Sept.21, 2009:NWLP
9/15/09
10:34 AM
Page 9
State board says union can decide structure for collecting dues
HOOD RIVER — It’s none of man-
agement’s business how a union col-
lects its dues.
That is essentially what the Oregon
Employment Relations Board (ERB)
told Hood River County in a recent de-
cision that revolved around American
Federation of State, County and Munic-
ipal Employees Oregon Council 75’s
decision to switch to a percentage dues
system in 2007.
ERB ruled unanimously that Hood
River County violated the Oregon Pub-
lic Employees Collective Bargaining
Act when it refused to implement the
union’s new dues structure.
Delegates at Council 75’s conven-
tion in 2007 voted to switch from a flat
rate dues structure to dues equivalent to
1.27 percent of employees’ base salary,
plus $3. Hood River County refused to
collect dues based on percentage, citing
cost and administrative factors.
However, as Council 75 Legal
Counsel Jason Weyand contended to
the ERB: “… both the collective bar-
gaining agreement [between AFSCME
Local 2503 and Hood River County]
and ORS 292.055 require that the em-
ployer deduct dues from the employees’
paychecks. The amount and method of
calculation of those dues is determined
exclusively by the union, not the em-
ployer. The employer is legally bound
equity group inc.
Grady Storms, B ROKER
GR, SRES, E.A.S.T.A.R.
Deadline Approaching!
Call me for information on the
2009 Home Buyer’sTax Credit.
Branch: (503) 233-8883
Direct: (503) 784-8326
E-mail: gstorms@equitygroup.com
Web site: www.gradinestorms.com
SEPTEMBER 18, 2009
to honor that determination.”
In a 21-page opinion and order, the
ERB agreed, citing numerous related
cases. The Board’s decision — in a nut-
shell — is that the union has the right to
determine by what method it collects its
dues, and the affected agencies must
comply.
The ERB charges were filed on be-
half of Local 2503, which represents 25
Hood River County Public Works em-
ployees, but the decision also covers an-
other 50 county courthouse workers
from AFSCME Local 1082.
“This is a huge decision, not only for
our locals in Hood River County, but
because of the important precedent it
could have set if it had gone the other
way,” said Oregon AFSCME Executive
Director Ken Allen.
The ERB ordered Hood River
County to “cease and desist” from re-
fusing to calculate and withhold union
dues (and fair share payments) based on
AFSCME’s percentage formula. In ad-
dition, the county was ordered to pay
the union for the difference between the
dues and fair share payments the union
received based on the old method and
what dues and fair share fee payments
the union should have received if the
county had properly deducted the dues
using the formula method.
Steelworkers Union organizes recycling firm
Seven weeks after one worker called
the Oregon AFL-CIO asking how to
unionize, 27 employees at CRT Pro-
cessing in Clackamas became members
of United Steel Workers (USW).
At CRT’s 10151 SE Jennifer St. fa-
cility in Clackamas, workers earn $10
an hour disassembling televisions, com-
puters, monitors, and laptops; separat-
ing recyclable materials; and crushing
cathode ray tubes.
In a Sept. 3 union election overseen
by the National Labor Relations Board,
they voted 16 to 8 to join USW. Union
organizer Pete Passarelli said workers
want raises, a wage scale, better health
benefits, and better protection against
exposure to toxics, such as lead in the
NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS
cathode ray tube glass.
CRT, based in Janesville, Wisconsin,
hired a Wisconsin law firm to run an
anti-union campaign, Passarelli said.
Workers were called in for one-on-one
meetings with managers. But several lo-
cal elected leaders got involved, and
Passarelli says that boosted pro-union
worker enthusiasm, and may have per-
suaded management to tone down the
anti-union campaign.
CRT has the recycling work because
of a 2007 “E-Waste” law passed by the
Oregon Legislature. The law requires
electronics manufacturers to provide
free and convenient recycling services,
and let them come up with their own
way of doing that. This year they
launched the program, in which Good-
will accepts electronics free of charge
at its 38 stores and 58 donation centers
around the state, and then transports the
products to CRT’s Clackamas location.
State Sen. Jackie Dingfelder, author
of the E-Waste legislation, wrote to
workers saying she supported their
campaign. State Rep. Brent Barton,
whose district CRT is located in, wrote
to the company asking that workers be
allowed to choose freely whether or not
to join the union. And U.S. Sen. Jeff
Merkley’s office sent labor liaison Ed
Hall to a support picnic organized by
USW locals in Albany.
No bargaining dates were scheduled
at press time.
PAGE 9