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-
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Russ Garnett
Business Agent
Financial Secretary
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5032 SE 26th Ave.
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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