’ll now be participants in the defined pension program, with the em- ployer contribution starting at 33 cents an hour. Housekeepers will have the same daily room quota as the Portland con- tract — 15 rooms. And the contract contains a re- opener next year, meaning bargaining on further improvements to wages and benefits will begin next March. (Editor’s Note: Some building trades union locals are not patronizing the Vancouver Hilton Hotel and Conven- tion Center because portions of the fa- cility were built by nonunion subcon- tractors. However, neither the Oregon State BCTC or the Columbia Pacific BCTC have sanctioned a boycott against the Vancouver Hilton.) Broadway Floral for the BEST flowers call 503-288-5537 Thanks to a settlement brokered by the National Labor Relations Board, Georgene Barragan (pictured left) returned to Bread Song Bakery June 24, six months after she was fired for failing to reveal past union expe- rience on her job application. Barragan, a full-time organizer for Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers & Grain Millers Local 114, got a job at Bread Song last July in or- der to give workers there a chance to unionize. Wages and benefits are sub- stantially lower there than at unionized bakeries in the Portland area. The Lake Oswego bakery is owned by a subsidiary of Cargill. Barragan said co-workers welcomed her back with hugs and handshakes when she arrived for her pre-dawn shift. They knew she was returning be- cause Bread Song posted terms of the out-of-court settlement in three lan- guages on company bulletin boards. Barragan was a mixer when she was fired, but rather than displace her re- placement, she came back in a position on the divider line. She’ll divide dough into loaves while on the clock, and unite bakery workers, she hopes, while on break. “I think they’re realizing the power they have if they come together as one and negotiate in a union rather than on their own,” Barragan said. NOLC to host Labor Day picnic The Northwest Oregon Labor Coun- cil will once again sponsor a Labor Day Picnic at Oaks Park in Southeast Port- land. Labor Day is Sept. 1. The Labor Council will sell food Carpenters, Electricians, Laborers, Glaziers, Sheetmetal Workers, Floorcoverers, Bricklayers, Cement Masons, Roofers, Asbestos Workers, Millwrights, Painters, Elevators, Plasterers, Family Whatever your needs, we’ve got it covered. Check out our variety of loan products listed below: Your “Union” Credit Union. Proudly serving union members since 1954. Spend your summer doing what you enjoy with the help of IBEW & United Workers FCU Loan Products! New and Used Autos Boats & RVs Signature Loans Lines of Credit Visa Classic & Platinum Cards Secured Visa Cards 1st & 2nd Mortgage Loans Home Equity Lines of Credit Share & Certificate Secured Loans Motorcycle, ATV & Jet Ski Bare Land Loans Construction Loans 9955 SE Washington Portland, OR 97216 503-253-8193 * 800-356-6507 www.ibewuwfcu.com Carpenters, Electricians, Laborers, Glaziers, Sheetmetal Workers, Floorcoverers, Bricklayers, Cement Masons, Roofers, Asbestos Workers, Millwrights, Painters, Elevators, Carpenters, Electricians, Laborers, Glaziers, Sheetmetal Workers, Floorcoverers, Bricklayers, Cement Masons, Roofers, Asbestos Workers, Millwrights, Painters, Elevators, Plasterers, 1638 NE Broadway, Portland Legal settlement returns union organizer to bakery scrip for 25 cents each. Three scrip will get you a hot dog and chips, two scrip a soda pop, and four scrip a beer. A deluxe ride bracelet costs $8.50 and is good from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The ride bracelet also includes admission to the roller skating rink. To pre-order scrip, call the Labor Council at 503-235-9444. ‘Labor Night’ at ballpark The Columbia Pacific Building and Construction Trades Council will spon- sor “Labor Night at the Portland Beavers” Thursday, Aug. 21. Tickets are $12 for seats along first base. The first pitch will be thrown at 7:05 p.m. Unions are encouraged to purchase bulk tickets early. To order, call Brian Pollard at 503-553-5441. (International Standard Serial Number 0894-444X) Established in 1900 at Portland, Oregon as a voice of the labor movement. 4275 NE Halsey St., P.O. Box 13150, Portland, Ore. 97213 Telephone: (503) 288-3311 E-mail: Michael492@comcast.net Editor: Michael Gutwig Staff: Don McIntosh, Cheri Rice Published on a semi-monthly basis on the first and third Fridays of each month by the Oregon Labor Press Publishing Co. Inc., a non- profit corporation owned by 20 unions and councils including the Oregon AFL-CIO. Serving more than 120 union organizations in Ore- gon and SW Washington. Subscriptions $13.75 per year for union members. Group rates available to trade union organizations. PERIODICALS POSTAGE PAID AT PORTLAND, OREGON. CHANGE OF ADDRESS NOTICE: Three weeks are required for a change of address. When ordering a change, please give your old and new addresses and the name and number of your local union. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS, P.O. BOX 13150-0150, PORTLAND, OR 97213 Carpenters, Electricians, Laborers, Glaziers, Sheetmetal Workers, Floorcoverers, Bricklayers, Cement Masons, Roofers, Asbestos Workers, Millwrights, Painters, Elevators, Plasterers, Family PAGE 2 NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS JULY 4, 2008