August 21, 2009:NWLP 8/19/09 11:26 AM Page 7 Members of Laborers #320 ratify first deal with Oregon Child Development Coalition Employees at the Oregon Child De- velopment Coalition (OCDC) in Mult- nomah, Washington, and Marion coun- ties ratified first-ever union contracts earlier this month. Some 400 workers at the private, non-profit pre-school childhood care and education network are members of Laborers Local 320. The bargaining unit consists of teachers, teacher assistants, cooks, bus drivers, custodians and other workers. The staff works primarily with families of the state’s migrant farm workers. The organizing campaign took part in stages, with the first group of some 170 employees in Washington County joining the union in July 2008. That was followed by 140 employees from Mult- nomah County and 90 more in Marion County. Statewide, OCDC employs 1,100 workers at operations in 12 counties, serving about 3,000 children and fami- lies. As more workers joined the union, the sides decided to bargain jointly. Following months of sometimes dif- ficult bargaining, a contract was ob- tained. It was ratified 98-1 in voting that took place Aug. 7. The three-year pact provides for a 27 Union-backed anti-WalMart groups merge WASHINGTON, D.C. (PAI) —Two union-backed groups dedicated to ex- posing the anti-worker actions at Wal- Mart merged on July 31. Their aim is to give united support to a new group of workers campaigning for unionization of the monster retailer. Together, Wal-Mart Watch and Wake-Up Wal-Mart will “maximize the ability for Wal-Mart workers to win a voice on the job and bring change to the entire retail industry,” a joint statement from the United Food and Commercial AUGUST 21, 2009 Workers and the Service Employees In- ternational Union said. UFCW recently restarted its national Wal-Mart organizing campaign. “Wal-Mart workers are standing up and demanding change, and the UFCW is standing with them to achieve the health care and labor law reforms that will restore and expand the middle class,” UFCW President Joe Hansen said. “We will not let Wal-Mart, as the world’s largest retailer, shirk its respon- sibility to its 1.4 million employees.” percent wage increase for Level 4 teach- ers, retroactive to January 2009. All other employees will see raises of 6.9 percent retroactive to January 2009. The contract calls for a wage reopener in the second and third years of the three-year pact. OCDC operates on a budget of al- most $35 million a year. It gets funding from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, U.S. Department of Education, U.S. Department of Agricul- ture, Oregon Department of Education, Oregon Child Care Division, various school districts, and private donations. Some of the funding for the retroac- tive raises is from stimulus fund monies to those agencies that was passed through to OCDC. Local 320 Business Manager Dave Tischer said that in addition to the raises, workers now have in writing a fair and just grievance process, seniority lan- guage, and a new labor-management committee. “We’re pretty happy with it. It’s a good first contract,” Tischer said. Local 320 is headquartered in Port- land. The union represents 1,100 work- ers in heavy and highway construction, at industrial plants, as well as in the pub- lic sector. NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS Local Motion July 2009 Union certifications and decertifications in Oregon and Southwest Washington, as reported by the National Labor Relations Board and the Oregon Employment Relations Board Recognition elections Name of employer Date Name of union McDonald’s Wholesale 7/9 Teamsters #206 & #962 Results: Location Eugene YRC Inc. 7/13 Teamsters Local 81 Portland TriCont Trucking Co. 7/24 Machinists DL #24 Portland Union Union Yes No 51 10 11 0 3 2 Requests for recognition election Name of employer Name of union CRT Processing LLC United Steelworkers Fred Meyer non-food (decertification) UFCW Local 555 Location Number of employees Clackamas 30 Coos Bay 60 PAGE 7