Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
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 5 Clay takes helm at UFCW #555 Dan Clay has been appointed acting president of Tigard-based United Food and Commercial Workers Local 555. Clay was elected president of the union in October, but the term of office doesn’t officially start until Jan. 1, 2009. Clay defeated Secretary-Treasurer Jeff McDonald in a race to succeed four- term incumbent Gene Pronovost, who did not seek re-election due to retire- ment Jeff Anderson, a union organizer and longtime member of Local 555, was elected secretary-treasurer. He defeated Executive Vice President Roberta Cun- ningham for the open seat. Rather than wait two months for the new administration to be installed, Lo- cal 555’s Executive Board worked out a deal whereby McDonald resigned as secretary-treasurer. Clay then was ap- DAN CLAY pointed by the Executive Board to com- plete McDonald’s term of office. Pronovost then resigned as president. Under the union’s constitution, the sec- retary-treasurer becomes acting-presi- dent until a successor is named. No suc- cessor will be named. This all happened Nov. 6. Local 555 represents approximately 18,500 workers in Oregon and South- west Washington. It is the largest pri- vate-sector union in the state. The union is in the midst of contract negotiations for some 6,000 grocery workers, meat cutters and central checkout clerks at Kroger (Fred Meyer, QFC), Albertsons, and Safeway stores in the Portland area. Employees have been working under contract extensions since July 26. Clay, Anderson and the bargaining committee met with the employer rep- resentative on Nov. 24. Further talks have been scheduled for Dec. 18-19. AFL-CIO prioritizes ‘09 legislative agenda The Executive Board of the Oregon AFL-CIO on Nov 18 approved five leg- islative concepts that it will introduce when state lawmakers convene in Salem in January 2009. The state labor federation will lobby for bills that: • Change the definition of “manage- rial employee” back to its previous def- inition of “supervisory employee” in the Public Employee Collective Bargaining Act. The definition was changed in 1995’s Senate Bill 750 to exclude some employees from being eligible to join a union. • Require state governmental depart- ments to demonstrate an actual overall cost savings that is not based solely on lower pay and benefits, before public- sector jobs can be contracted out to pri- vate for-profit and non-profit companies. Under the proposal, displaced workers would be offered jobs with the contrac- tor at current pay and benefits. • Establish labor standards for busi- 7LUHG RI :RUNLQJ LQ 3$,1" 0RVW ,QVXUDQFH 3ODQV $FFHSWHG 3 528'/< 6 (59,1* 3 257/$1' : 25.(56 ) 25 2 9(5 < ($56 DECEMBER 5, 2008 ness energy tax credits and renewable energy. The 2007 Legislature increased business energy tax credits for renew- able enterprises, but the statute did not define labor standard requirements. The AFL-CIO bill would specify that 80 per- cent of jobs covered should be full time, local jobs that pay a living wage of at least 300 percent of the federal poverty level for a family of four, and should in- clude health insurance and paid leave. Businesses receiving energy tax credits would have to file an annual report showing they are meeting the criteria. • Make it illegal for employers to hold “captive audience” meetings relat- ing to religion, politics and union organ- izing and give employees the right to sue their employers if they are disciplined or fired for not attending such meetings. • Reform Oregon’s Products of Dis- abled Individuals Law. The current law, written in 1977, allows non-profit qual- ified rehabilitation facilities to take pub- lic contracts without competitive bid- ding, and requires them to replace the current workers doing the job with workers who are disabled. The law is administered to allow literally anyone with any type of disability to qualify, re- gardless of severity or degree. The state labor federation’s proposal would rede- fine severely disabled. 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 HEMORRHOIDS The Non-Surgical Treatment We specialize in the non-surgical treatment of hemorrhoids. For over 40 years people throughout the region have turned to the Sandy Blvd. Clinic for fast and effective relief. For more information, FREE consultation and/or a FREE informative booklet call: Write or call for a FREE information booklet and/or a FREE consultation. (503) 232-7609 THE SANDY BLVD. RECTAL CLINIC PORTLAND Steven G. Cranford, DC, ND FORMERLY THE BEAL-OLIVER CLINIC CHIROPRACTIC/NATUROPATHIC PHYSICIANS 2026 NE SANDY BLVD., PORTLAND, OR 97232 Insurance accepted/pre authorization required. %HHVRQ &KLURSUDFWLF KHOSV EULQJ WKH UHOLHI \RX QHHG 7UHDWPHQW IRU SDLQ GXH WR RYHUXVH DQG UHSHWLWLYH PRWLRQ &KLURSUDFWLF DGMXVWPHQWV 7UHDWPHQW IRU DFFLGHQW DQG VSRUWVUHODWHG LQMXULHV 5HKDELOLWDWLRQ H[HUFLVHV 7KHUDSHXWLF PDVVDJH ,QWHUQDO GLDJQRVLV DQG WUHDWPHQW /DE WHVWV DQG [UD\V 'U 'DQ %HHVRQ &KLURSUDFWRU 6( 7KLUWHHQWK $YH LQ 6HOOZRRG &$// NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS PAGE 5
