NWLP-02-18-11:NWLP
2/15/11
9:54 AM
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Union rep Rodgers is Super Bowl MVP
mates. He spoke out
By JAMES PARKS
about how the prospect
Two high-profile union mem-
of a lockout in the 2011
bers were in the spotlight this
season would hurt the
month.
community as well as
On Super Bowl Sunday,
the players.
Green Bay quarterback Aaron
“I think that’s one
Rodgers, the Packers’ team rep
thing we’re trying to re-
for the NFL Players Association
member through this
(NFLPA), took home the Super
whole thing that’s com-
Bowl MVP award. The same day
New England Patriot alternate rep A ARON R ODGERS ing down here ... This
Tom Brady was named Offensive lockout is bigger than just the players.
Player of the Year for the 2010 season. It’s bigger than the players vs. the own-
It is rare for two such high-profile ers. This is a deal that affects more than
players to serve as team reps, but both just 53 of us [the Packers’ players].”
Team owners opted out of the col-
Rodgers and Brady are strong support-
ers of the union. When he was intro- lective bargaining agreement with the
duced as the Packers’ new team rep last NFLPA two years before it was due to
October, Rodgers made it clear that the expire, saying it isn’t working for them.
union is important to him and his team- But they refuse to provide audited fi-
nancial information to explain what is
wrong in a business that generated $9
billion in 2009, during the worst eco-
nomic crisis since the Great Depression.
On top of that $9 billion and what-
ever they made in this football season,
the owners will rake in another $4 bil-
lion next season even if there are no
games because CBS and the other net-
works that air NFL games have agreed
to pay that amount to the NFL even if
there is a lockout. In other words, be-
cause of CBS and the other networks,
the owners have lockout insurance.
This Super Bowl also had another
strong union tie. Both Green Bay and
Pittsburgh are blue-collar manufactur-
ing cities with rich union histories and
where manufacturing is still a major in-
dustry.
Transit Union plans more rallies at TriMet Board
Amalgamated Transit Union Local
757 is continuing its informational
picketing prior to TriMet Board meet-
ings.
The next gathering is Wednesday,
Feb. 23, from 8 to 9 a.m. at the Port-
land Building, 1120 SW 5th Ave., Port-
land. Following the action, the union is
asking everyone to attend the Board
meeting.
“I encourage you sign up to address
the Board. Let your opinions be heard,”
FEBRUARY 18, 2011
said Local 757 President Jonathan
Hunt. “The Board needs to know their
lack of action is affecting real live peo-
ple.”
The sides met with a state mediator
Jan. 28 and Feb. 2, with little progress
made. They have been engaged in a la-
bor dispute since the old contract ex-
pired Nov. 30, 2009. State law prohibits
transit workers from striking and re-
quires that all contract disputes be set-
tled by binding arbitration.
ATU has filed two unfair labor prac-
tice (ULP) complaints. One alleges that
TriMet changed its bargaining position
when petitioning for arbitration in July
2010. The other is for unilaterally
changing health insurance costs, a
move the union says was in retaliation
for filing the first ULP.
The ULPs aren’t sheduled to be
heard until May.
The union has asked Gov. John
Kitzhaber to intervene.
NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS
Time to register
for MDA Labor
Bowl March 13
Hoffmann retires
from Laborers
Bill Hoffmann, a 32-year member of
Laborers Local 296, retired Jan. 1.
Hoffmann worked in the trade for 16
years, starting as a hod carrier. Local
296 hired him as a business agent in
1994, and in 1997 he became an
organizer. He took a job with the
international in 2001, working at the
Laborers Northwest Regional
Organizing Coalition. Hoffmann, 57,
was active in his union and his com-
munity, which included a run for the
Reynolds School Board. He says he
has no ambitions to run for public
office for now. “I just want to golf and
fish,” he told the Labor Press. His
greatest disappointment, he said, was
not seeing organized labor get back
together under one big tent before he
retired. “We need to all be working
together,” he said.
The 22nd Annual Labor Bowl Chal-
lenge to benefit the Muscular Dystro-
phy Association (MDA) will be held
Sunday, March 13, at Hollywood
Bowl, 4030 NE Halsey St., Portland.
Thirty lanes have been reserved. To
date, 14 teams from five union locals
have registered to bowl. This year’s
goal is to have 18 unions represented at
the event.
Money is raised by pledges and a
silent auction. Since its inception, Port-
land-area labor unions have collected
$311,828.75 for MDA. Money goes to
buy wheelchairs and braces for chil-
dren, as well as research and summer
camps.
Registration starts at noon, with
bowling under way at 1 p.m.
For more information, call Jim
Cook, president of Letter Carriers
Branch 82, at 503-493-5903. To donate
items to the auction, call Debbie Bur-
bank at 971-404-5384.
Broadway Floral
for the BEST flowers call
503-288-5537
1638 NE Broadway, Portland
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