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About Northwest labor press. (Portland , Ore.) 1987-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 18, 2009)
Sept.21, 2009:NWLP 9/15/09 10:34 AM Page 8 ...New AFL-CIO leaders embark on youth outreach (From Page 1) ents, and more likely to have chronic health conditions — pensions and health care matter more. On top of that, union seniority rules mean that more senior workers get first pick at choice assignments, while younger workers are first to be laid off, sometimes even getting “bumped” when the positions of more senior workers are eliminated. Young members might rather have a raise than a pension increase, but union bargaining priorities are more influ- enced by members who show up to meetings. And when curious young people do show up to meetings, they may be put off by what they see as ar- cane customs and traditions, or proce- dures they don’t understand. That was the experience of Elvyss Argueta, 27-year-old employee of Tran- sition Projects, when he attended a meeting of American Federation of State, County & Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Local 88. “I left after a few minutes,” Argueta said. “They were using Roberts Rules (of Order). I didn’t know Roberts Rules, and it wasn’t explained.” Not every union contract gives the union a chance to orient new members, so it can take time before members learn on the job about the union. This can leave new members wondering why they pay union dues — at least un- til they have a problem at work and turn to a steward for protection. There are exceptions. Shuler says building trades unions get deeper com- mitment from young members. Shuler was most recently executive assistant to International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) President Ed Hill. “Most people think of the IBEW as a building trades union, but we represent seven industries, including utilities and telecom,” Shuler said. “We’re like a mini AFL-CIO.” Shuler said she could see the differ- ence — young members from her union’s building trades side were more likely to have a sense of union history and be aware of union benefits. In build- ing trades unions, where the union tends to become part of a new member’s iden- tity. New members are trained at union- run training centers and work as ap- prentices alongside more experienced co-workers. Plus, building trades union members typically get work through the “There’s a perception that it’s your grand- father’s union movement,” Bussel said, “that it’s a bunch of old white guys...” union hiring hall, and return there when the job ends. They know their long-term livelihood depends on their union main- taining market share in competition with employers that don’t pay the same generous wages and benefits. As Bussel, 57, sees it, labor does have at least one selling point that ap- peals to the young:Young people are at- tracted to unions when it’s part of the cause of economic justice for workers. In the last 15 years, two cause-ori- ented AFL-CIO programs brought young people into the union movement as staff and allies. Union Summer, mod- eled on the Freedom Summer of the civil rights era, exposed college student activists to the labor movement as sum- mer-long interns. And the Organizing Institute — which trained and placed union organizers — recruited on college campuses as well as among rank-and- file union members. Both programs have been suspended for funding rea- sons. To the extent that the AFL-CIO’s community affiliate Working America employs large numbers of young door- to-door canvassers, it may have re- placed those programs as a point of en- try to the union movement for young workers attracted to the cause. Trumka asked Shuler to take charge of a new youth outreach effort, starting with a workshop at the AFL-CIO’s Pittsburgh convention. But judging by the most recent Bureau of Labor Statis- IN MEMORIAM Kenneth Gustav Weigel, a retired business manager and longest-serving member of Sheet Metal Workers Local 16, passed away Aug. 28. He was 91. Weigel was born Oct. 24, 1918, in Portland. He gradu- ated from Washington High School be- fore entering the sheet metal trade in 1936. He became a union journeyman in 1940. He was hired as a full-time business agent in 1950 and worked in that capacity until 1970, when he was elected business manager/financial sec- retary. During that time, Weigel helped then-Business Manager Harold Halvor- son set up Local 16’s Health Trust in PAGE 8 tics figures, getting young people into and involved in unions could be a con- siderable challenge. Just 5 percent of workers age 16 to 24 belong to unions, compared to 16 percent of workers age 45 to 54. And the highest rates of union membership are among workers 55 to 64 —16.6 percent. One explanation 1957, the first construction trade health trust west of the Mississippi. In 1961 Weigel also helped set up the Oregon Sheet Metal Workers Local Union Pension Trust. He also was deeply involved in ap- prenticeship training. He served one term as business man- ager before returning to the trades. He retired in 1980. He is a past-president of Local 16’s Retirees Club. He married Ruth Marsh in 1939. They lived in the same home for 70 years, raising six children. I addition to his children, Weigel is survived by 15 grandchildren, 10 great-grandchildren, and one great-great grandchild. may be that once workers get union jobs, they stay in them. But there are other reasons that unionization is lowest among the young. One, Bussel says, is a cultural gap, fed by labor’s image. “There’s a perception that it’s your grandfather’s union movement,” Bussel said, “that it’s a bunch of old white guys. These things are stereotypic, but also there’s truth in them.” America is becoming more ethni- cally diverse, and young people coming out of high school are much more likely to be black, Latino, or Asian than the generation nearest to retirement. Yet union leaders tend to be older, whiter, and maler than the workforce as a whole. Secondly, unions have historically been concentrated in heavy industry and manufacturing — sectors that have had shrinking employment thanks to productivity improvements … and competition with workers overseas. In industries with declining employment, there’s less need to hire new workers, so the workforce ages in place. On the other hand, the