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About Northwest labor press. (Portland , Ore.) 1987-current | View Entire Issue (May 1, 2009)
May 1, 2009 :NWLP 4/28/09 1:29 PM Page 8 ...Fred Meyer drags out bargaining in The Dalles (From Page 1) to lower the cost of the bids, and nine of the 10 contracts went to nonunion competitors at roughly half the wages and benefits. Union electricians have done a lot of work for Fred Meyer in the past. Angry about the shutout, several local building trades union represen- tatives have begun asking members not to spend money at Fred Meyer, and have distributed fliers outside Fred Meyer stores asking the public not to shop there. The public is also starting to hear from United Food and Commercial Workers Local 555. At the Fred Meyer store in The Dalles, Oregon, where grocery workers have been union for years, a group of about 50 non-food workers voted to join the union in November 2007. They still don’t have a union contract, even though the company has numerous non-food contracts at other loca- tions. Bargaining has been going on since February 2008, and a federal mediator is now involved in the ne- gotiations. One sticking point is a well-established union bottom line: “union security” i.e., whether dues will be voluntary. Fred Meyer wants to make it an “open shop.” So far, Local 555 has placed sev- eral ads in the Dalles Chronicle, cre- ated a public campaign Web site, treatusfair.com, and on April 23 held a rally and march in The Dalles. Meanwhile, Portland-area gro- cery, meat, and central checkout workers at Fred Meyer, Safeway, and Albertsons have been working under extended contracts since July 26, 2008. The grocers bargain jointly as Allied Grocers Inc. Negotiations were held April 28- 29, but the outcome of those talks were not available at press time. Letter Carriers’ annual Food Drive set for Saturday May 9 Close to 3,000 letter carriers in Ore- gon and Clark County, Wash., will help “Stamp Out Hunger” on Saturday, May 9, part of the annual National Associa- tion of Letter Carriers Food Drive. Prior to that day, yellow, plastic bags will be delivered to every household. All you have to do is fill the bag with nonperishable food items such as canned meat, fish and soup, cereals, pasta and rice, and leave it at your mail- box on the morning of Saturday, May 9. (Please do not include glass items, homemade items or previously opened containers.) Letter Carriers will collect the bags and deliver them to drop points, where volunteers will sort the donations and forward them to the Oregon Food Bank. Food collected in Clark County will benefit Clark County hunger-relief agencies. The 17th annual Food Drive is the largest one-day food collection of the year in Oregon — and across the na- tion. Last year more than 1.6 million pounds of food was collected in Oregon — and a record 73.1 million pounds of food was collected nationwide. According to the Oregon Food Bank, an estimated 200,000 people get meals from emergency food boxes in an average month. Remembering workers killed on the job A new Fallen Workers Memorial was dedicated by Oregon Gov. Ted Kulongoski April 28 at the State Capitol Mall, where nearly 200 people gathered to honor workers killed on the job last year. The names of 62 workers and 11 soldiers were read aloud as a bell tolled in the background. Also speaking was Oregon- OSHA Administrator Michael Wood. The Oregon AFL-CIO’s Safety and Health Committee has been working for four years to erect a permanent memorial in Oregon. The idea started in 2005 with a resolution passed at the state labor federation’s convention. Ground was broken the week of Feb. 23 and the memorial was completed in time for this year’s observance. The memorial consists of a large boulder within a landscaped sitting area in front of the Labor and Industries Building on the Capitol Mall. The boulder has a bronze plaque attached to it with the inscription memorializing Oregon’ working men and women who suffered loss of life on the job. Fundraising is still ongoing to pay for the all-union-built memorial. To date, $37,500 has been collected. Total cost of the memorial is $49,765. Donations can be sent to: Oregon AFL- CIO, Workers Memorial Fund, 2110 State St., Salem, OR 97301. (Photo by Don Loving) The Marco Consulting Group I NVESTMENT C ONSULTANTS TO M ULTI -E MPLOYER B ENEFIT F UNDS Please call Jason Zenk at 253-376-3391 Midwest Office 550 W Washington Blvd Ninth Floor Chicago, IL 60661 p: 312-575-9000 F: 312-575-9840 East Coast Office 1220 Adams St First Floor Boston, MA 02124 p: 617-298-0967 F: 617-298-0966 www.marcoconsulting.com PAGE 8 NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS MAY 1, 2009
