Northwest labor press., February 04, 2011, Page 4, Image 4

Feb. 4, 2011:NWLP
2/1/11
10:14 AM
Page 4
Put forth by member of Bakers Local 114
Bill proposes to add ‘bereavement’ to Family Leave Act
A longtime member of Bakers
Union Local 114 is behind a bill in the
Oregon Legislature that would expand
the Oregon Family Leave Act to allow
for up to eight weeks leave to mourn
the death of a family member.
The Oregon Family Leave Act was
passed by the Legislature in 1995. It
requires employers of 25 or more em-
ployees to provide their workers with
job-protected leave (up to 12 weeks) to
care for themselves or a family mem-
ber in cases of illness, injury, childbirth
and adoption, or when on military call
to duty or on leave from active duty. A
family member can be a child, spouse,
domestic partner, parent, parent-in-law,
grandparent, or grandchild.
The leave is unpaid, although there
are provisions that allow a worker to
tap accrued sick and vacation pay.
Robin Zimmerman, 50, is a 31-year
member of Bakers Local 114 em-
ployed at Oroweat. In May 2008, he
lost his wife to cancer. Her death im-
pacted him and their young daughter
deeply. Zimmerman was fortunate to
have strong support from his employer,
his union, and from co-workers, but it
opened his eyes to the fact that the stan-
dard leave for mourning among em-
ployers is just three days.
“I don’t know if all employers do
the right thing. Mine told me to take as
long as I needed,” Zimmerman said.
“What I did realize, though, was there
was nothing in writing.”
Employers don’t always do the right
thing.
In California, Senate Majority
Leader Ellen Corbett introduced a bill
this session to include bereavement
leave. She cited several instances in
which employees were fired for miss-
ing work following a death in the fam-
ily. In one case, an employee took fam-
ily and medical leave to care for her
sick father. When her father died, she
attended his funeral. When she returned
to work, her employer informed her
that her family leave had ended upon
her father’s death. She was fired. In an-
other case, an employee’s husband died
suddenly. She took off for a few days
to fly home to bury him — and was
fired immediately upon her return to
work.
In Portland, Amalgamated Transit
Union Local 757 has a grievance pend-
ing against TriMet for denying funeral
leave.
Zimmerman says, from his experi-
ence, three days away from work just
isn’t enough. The initial shock can
leave families unable to function with
their daily lives. “Even the basic chore
of fixing and eating meals disappears
into a fog,” he said.
It was his personal experience that
led Zimmerman to the crusade to
change the law.
He remembered reading an article
about an expansion of the Oregon Fam-
ily Leave Act. “Why couldn’t bereave-
ment be included in that law?” he asked
himself. Zimmerman consulted with
the head of the Bakers Union, Terry
Lansing, about how to get a bill in the
Legislature. He did some research on
the Oregon Family Leave Act, then
called his state senator.
Zimmerman told the Labor Press
many people he talked to were unaware
that bereavement leave wasn’t covered
under the act — state or federal.
Zimmerman talked with Sen. Brian
Boquist (R-Dallas) in spring of 2009
and asked him to sponsor a bill. They
met and, eventually, SB 506 — The
Grief Recovery Bill — was hatched. It
was filed pre-session and has been as-
signed to the Business, Transportation,
Economic Development Committee.
The bill would amend the Oregon
Family Leave Act to allow an immed-
iate two weeks off following the death
of a family member, with the ability to
get more time — up to eight weeks —
if approved by a physician.
Zimmerman doesn’t know if the bill
will pass, but he’s asking union mem-
bers and others who support the idea to
call their legislators and ask them to do
so, too.
For more information about the bill,
go online to www.griefbill.orbs.com.
...TriMet stops mediating grievances
(From Page 1)
the governor asking for expedited arbi-
tration to get the contract settled.
As Hunt was talking about a possi-
ble work stoppage, TriMet board presi-
dent Richard Van Beveren interrupted,
telling him to wrap up quickly, other-
wise, he would adjourn the meeting.
Board member and Teamsters offi-
cial Lynn Lehrbach attempted to ask a
question, but Van Beveren refused it.
“I’m not recognizing your question,”
Van Beveren said.
“You’re shutting me off, Mr. Chair-
man?” Lehrbach asked.
“Yes,” Van Beveren retorted, saying
that the board had already allowed sev-
eral members to speak. “I think we have
given ample time, we have been very
patient, and you keep going, Jon.”
In a heated exchange, Hunt said
union members would not sit idly by
and watch TriMet continue to break the
law. He said they will attend every
board meeting, with everyone signing
up to testify to make sure their voices
are heard.
“If we have to shut this city down,
that’s exactly what we’re going to do,”
he said.
The union raised two other issues at
the board meeting. The first concerned
the safety of Type 4 light-rail trains. The
union contends that the framing of the
cab creates significant visual obstruc-
tions for operators, resulting in them
“driving blind.”
“Until these serious safety defects
are corrected, we will demand that
TriMet indemnify all operators from
any disciplinary actions arising out of
situations which implicate the Type 4
PAGE 4
problems,” said ATU Financial Secre-
tary Evette Farra.
The second issue was over a recent
notice by TriMet that it will no longer
mediate grievances that are scheduled
for arbitration.
Hunt said it is irresponsible for man-
agement, which is claiming poverty, to
refuse to mediate workplace disputes.
He said the average cost to mediate a
grievance is $300, while the traditional
arbitration process costs TriMet about
$22,000 per grievance. Currently there
are 91 grievances pending.
“TriMet is now forcing these cases
to full-blown arbitration at an estimated
cost to taxpayers of over $2 million,
while they could resolve the same 91
grievances through mediation for a total
cost of around $27,300,” Hunt said.
12/31/11.
NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS
FEBRUARY 4, 2011