sectors that are growing in employment — hospi- tality, service, retail — are almost en- tirely nonunion. Unions have not tried or have not succeeded in organizing some the biggest employers of young workers — fast food franchises and big box retail chains. In his 2001 book Youth at Work, so- ciologist Stuart Tannock argued that these industries constitute a separate “stop-gap” economy in which young workers from many different socio-eco- nomic classes are sucked into a kind of “lost decade.” They may work 10 years at restaurants, coffee shops, or video stores without ever having health bene- fits or earning above $30,000 a year. UNITE HERE Local 9 staffperson Eryn Slack, now 35, bounced around food service jobs for a decade and a half before landing her first union job in 2004 as a restaurant server at the Port- land Hilton. The union, for her, meant health care and real job security. “Seniority means a young worker knows that if they commit to a job they can make a career of it,” Slack said. “That’s a much more solid prospect than the idea that you’d be working at an employer and be no more secure in 10 years than you are now.” NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS One unionized industry that employs large numbers of young people is gro- cery, and United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW), which represents grocery workers, may be organized la- bor’s youngest union: 34 percent of its nationwide membership is under 30. But young members are still much less likely to get involved. UFCW Local 555, headquartered in Tigard, offers new members $50 off their initiation fee if they attend an orientation session at the union hall. Communications repre- sentative Bill Pronovost said only a small percentage do so. The ultimate in rejuvenation is to get young union members involved in their own workplace unions. Shuler points to one case where a union commitment to recruiting and nurturing young mem- bers appears to be paying off. It started in 2006, when three young members of Oregon AFSCME — Jaimie Sorenson, Matt Hilton, and Michael Hanna — at- tended their union’s national convention in Chicago. At a “town hall” style session, dele- gates were asked their age. Shocked that less than 3 percent were under 35, the three Portlanders conceived the idea of a youth group for AFSCME mem- bers, dubbed “Next Wave.” Sorenson, now 31, says they shopped the idea to local and national leaders, and found tremendous support. A grant from the national union enabled young AFSCME members to attend the statewide convention as observers. It worked, Sorenson recalls: Local meet- ings might elect experienced members as convention delegates, but as ob- servers, newer members could get edu- cated and catch union fever too. Next Wave has evolved into a combination informal social club, support group, and youth caucus. In Portland, members bond at bowling events and at monthly meet-ups called Thirsty Thursdays held at local pubs. Oregon now has five Next Wave chapters, and a resolution at AFSCME’s 2008 convention took Next Wave na- tional. In June 2009, a Next Wave con- ference in Chicago attracted 600 partici- pants fromAFSCME locals nationwide. Argueta, the young worker who walked out of the union meeting the year before, was persuaded to attend a Next Wave event by a union steward. That was 18 months ago. Now he’s a steward, member of his workplace bar- gaining team, and Next Wave’s statewide facilitator. “I started to see the importance of the union as a social justice organiza- tion, not just for themselves but for all working people. And that really ap- pealed to me.” Group wants to revitalize construction partnership A group representing labor, manage- ment and owner/developers has taken steps to revitalize Partners in Construc- tion Cooperation (PICC) in Oregon and Southwest Washington. A luncheon Sept. 10 drew nearly 50 participants. As its title suggests, PICC is a “co- operation committee” open to all in the industry who finance, design, build, and use union construction projects. Coop- eration among the craft unions is a key element of PICC. Regular “toolbox meetings” are held at which workers can openly share their thoughts and concerns. Owners and contractors draw on the experience of the workers to solve any problems. The bottom line is to increase pro- ductivity, boost morale, reduce acci- dents, and eliminate grievances. PICC was launched in 1987. Its showcase project in February 1988 was a 105-unit Powell Valley Retirement Center in Gresham. Other projects fol- lowed, including the ARCO Sealifts in 1989 and 1990, four James River mill projects, and Intel’s research and devel- opment plant in Hillsboro. “Powell Valley was the best project I ever did in my 35 years in the business,” Brandt said at the luncheon. “It came in under budget and ahead of schedule.” Bob Alton, a retired project manage- ment engineer for James River Corp., incorporated PICC on all of his large projects. He said the process motivated workers, resulting in “increased pro- ductivity and very little rework. That makes a difference.” For all its success, PICC faded away in the mid-1990s as construction work increased and portions of the program were incorporated into project labor agreements. But PICC’s non-profit sta- tus was maintained over the years by executive director Burton White. Taxes were filed each year on a small cash ac- count that has sat untouched over the years. “It’s all still legal. We could start to- morrow if we want to,” said Paul Stuck- enschneider, a retired federal mediator who is helping in the effort to revitalize the program. Stuckenschneider and White met with Ed Charles, executive director of Associated Wall and Ceiling Contrac- tors, Scott Gardner of Gardner Finan- cial Group, and Wally Mehrens, retired executive secretary-treasurer of the Co- lumbia Pacific Building and Construc- tion Trades Council. They are co-chairs of the new PICC, representing manage- ment, owners/operators, and labor. The group decided to invite union leaders, contractor association officials, and signatory contractors to a luncheon to see if there was interest in PICC. “This is the first step,” Charles said. “Of course, it will require owners and developers getting on board to make it happen.” For more information about PICC, contact White at 503 590-3535. SEPTEMBER 18, 2009
