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About Northwest labor press. (Portland , Ore.) 1987-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 5, 2008)
DEC. 5, 2008 8pger:NWLP 12/2/08 10:21 AM Page 3 Cash needed to complete Workers Memorial in Salem nalized by the state. The problem now is cash. The memorial will consist of a large boulder with an inscribed bronze plaque attached to it. The plaque will read: “In memory of Oregon’s working men and women who suffered injury or loss of life on the job. MOURN FOR THE DEAD, FIGHT FOR THE LIVING Workers Memorial Day, April 28. Donated to the State of Oregon by the working men and women of the Oregon AFL-CIO” SALEM —The long-anticipated construction of the Fallen Workers Me- morial on the State Capitol Mall is just about ready to proceed — when enough money is collected to get the green light. The Oregon AFL-CIO’s Safety and Health Committee has been trying for more than three years to erect a perma- nent memorial in Salem to honor work- ers who have been killed or injured on the job. The idea for a permanent me- morial came in the form of a resolution passed at an Oregon AFL-CIO conven- tion in 2005. The process to locate a site and get approval for the design have been fi- Organizing drive at Oregon Steel Mills falls short Union supporters at Evraz Oregon Steel Mills plant in North Portland failed to get majority support for join- ing United Steelworkers (USW) by a Nov. 26 deadline. Union organizer Pete Passarelli said about 200 workers signed cards, but that was about 85 short of a majority. The Russian multinational Evraz bought several steel mills and related facilities in the United States and Canada in recent years, including Port- land-headquartered Oregon Steel Mills and IPSCO of Canada. Evraz left management in place af- ter it acquired Oregon Steel Mills in 2006. Under its union contract with two Pueblo, Colorado locals, Oregon Steel Mills agreed to recognize the Steel- workers as the representative of work- ers at the Portland plant if the majority signed union cards over a three-month period. During that time, the company allowed union organizers to talk with workers in break rooms. It made it harder that wages at the Portland mill — $14 to $15 an hour — are equivalent to those at unionized mills owned by Evraz, Passarelli said. And the bad economy made workers want to hang on to what they got. Ore- gon Steel Mills laid off about 130 of the plant’s 570 workers in early November, and some workers felt unionizing at such a time was too risky. Plus, union organizers had to con- tend with an active steel mill rumor mill. Among the rumors: If they union- ized, all workers would lose their sen- iority and have to start from scratch; workers would lose their profit-sharing bonuses, and bargaining could go ei- ther way, meaning that workers might even lose what they currently have. Where did all the rumors come from? Passarelli suspects anti-union consultants hired by the company played a role. When United Steelwork- ers showed up in August, Oregon Steel Mills hired The Burke Group, based in Malibu, California, which advertises it- self as a “preventative labor relations consulting firm” that helps employers stay “union free.” Burke Group representatives talked up the disadvantages of unionizing at a mandatory-attendance union informa- tion meeting held by Oregon Steel Mills. No union representatives were invited to give a counter-argument. “If the company really intended to be neutral,” Passarelli said, “they wouldn’t have hired the Burke Group.” Oregon Steel Mill’s agreement with the locals in Pueblo, Colorado comes up for renegotiation next fall. Bargain- ing could be tough if the worldwide economic downturn dampens steel de- mand, and profits. The current Pueblo contract is a five-year deal signed in 2004 as part of a legal settlement that ended a six-year labor dispute that began as a strike and continued as a lockout. Ultimately, the National Labor Relations Board ruled Oregon Steel Mills had violated labor law, and the company agreed to a record-setting back pay settlement that is still being paid out. The boulder will rest within a land- scaped sitting area near the main en- trance of the Labor and Industries Building at 350 Winter St. NE, Salem. The national AFL-CIO declared April 28 as Workers’ Memorial Day more than two decades ago to remem- ber those who have been killed or in- jured on the job. Every year unions throughout the country hold services to remember those workers. “We now have an accurate estimate of the cost using all union labor to pre- pare the site and construct the memo- rial,” said Al Dorgan, chair of the Ore- gon AFL-CIO’s Safety and Health Committee and the lead man on the project. Dorgan is president of Albany Steelworkers Local 7150. LCG Pence Construction of Salem will be the contractor, with work being done by members of Laborers Local 320 and Carpenters Local 1065. “The contractor is ready to begin construc- tion as soon as we have the funding,” Dorgan told the Oregon AFL-CIO Ex- ecutive Board at its quarterly meeting Nov. 21. To date, $20,514 has been collected, following a $5,000 contribution from the state labor federation. Total cost for the project is $49,765. Donations can be sent to: Oregon AFL-CIO Worker Memorial Fund 2110 State St. Salem, OR 97301. (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 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, PORTLAND, OR 97213-0150 DECEMBER 5, 2008 NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS PAGE 3
