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About Northwest labor press. (Portland , Ore.) 1987-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 2, 2011)
Strike off as members of IBEW #125 ratify new contract at Pacific Power Nine days after they voted to reject a tentative agreement and authorize a strike at Pacific Power, members of In- ternational Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 125 voted Aug. 19 to ratify a new contract. Neither side was making details public as of press time, except to say that it’s a four-year agreement. Local 125 spokesperson Marcy Putman said 91 percent of the unit took part in the vote. Local 125 represents about 420 Pa- cific Power employees in a region that extends from Astoria, Oregon, to Walla Walla, Washington. They include line crews that maintain and restore power lines, as well as metering employees and hydroelectric generation operations and maintenance. Their previous con- tract expired Jan. 26, but had been ex- tended by mutual agreement through Sept. 5. Earlier, Pat Egan — Pacific Power vice president of customer and com- munity affairs — declared in an Aug. 13 guest column in the Bend Bulletin that the utility had “extensive contin- Union Jobs Mean A Better Community Happy Labor Day Roofers Local 49 Russ Garnett Business Agent Financial Secretary • 5032 SE 26th Ave. Portland, OR 97202 503-232-4807 gency plans” for other employees to do the work of Local 125 members in the event of a strike. Egan said Local 125 members had voted down tentative agreements that were “intended to be fair, reasonable and help align their benefits closer to parity with their non- represented co-workers.” Local 125 business manager Travis Eri responded with a guest column of his own in the Aug. 17 Bend Bulletin, explaining that Local 125 did not want service to be disrupted, but was pre- pared to strike because “nearly 100 workers who were grandfathered to maintain a pension until retirement will experience devastating losses as they attempt to retire with dignity.” For another part of Pacific Power territory, members of IBEW Local 659 voted on Aug. 5 to approve a five-year contract. Local 659 represents about 490 operations workers from Albany, Oregon to northern California. Pacific Power serves over 700,000 customers as the electricity distribution division of PacifiCorp for Oregon, Washington and California. PacifiCorp is owned by Mid-America Energy Holdings Company, which is con- trolled by Berkshire Hathaway. Berk- shire Hathaway’s primary shareholder is Warren Buffett, one of the world’s richest people. The Pacific Northwest Iron Workers District Council and Affiliated Local Unions OREGON AFL-CIO Iron Workers Local 14, Spokane, WA. The officers, executive board and staff extend to all Union Members Iron Workers Local 29, Portland, OR. Iron Workers Local 86, Seattle, WA. Labor Day Greetings! Iron Workers Local 751, Anchorage, AK. Iron Workers Local 506, Seattle, WA. ‘Working Together for Oregon’s Working Families’ Iron Workers Local 516, Portland, OR. T OM C HAMBERLAIN , President B ARBARA B YRD , Secretary-Treasurer E LANA G UINEY , Legislative & Communications Director G RAHAM T RAINOR , Political Organizer S TEVE L ANNING , Government Affairs Specialist R USSELL S ANDERS , Communications Specialist C HRIS H EWITT , Organizing Specialist M ARK W ARNE , WIA Labor Liaison S UE H ARRISON , Secretary; T AMMY A NDERSON , Bookkeeper Salem 503-585-6320 SEPTEMBER 2, 2011 Portland 503-224-3169 We Honor All the Working Men and Women on Labor Day. We wish the working families of Oregon and Washington a very special Labor Day. NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS PAGE 5
