Feb. 5, 2010:NWLP
2/2/10
9:47 AM
Page 4
AG tells Labor Law crowd he will fight
hard to defend Worker Freedom Act
A sold out crowd of nearly 275 peo- district director of the U.S. Department power to defend the State of Oregon
ple jammed the International Brother- of Labor’s Office of Labor-Manage- against a lawsuit filed by Associated
hood of Electrical Workers Local 48 ment Standards; Richard Ahearn, re- Oregon Industries (AOI) and the U.S.
hall Jan. 29 for the 14th annual Oregon gional director of the National Labor Chamber of Commerce that would re-
scind the Worker Freedom Act
Labor Law Conference.
from becoming law.
The daylong event, coordinated
Senate Bill 519 — the
by Norm Malbin, general counsel
Worker Freedom Act — was la-
for IBEW Local 48, was co-spon-
bor’s top priority bill at the Ore-
sored by the Oregon AFL-CIO,
gon Legislature last session. The
Oregon State and Columbia-Pa-
new law prevents employers
cific Building and Construction
from punishing workers who
Trades Councils, Northwest Ore-
opt-out of mandatory meetings
gon Labor Council, the Labor Ed-
on topics such as politics, reli-
ucation and Research Center at the
gion and union organizing.
University of Oregon, and the
Oregon is the first state to
Center for Worker Rights.
pass such a law. It was to take af-
The conference is geared for
fect Jan. 1.
union officers and representatives.
The AOI lawsuit specifies La-
Workshops focused on how to pre- Dr. John Lund, deputy assistant secretary at the
pare for arbitrations, creative or- U.S. Department of Labor, gives keynote address borers Local 296 and Oregon
ganizing strategies, grievance me- during lunch at Oregon Labor Law Conference. Labor Commissioner Brad
Avakian as defendants.
diation, recordkeeping, updates on
AOI and the U.S. Chamber claim SB
the Family Medical Leave Act, and a Relations Board; Darrell Clark, a com-
class on how to handle employers who missioner with the Federal Mediation 519 violates federal law and the First
discipline employees for off-duty mis- and Conciliation Service, college pro- Amendment.
“We’ve put our very best lawyers on
fessors, several labor attorneys, and one
conduct.
Speakers included Oregon Attorney management attorney, who gave an up- the case,” Kroger said, “and we’re going
General John Kroger; Dr. John Lund, date on recent employment law court to fight it extremely hard.”
Kroger said because of its national
deputy assistant secretary for the U.S. decisions.
Kroger told a luncheon audience that importance, his office is working
Department of Labor’s Labor-Manage-
ment Programs; R. Bruce Edgington, the AG’s office will do everything in its closely with attorneys at the national
Terry Cook (left) of Machinists Lodge 1432 and Joe Kear, a business
representative of Machinists District Lodge 24, scan through 213-page packet
handed out at the Oregon Labor Law Conference Jan. 29 in Portland.
AFL-CIO, not only to coordinate strat-
egy on defending the statute, but also to
work on potential modifications in the
next legislative session to make it that
much more secure from future chal-
lenges in the courts.
“I feel very confident that we’re go-
ing to win this case,” Kroger said.
In the morning plenary session,
management attorney Rick Liebman of
Barran Liebman LLP said that in his
view, the Worker Freedom Act pre-
empts the National Labor Relations
Act.
“A lot of money is being poured into
this lawsuit by both sides,” Liebman
said, further predicting that the case will
wind up at the U.S. Supreme Court.
Driving in Oregon? Keep your hands off your phone
Oregon’s new ban on cell phone use
while driving went into effect Jan. 1.
The minimum fine is $142, and it’s a
primary offense, which means police
can pull you over just for talking or tex-
ting on a cell phone.
The ban has exceptions. The biggest
one is that drivers can talk on a cell
phone if they use a hands-free accessory
such as an earpiece or headset — if
they’re 18 or over. Under 18, no cell
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phone use is allowed while driving.
The point is that a person should be
able to drive without distraction, and be
able to maintain both hands on the
steering wheel. The new law is aimed
at making the roads safer for everyone.
In Oregon, drivers talking on cell
phones were involved in more than
1,660 vehicle crashes and 21 fatalities
from 2003 through 2008, according to
the Oregon Department of Transporta-
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police to interpret. Simply commuting
to work won’t trigger the exception, but
many other workers who must drive a
vehicle and communicate with employ-
ers might fall under it. Oregon Depart-
ment of Transportation (ODOT) Safety
Division spokesperson Shelley Snow
said it’s likely police will issue tickets,
and traffic court judges will be the ones
to interpret the exception.
Violating the law is a Class D traffic
offense. That means it’s the lowest level
violation, but it could still affect a dri-
ver’s ability to hold a commercial driv-
ers license if there are other more seri-
ous violations on their record.
Many employers already provide
hands-free devices, or, like UPS, have
existing no-cell-phone-use policies.
ODOT told its own employees to use
tion (ODOT). At least six other states
— including Washington and Califor-
nia — ban or severely limit using cell
phones while driving.
The new law also has exceptions for
drivers of emergency vehicles, drivers
who are calling to report an emergency
situation if no one else in the car can do
that, and drivers talking on cell phones
for the purpose of agricultural opera-
tions. The new law doesn’t apply to CB
radios, which have long been used by
some workers, especially truckers, who
must communicate with dispatchers.
And there’s an exception for “a per-
son operating a motor vehicle in the
scope of the person’s employment, if
operation of the motor vehicle is neces-
sary for the person’s job.” That work-re-
lated exception may be pretty hard for
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hand-free accessories, even if they qual-
ify for an exemption.
Technically, there’s also an excep-
tion for a person while they’re activating
or deactivating the device, i.e., making
or taking a call. Problem is, to a police
officer, that can look like texting, and if
it looks like you’re breaking the law, an
officer will pull you over.
If they’re not sure about the law,
Snow advised drivers to err on the side
of safety, and pull over before talking,
though not on the side of a highway,
which isn’t safe.
“If you need to make or take a call,
go to a rest area or parking lot. The
same goes for text messaging. Don’t do
it while you’re on the road, even at a
stoplight. Driving is complex. It’s dan-
gerous. You should pay attention to
your driving.”
At the 14th annual Oregon Labor
Law Conference hosted by organized
labor, employment attorney Rick Lieb-
man recommended that anyone who
works at a union as an employee get a
hands-free device for their phone.
“If you get a ticket, it’s on you. If
you have an accident, it’s on you and
your employer. Get hands-free,” he
said.
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FEBRUARY 5, 2010