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About Northwest labor press. (Portland , Ore.) 1987-current | View Entire Issue (May 6, 2011)
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Page 7 Oregon labor leaders to Congress: end the war A group of 13 Oregon labor leaders sent a tax-day letter to the state’s con- gressional delegation April 18 urging them to take aggressive action towards ending the costly war in Afghanistan. “Oregonians have already spent more than $3 billion on the war, and there is no end in sight,” the letter said. “President Obama’s proposed 2012 budget includes devastating cuts that impact the poor and working class — from low income home heating assis- tance to community service block grants to Pell grants — while allocating another $107 billion to continue the war in Afghanistan.” The letter said “It is unconscionable to balance the budget on the backs of working people in order to fund a war that isn’t making Americans safer. We urge you to take action to pressure the administration to end the war, including co-sponsoring and voting for legislation to end the war and speaking out force- fully for a new approach.” The letter was signed by Oregon AFL-CIO President Tom Chamberlain; Gary Gillespie, president of Oregon AF- SCME Council 75; Linda Burgin, pres- ident, and Heather Conroy, executive di- rector, Service Employees Local 503; Madelyn Elder, president, Communica- tion Workers of America Local 7901; Ken Saether, president, CWA Local 7906; Robert Petroff, president, Oregon Machinists Council; Jonathan Hunt, president-business representative, Amalgamated Transit Union Division 757; Mike Richards, executive secre- tary-treasurer, Office and Professional Employees Local 11; Gregory A. Palle- sen, vice president, Association of West- ern Pulp and Paper Workers; Ryan Takas, union rep, International Long- shore and Warehouse Union Local 5; Margaret Butler, director, Portland Jobs with Justice; Jim Alexander, chair, Southern Oregon Jobs with Justice; and Richard Sanders, executive director, Oregon Education Association. JwJ to celebrate 20th anniversary Portland Jobs With Justice is cele- brating 20 years of fighting for work- ers rights with a May 14 fundraising dinner at the Portland Hilton Hotel. Larry Cohen, president of Communi- cations Workers of America, will be the keynote speaker. Twenty years ago, as CWA director of organizing, Cohen was a key figure in forming Jobs With Justice chapters around the country. The event, entitled “20 Years: A Generation of Resistance and Vision- ary Action,” will begin with a cocktail hour from 6 to 7 p.m., followed by din- ner and presentations, including video highlights of the last 20 years, and recognitions of the group’s work. Tickets are $60 per person, or $700 for a table of 10. For details or tickets, call Eliana at 503-236-5573 or visit the group’s web site at jwjpdx.org. Machinists District W24 would like to thank all those who THANK YOU! sponsored our inaugural Salmon Fishing Derby for Guide Dogs of America. With your help we were able to raise $11,500! Gradine ‘Grady’ Storms equity group P RINCIPAL B ROKER Interest rates & home values support a Buyers Market & great refinancing opportunities. Rates from high 4% to low 5%. Veterans — are you aware of your loan opportunities? Call me for details. • Call/Text; 503-784-8326 Grady@GradyStorms.com Busted! A sampler of recent charges of employer labor law violations filed with the local office of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). New management fires USW unit leader United Steelworkers says Mercury Plastics broke federal labor law when it fired a union officer at its Vancouver, Washington, fac- tory. Rick Evans, a 14-year machine operator, was unit president and a member of the bargaining team until he was fired without warning in March. USW says that’s in retaliation for union activity. The factory prints and cuts plastic films for use in packaging; Cali- fornia-headquartered Mercury bought it last October from Excel- sior Packaging Group. USW has a separate charge against Excel- sior for failure to bargain over the effects of the sale. The most immediate effect was the layoff of over 20 of the facility’s roughly 70 workers. The former union contract had no successor clause, but USW says it still represents the 40-plus workers who remain, and Mercury has agreed to meet and bargain a new agreement. If the old contract had been in force, says union rep Gaylan Prescott, Mercury would have had to use progressive discipline and show “just cause.” And the union would have had a grievance process to contest the firing. Without a contract, Evans was an “at-will” employee, and management could fire him for “attitude.” More workers fired Nonunion workers have rights too, under the National Labor Rela- tions Act. And nonunion employers trample them. Grange Coop- erative, a feed store in Klamath Falls, is accused of firing workers for “protected concerted activity” — Josh Scherf and Leland Ortis — in a complaint filed April 28. And in Beaverton, Rock Creek Veterinary Hospital is accused of the same: firing Rabecca Forbes April 1, for comments she made on Facebook. Repeat offenders PRIZE SPONSORS: Mark Blondin Boise Cascade Brenton’s Outdoor Adventures Britt Cornman Gerber Legendary Blades Lamiglas Red Lion on the River Casey Scott Jim Smith Union Sportsmen’s Alliance Wholesale Sports MAY 6, 2011 DIAMOND SPONSORS: IAM General Vice President Gary Allen and the Western Regional Office Mt. Hood Lodge 1005 Sunrise Dental Willamette Lodge 63 ADDITIONAL SPONSORS: Carlton Farms Larry Jacobs IAM Lodge 1432 Oregon Machinists Council Red Lion on the River Sunrise Dental Battle Ground Barkery A special thanks to Scott Wealth Management for its generous lunch sponsorship! NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS Last month we reported that MetroWest Ambulance, a Washing- ton County ambulance contractor, called the police when an em- ployee asked co-workers to sign union cards. Since then, according to new charges filed by Teamsters Local 223, a manager ordered three union supporters to take off their union pins. We also reported in March that UK-based multinational First Student has had 9 charges filed against it in Oregon alone since January 2010. The company added to its rap sheet with new charges filed April 21 by Oregon School Employees Association for a group of 106 school bus drivers at the Gresham-Barlow School District. They voted last June to unionize, and are still without a contract. OSEA says the company is refusing to negotiate economic issues until non-eco- nomic issues are resolved, and it’s not in a hurry to bargain those ei- ther; the law says employers are supposed to bargain in good faith, but OSEA said First Student had no meaningful response to six in- formation requests the union made since March 15. PAGE 7
