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About Northwest labor press. (Portland , Ore.) 1987-current | View Entire Issue (May 15, 2009)
May 15, 2009:NWLP 5/12/09 10:08 AM Page 2 Oregon AFL-CIO’s top bill, the Worker Freedom Act, gets shelved in committee Q Quest Investment Management, Inc. • } Serving Serving Multi-Employer Multi-Employer Trusts for for Twenty Years Trusts Over Twenty Years Greg Sherwood Adrian Hamilton Cam Johnson Greg Sherwood Adrian Johnson Hamilton Monte Johnson Monte Doug Goebel Doug Goebel Bill Worley Zenk Garth Nisbet Pat Cam Johnson One SW Columbia St., Suite Suite 1100, 1100 Portland, OR 97258 503-221-0158 www.QuestInvestment.com www.QuestInvestment.com b h m k Bennett Hartman Morris & Kaplan, llp Attorneys at Law Oregon’s Full Service Union Law Firm Representing Workers Since 1960 Serious Injury and Death Cases • Construction Injuries • Automobile Accidents • Medical, Dental, and Legal Malpractice • Bicycle and Motorcycle Accidents • Pedestrian Accidents • Premises Liability (injuries on premises) • Workers’ Compensation Injuries • Social Security Claims SALEM — Last week, officials at the Oregon AFL-CIO thought they had enough support in the Oregon Senate to pass one of its top priority bills. SB 519 —The Worker Freedom Act — would have made “captive au- dience” meetings by employers vol- untary for certain topics — including union organizing. In other words, em- ployers could not require employees to come to meetings and listen to their propaganda against unions. The bill was scheduled for a vote in the Senate May 7. Democrats control that chamber 18 to 12. But when the time came to vote, Sherwood Republican Sen. Larry George rose and got a unanimous voice vote to refer the bill to the Rules Committee. That committee is chaired by Democrat Ginny Burdick of Southwest Portland, an open oppo- nent of the bill who has refused even to meet and discusss it with the Ore- gon AFL-CIO. Generally, a bill that is sent to Rules at this point in the session is not going to get a vote, the labor federa- tion said. Union officials were scratching Obama nominates pair to the National Labor Relations Board WASHINGTON, D.C. (PAI) — President Barack Obama has nomi- nated two people, including a veteran union attorney, to vacant seats on the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), leaving just one slot to be filled on the five-member panel that oversees most of the nation’s labor- management relations. Nominated last month were Craig Becker, associate general counsel for both the American Federation of Gov- ernment Employees and the Service Employees International Union, and Mark Pearce, a labor-side lawyer from Buffalo, N.Y. Becker, like Obama, taught at the University of Chicago law school, and has practiced and taught labor law for 27 years. Pearce practiced union-side labor law before many New York state and federal agencies, and recently served We Work Hard for Hard-Working People! 111 SW Fifth Avenue, Suite 1650 Portland, Oregon 97204 (503) 227-4600 www.bennetthartman.com Our Legal Staff are Proud Members of UFCW Local 555 PAGE 2 their heads wondering how it got a unanimous vote. The Oregon AFL-CIO learned from allies in the Senate that the Dem- ocratic and Republican leadership supported the referral. Apparently one of the 16 Democrats who’d commit- ted to vote for the bill changed their mind, so the bill didn’t have enough support to pass. The Oregon AFL-CIO political staff knew Burdick was against it, and that Betsy Johnson, a Democrat from Scappoose, had never committed to vote for it. So they are looking to find which of the other 16 Democrats broke a promise to organized labor. “We are disappointed in the Demo- cratic leadership for not bringing it to a vote,” said Oregon AFL-CIO spokesperson Elana Guiney. “The working people of Oregon deserve to have a public on-the-record vote so we know who stands with working people and who doesn’t.” Senate Majority leader Richard Devlin (D-Tualatin) is also on the Rules Committee, and it’s possible that influence could be brought to bear on Burdick to release the bill to the floor for an up-or-down vote. The Rules Committee stays open Rain Forest Boots Made in America! Try a pair on, you’ll like them. Tough boots for the Northwest. AL’S SHOES 5811 SE 82nd, Portland 503-771-2130 Mon-Fri 10-7:30 Sat 10-5:30 Sun 12-6 NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS on a New York state board that judges state labor department rulings. Obama called both men “impressive and distinguished individuals” who will “serve with the highest ideals of our nation in mind.” AFL-CIO President John Sweeney said both are “extremely qualified” for the posts. “Becker and Pearce also understand the importance of workers’ rights, col- lective bargaining, and the need to re- store balance to the National Labor Re- lations Board,” Sweeney said. If confirmed by the Senate, Becker and Pearce would join holdover NLRB members Wilma Liebman, a Democrat whom Obama nominated to chair the Board, and Peter Schaumber, a Repub- lican. With only two board members, the NLRB has recently found itself in le- gal limbo following two contradicting court decisions issued May 1. To prevent a major backlog of cases, Liebman and Schaumber for the past 16 months have jointly issued 400 de- cisions on uncontested cases where both agreed on the outcome. However, on May 1, the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington, D.C. held that it was invalid for them to issue two-member decisions, while at the same time a federal appellate court in Chicago upheld the validity of their de- cisions. It will likely take a Supreme Court decision to clear up the legal matter. until late in the 2009 legislative ses- sion, which is headed for wrap-up in late June. (Editor’s Note: Sen. Burdick helped block a similar bill in the 2007 Legislature. Because of that, she re- ceived one of the lowest Oregon AFL- CIO rankings of any Democrat in the Senate, and she was not endorsed for re-election by the state labor federa- tion.) ...Washington Legislature (From Page 1) was a push to eliminate the pro-worker House amendments. Sen. Karen Keiser (D-Kent) demanded a roll call vote on each of the amendments. It takes nine senators to require a roll-call vote. Only three other senators joined Keiser. So the amendments were eliminated by a “standing vote,” with no record of who voted to eliminate them. The bill went back to House. There it got the roll-call vote at least, but the amendments were eliminated. In the battle between the business and labor sides of the Democratic cau- cus, labor was routed, said WSLC spokesperson Kathy Cummings. If there was any “up” side to the debacle, Cummings said, it was that the rebuff has brought labor together more in a shared sense of outrage. Cummings said WSLC heard anger from elected leaders and rank-and-file members in nearly every affiliate, and that’s prompting the labor federation to look for a whole new way to evaluate the Legislature. While it’s too soon to say how the state labor movement will change its approach to politics, it’s hard to envi- sion Gregoire’s already-announced campaign for a third term getting labor support. Delegates will meet Aug. 6-8 in We- natchee for WSLC’s next convention. Oregon Bricklayers Union to host regional apprenticeship contest Bricklayers and Allied Craft Work- ers Local 1 of Oregon is hosting the Western States Brick, Tile and Marble Regional Apprenticeship Contest in Portland, Saturday, May 30. The day- long event will take place in the park- ing lot of the Jantzen Beach Red Lion Hotel. Forty-five apprentices represent- ing 10 union locals from California, Nevada, Arizona, Colorado, Washing- ton and Oregon will compete for the chance to move on to the national fi- nals later this year in Bowie, Md. Winners in the respective categories will receive cash and tools, plus an all- expenses paid trip to the finals. MAY 15, 2009
