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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
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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
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MAY 6, 2011
DIAMOND SPONSORS:
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and the Western Regional Office
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Sunrise Dental
Willamette Lodge 63
ADDITIONAL SPONSORS:
Carlton Farms
Larry Jacobs
IAM Lodge 1432
Oregon Machinists Council
Red Lion on the River
Sunrise Dental
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A special thanks to
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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