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About Northwest labor press. (Portland , Ore.) 1987-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 19, 2011)
Pro-union, pro-choice: Workers at Planned Parenthood vote to unionize Local Motion July 2011 A list of Oregon and Southwest Washington workplaces deciding whether to be union-represented – as reported by the National Labor Relations Board and the Oregon Employment Relations Board. Voting in union elections Date Workplace (Location) Union Yes No 7/25 Estenson Logistics (Medford) Teamsters 962 15 0 Unionizing by majority sign-up Date Workplace (Location) Union Number of workers in unit 7/14 City of Sutherlin (Sutherlin) Oregon AFSCME 22 Requesting a union election Workplace (Location) Union Number of workers in unit WR Grace & Co. (Albany) Machinists District Lodge W24. Planned Parenthood (Portland, Gresham Salem, Bend, Vancouver) SEIU Local 49 L EGEND : workers will be union-represented DECERT : : workers will be on their own A decertification election occurs when some union-represented workers declare that the union no longer has majority support. A ‘yes’ vote is a vote for the union. 25 166 Workers at Planned Parenthood of the Columbia-Willamette voted to unionize in ballots counted Aug. 10 by the National Labor Relations Board. The tally was 97 to 43 in favor of join- ing Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 49. It started when a worker called Lo- cal 49 to say the group needed a union. Enough workers had signed union au- thorization cards a month later that Lo- cal 49 was able on July 11 to request a government-overseen election for 160 health care and support workers at Planned Parenthood’s 11 women’s health clinics in Portland, Gresham, Bend, Salem, and Vancouver. Workers interviewed by the Labor Press spoke of a variety of motivations for wanting a union, but a common theme is a desire for a more formal voice in how the clinic is run. Wages have been frozen for three years, and employer-provided health benefits get changed significantly without any input from workers. And employee turnover at the clinics is high, workers said. Zac Ireland, an employee at Planned Parenthood’s Northeast MLK Boule- vard Clinic, said staff has turned over almost entirely in the five years he’s been there. A union contract, Ireland said, could create more job security and give employees more incentive to stay, and help make it a better place for pa- tients. “A lot of people don’t want this to be a trial job that you do while you’re going to nursing school. They want it to be a real job.” Ireland said. “We re- ally believe in the mission of Planned Parenthood.” When Local 49 filed for an election, the union wrote to Planned Parenthood management asking for a meeting to discuss neutrality. Management de- clined. Instead, Planned Parenthood of the Columbia-Willamette hired the Barran Liebman law firm, and ran what Local 49 Political Director Felisa Ha- gins termed an aggressive anti-union campaign, with e-mails, meetings and a letter sent to employees. Hagins said about a third of Planned Parenthood chapters nationwide have workers who are union-represented. The next step will be for the two sides to meet to negotiate a collective bargaining agreement. CWA Local 7901 signs first contract with Free Geek Twenty-two workers at Free Geek, www.freegeek.org a local computer re- cycler, ratified their first union contract July 19. Free Geek is a non-profit that refur- bishes computers and gives them to low-income people in exchange for community service. The organization was founded in 2000 as a worker-man- aged collective, but as it grew, it began to add employees who were not mem- bers of the decision-making body. On Nov. 3, 2010 those workers voted to unionize with Communications Work- ers of America Local 7901. The bargaining unit covers both full and part-time permanent employees as well as temporary “apprentices” who work there from nine to 12 months. At Free Geek’s facility at 1731 SE 10th Ave. in Portland, bargaining unit mem- bers work with volunteers, rebuild computers, and disassemble old elec- tronics equipment to recycle dangerous chemicals and heavy metals. After seven months of negotiations, both union members and the manage- ment collective unanimously approved a two-year contract that provides imme- diate pay raises of 5 to 50 cents an hour. Wages start at $11.55 an hour and rise to $12.55 over time under the new con- tract. The two sides will bargain again over the wage scale for the second year. The contract also gives workers paid holidays and paid vacation for the first time, and health benefits for those working at least 24 hours a week. Workers start out with one week paid vacation a year, which rises to three- and-a-half weeks after seven years. Employer-paid employee-only health insurance, which was offered only to full-time permanent employees, now will be offered to all employees work- ing more than 24 hours a week. Em- ployees will contribute roughly $7 to $35 a month toward the premium, de- pending on the number of hours worked. (International Standard Serial Number 0894-444X) Established in 1900 at Portland, Oregon as a voice of the labor movement. 4275 NE Halsey St., P.O. Box 13150, Portland, Ore. 97213 Telephone: (503) 288-3311 Editor: Michael Gutwig Staff: Don McIntosh, Cheri Rice Published on a semi-monthly basis on the first and third Fridays of each month by the Oregon Labor Press Publishing Co. Inc., a non- profit corporation owned by 20 unions and councils including the Oregon AFL-CIO. Serving more than 120 union organizations in Ore- gon and SW Washington. Subscriptions $13.75 per year for union members. Group rates available to trade union organizations. PERIODICALS POSTAGE PAID AT PORTLAND, OREGON. CHANGE OF ADDRESS NOTICE: Three weeks are required for a change of address. When ordering a change, please give your old and new addresses and the name and number of your local union. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS, P.O. BOX 13150-0150, PORTLAND, OR 97213 AUGUST 19, 2011 NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS PAGE 3
