Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Northwest labor press. (Portland , Ore.) 1987-current | View Entire Issue (July 3, 2009)
JULY 3, 2009:NWLP 6/30/09 10:25 AM Page 6 Unions, Catholic bishops, health care providers reach accord on organizing WASHINGTON, D.C. (PAI) — The nation’s Catholic bishops and leaders of unions that represent health care work- ers have agreed on a set of principles to cover labor-management relations in U.S. Catholic hospitals, nursing homes, and other health care facilities. But the principles, unveiled June 22 by Cardinal Theodore McCarrick of Washington, D.C., AFL-CIO President John Sweeney, and Service Employees Local 1199 President Dennis Rivera, have no enforcement power behind them. Instead, they are based on more than a century of Catholic Social Teach- ing, which the church wants its hospital and nursing home boards and adminis- trators to follow. Taken together, the guidelines com- prise a “peace agreement,” whereby Catholic hospitals drop their aggressive tactics in fighting unions, such as de- lays, one-on-one meetings, captive au- dience sessions, and threats and intimi- dation, in exchange for a unions pledge not to run public leverage campaigns against the hospitals. Parties to the agreement include the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, the Catholic Health Association of the United States, the AFL-CIO and its af- filiates American Federation of Teach- ers and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employ- ees, and the Service Employees Inter- national Union. The guiding principles suggest seven key elements for appropriate conduct. Siemens closes, 43 IBEW jobs lost A Northeast Portland electric panel factory owned by the German multinational Siemens terminated its workforce and closed permanently June 30. The layoffs of the 43 assembly workers, members of International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 48, took place in stages in June. The shop — at 6427 NE 59th Place just off Columbia Boulevard — has been union-represented since at least the 1980s. Half the members have 20 to 25 years with the company, said Local 48 Union Representative Nancy Cary. Thanks to a provision negotiated in the most recent contract, Cary said workers will get one week’s severance pay for every year of service, up to 16. After the clo- sure announcement, the company also agreed to pay for three months of health care benefits. Cary said Siemens has been regarded as a good union employer; the closure is a response to the construction downturn. Production of electric panels will be shifted to Siemens plants in California and Texas. Siemens’ Energy and Automation division has 10,000 employees at 28 loca- tions in the United States. They include: • Respect. No negative campaigning by either side. • Equal access to information by the employer and the union representatives. • No biased statements that would give misleading impressions about the advantages and disadvantages of join- ing a union. • No aggressive or coercive behavior. • A fair and timely process. • Meaningful enforcement of a “lo- cal agreement” that would be set at the beginning of the organizing campaign to outline specific rules and measures. • Honoring employee decisions, with no attempt to reverse the outcome of the workers’ decision on whether or not to unionize. Labor officials said they were opti- mistic that the agreed-upon principles would help ease current labor-manage- ment tensions at Catholic health care fa- cilities. “This reaffirms the church’s support of workers’ right to form and join unions,” Sweeney said. “We’re trying to honor the rights of workers, and I believe we have achieved that,” Rivera added. McCarrick said the guidelines are the result of “respectful, candid, con- structive dialogue” over several years and represent “a practical consensus” for Catholic health care ministries. The Catholic health care network in- cludes 600 hospitals and 1,200 other health care agencies employing nearly 600,000 workers across the country. E E FR BARGAIN COUNTER Free classified ads to subscribers DEADLINE: Friday prior to publication Published 1st and 3rd Fridays Now accepting e-mails Send to: Michael492@comcast.net Mail to: NWLP, PO Box 13150, Portland OR 97213 (Please include union affiliation) • 15-20 words • No commercial or business ads • 1 ad per issue • All lower case (NO CAPITAL LETTERS, PLEASE) • Ads MUST include area code or they will not be published Automotive ’03 SILVERADO 3500 dually Duramax diesel, auto, crew cab, nice. $15,750 OBO. 503 927-1229 ’78 FORD PICKUP box trailer,with camper canopy, heavy duty, $900. obo. 503 618- 8068 Brad ‘78 FORD F150, 6 cy, 4spd w/OD, 2 tanks, full bed w/canopy, runs great, $2,500. 503 637-6878 Housing ROCKAWAY OCEAN FRONT, 5 bdrms, 2 ba, best rental on the coast! 503 777-5076 http://home.comcast.net/~rockaway.beach ROCKAWAY BEACH house, 3 bd, 2 bath, sleeps 10, Jacuzzi tub, all amenities. 503 236-7004 or 1 503 355-2136 ROCKAWAY BEACH vacation home, 3 bed, sleeps 8, beachfront, all amenities, $175/nite. 503 842-9607 SEASIDE BUNGALOW, 2 bdrm, 1 bath, 1/12 blocks to the ocean, sleeps 6, off- street parking, no pets, no smoking, $125/nite, call Mike. 503 667-4097 Wanted MOTORCYCLES, running or not, also mu- sical instruments, cash paid 503 880-8183 JUNK CARS, free removal of unwanted cars and pickups. 503 314 8600 OLD WOODWORKING tools, planes, lev- els, chisels, handsaws, slicks, adzes, wrenches, folding rulers, leather tools, tool chests. 503 659-0009 COLLECTOR PAYS cash for older toys, oil paintings, art pottery. 503 653-1506 BOOK TITLED Italy to Rhodes. 503 777- 6292 CINDER BLOCK, 16”x8”x8”. 503 656- 5971 For the Home HEY JED! heat n’ cool that cabin through the wynnder, Amana 6500 btu heat pump, 8mo. old, $450/offer. Bill 503 351-9054 Sporting Goods 2005 JAYCO JAYFLIGHT 5/wheel 28.5 R LS,has big slide out, used only about 8 times. 503 646-9802 2 MOTORCYCLE SEATS for older Harley Davidson, 1 Saddleman, 1 Corbin Gentry, both exc cond, $200 ea. 503 285-4487 18 FT. CUSTOMWELD aluminum jet boat, original owner, 315 hrs, always garaged, 302 V8, $16,900 obo. 971-221-2993 ’98 16’ FISHER AVENGER, welded alum boat/trailer, ’98 50 hp Merc 4 stroke, built-in fuel tank, full top/bow cover, $6,995 OBO. 360 835-8000 42’ VIC FRANK Trawler, SNGL, DSH, fresh bottom paint & zincs, ready to go, needs some TLC, GPS & radar. 503 723- 9197 Rain Forest Boots Made in America! Try a pair on, you’ll like them. Tough boots for the Northwest. AL’S SHOES Miscellaneous ROTO-TILLER, Troy-Bilt horse garden tiller, 7hp Kohler engine, 20" tilling width. $600. 503 706-4557 IDEALARC TIG 200/300 Lincoln & Arc w/tank cart, long leads, good condition, $875. 503 643-6897 5811 SE 82nd, Portland 503-771-2130 Mon-Fri 10-7:30 Sat 10-5:30 Sun 12-6 HEMORRHOIDS The Non-Surgical Treatment Keesey Technique Since 1954 THE SANDY BLVD. CLINIC PORTLAND 503-232-7609 or toll free @ 888-750-1432 Visist us @ www.sandyclinic.com • E-mail: sandyclinic@aol.com Steven G. Cranford, DC, ND We also treat anal fissure’s fistula/absess disease and severe itching. 2026 NE SANDY BLVD., PORTLAND, OR 97232 PAGE 6 NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS JULY 3, 2009
