Northwest labor press., May 06, 2011, Page 4, Image 4

MAY 6, 2011:NWLP
5/3/11
9:54 AM
Page 4
I-5
bridge
replacement
design
gets
Nearly 85 percent of
thumbs up from construction unions
TSOs vote for union
It’s one of the biggest union wins in recent times: 43,000 transportation
security officers (TSOs) at 450 airports will be union-represented. Which
union they will belong to is still to be decided.
Voting took place March 9 to April 19 by phone and Internet. The way
it worked, the workers had three choices: AFL-CIO-affiliated American
Federation of Government Employees (AFGE); the independent National
Treasury Employees Union (NTEU), or no union.
In order to win, one of the choices had to gain 50 percent plus one vote
of all the TSOs voting. No one reached that majority, but 84 percent voted
for a union.
AFGE got the most votes, 8,369 (43 percent). NTEU got 8,095 (41 per-
cent). And 3,111 (16 percent) favored “no union.”
A runoff election has been tentatively scheduled for May 23 to June
21, and votes will be tallied June 23.
The workers are federal employees and work for the TSA (Transporta-
tion Security Administration). TSA was created after airport security was
federalized in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.
And though they do not have collective bargaining rights, more than
12,000 TSO members are currently in 40 AFGE locals across the country.
AFGE Local 1127 is the local for workers in Oregon, and Local 1121 has
workers in Washington and Alaska.
“During a time when this country’s federal workers and their unions
are under attack, it speaks volumes that transportation security officers na-
tionwide stood strong and voted to have a union,” said AFGE National
President John Gage. “By voting for a voice at work, TSOs have demon-
strated that when American workers are given a choice — without inten-
sive intimidation campaigns — they want a union.”
PAGE 4
Building trades unions reacted fa-
vorably to the April 25 announcement
by governors John Kitzhaber of Oregon
and Chris Gregoire of Washington that
the new Interstate-5 Columbia River
Crossing bridge would be built with a
deck truss design.
“It’s a home run,” said John Mohlis,
executive secretary of the Oregon State
Building and Construction Trades
Council. “We weren’t nearly as con-
cerned about the design of the bridge as
we were about moving it forward in a
timely fashion.”
Timing is important as the states are
seeking nearly $1.3 billion in federal
funding for the project, which is esti-
mated to cost $3.6 billion overall.
At a press conference on Hayden Is-
land, the two governors identified the
deck truss bridge as the best replace-
ment structure for the aging I-5 bridge
because it provides the most certain
path to keep the project on schedule and
on budget. The other bridge options un-
der consideration would require delays
for additional design work and environ-
mental analysis, which would add time
and cost to the process, they said.
“We must secure a federal record of
decision on our design this year to en-
sure the best chance of receiving full
funding,” Gregoire said. “The only way
we get federal dollars is by making a
decision. We have listened and listened
and listened to the public at large. We
have listened to experts, as we should.
That’s why this project is moving for-
ward. One thing I can guarantee you ...
NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS
is that some point along the process,
somebody has to stand up and make a
decision.”
Hopes are to secure the funding and
break ground on a new bridge in 2013.
The CRC is seeking $400 million in
federal highway discretionary funding
as well as $850 million in Federal Tran-
sit Administration (FTA) New Starts
funding. Additional funding will come
from the two states and tolls.
Kitzhaber and Gregoire have asked
their respective legislatures and state
treasurers to immediately begin work-
ing with the departments of transporta-
tion to review and refine the financing
plan and toll revenue assumptions. The
bi-state collaborative approach, they
said, will minimize financial risks and
provide accountability and oversight as
the project moves toward construction.
Mohlis believes the goal is attain-
able. “I think we’re in a really good
place at the federal level. We have full
support from our Congressional delega-
tion and support from U.S. Transporta-
tion Secretary Ray LaHood.”
LaHood has called the Columbia
River Crossing “a forward-thinking
multimodal project that will not only
serve area residents, but create jobs,
spur economic development, and help
ensure that the region’s economy con-
tinues to thrive.”
Mohlis said studies show the bridge
and surrounding infrastructure work
will create or retain 27,000 jobs —
17,000 in the construction industry.
Kitzhaber said the decision “is a
strategic commitment to make trans-
portation investments that reflect the re-
alities of the future, not the past. Mov-
ing this project to completion in the
most cost effective way possible is crit-
ical to providing a safer, less congested
transportation system.”
Leave food at
mailbox May 14
Letter carriers in the Portland metro-
politan area and in Clark County,
Wash., will help “Stamp Out Hunger”
on Saturday, May 14, part of the annual
National Association of Letter Carriers
and U.S. Postal Service Food Drive.
Prior to that day, plastic bags will be
delivered to every household, along
with a postcard reminder. All you have
to do is fill the bag with nonperishable
food items such as canned meat, fish
and soup, cereals, pasta and rice, and
leave it at your mailbox on the morning
of Saturday, May 14. (Please do not in-
clude glass items, homemade items or
previously opened containers.)
Letter Carriers will collect the bags
and deliver them to drop points, where
volunteers will sort the donations and
forward them to the Oregon Food
Bank. Food collected in Clark County
will benefit Clark County hunger-relief
agencies. The Food Drive is the largest
one-day food collection of the year in
Oregon — and across the nation.
MAY 6, 2011