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About Northwest labor press. (Portland , Ore.) 1987-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 4, 2011)
Busted! A sampler of recent charges of employer labor law violations at the local office of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). Ashland co-op goes gonzo over union drive The National Labor Relations Board has interviewed at least 15 Ashland Food Co-op employees in an investigation of charges filed by United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 555. The 150-employee consumer co-op was accused Oct. 11 of violating at least six separate sections of the federal labor law in the course of an aggressive anti-union campaign waged by its general manager with advice from a Seattle anti-union consultant. The company is accused of cre- ating and recognizing an unlawful company-run “union,” prohibiting pro-union activity while permitting anti-union ac- tivity, removing and defacing union materials, threatening criminal action against a worker who linked to a pro-union web site, surveilling workers’ pro-union postings on social media web sites, encouraging workers to repudiate union au- thorization cards they’d signed, and holding coercive one-on- one meetings at which workers were interrogated about the union and encouraged to sign an anti-union petition. Enthusi- asm for unionizing spread quickly at first, says Local 555 Or- ganizing Director Anne Dietz, above all because workers wanted the “just cause” rights that most union members en- joy — rules against arbitrary discipline by management. But the anti-campaign began soon after. A floor manager started taking workers out to a recycling shed and asked them to sign an anti-union petition. Meetings and letters followed. Ash- land Food Co-op soon became a hostile workplace for open union supporters, Dietz says, with anti-union workers al- lowed by management to harass pro-union workers. AFL-CIO, NOLC relocate to old Machinists hall The Oregon AFL-CIO has relocated its Portland office after completing a purchase of the Machinists Union building located off Powell Blvd. at 3645 SE 32nd Ave. Joining the AFL-CIO at the new lo- cation will be the Northwest Oregon Labor Council. NOLC moved out of its offices at 1125 SE Madison St. at the end of October. Also housed in the facility are the In- ternational Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, and Working America, a community affiliate of the AFL-CIO. Starting this month, NOLC Execu- tive Board meetings will be held at the new location. The Northwest Oregon Labor Re- tirees Council and the Alliance for Re- tired Americans Oregon Chapter (ARA) will continue meeting at 1125 SE Madision, though they will relocate to the conference room of Labor’s Community Service Agency, Room 103. The Oregon AFL-CIO will maintain its Salem office at 2110 State St. Apprentice bricklayer Peter Gargiulo, left, rebuilds a wall outside the Oregon AFL-CIO’s new Portland office, instructed by journeyman pointer/caulker/cleaner Mark Roddy. The office, formerly the Machinists District Lodge 24 hall, is getting a makeover with labor donated by union bricklayers, painters, floor coverers, tapers, plumbers, and others. TriMet Lift workers authorize strike After nearly two years trying to ne- gotiate a contract, employees of a company that provides transportation for the elderly and disabled have voted to authorize a strike. First Tran- sit, a subsidiary of United Kingdom based First Group, has a contract with TriMet to provide TriMet Lift service in Multnomah County. The 250 em- ployees whose labor First Transit sells to TriMet are members of Amalga- mated Transit Union Local 757. Bargaining is at an impasse. The union has appealed to TriMet to inter- vene, without success so far. A mediator is scheduled to meet with the two sides Nov. 21. Ambulance contractor fires union supporters At MetroWest Ambulance, the anti-union lawlessness has gone from bad to worse. In April and May we reported that managers disciplined workers for wearing pro-union buttons and threatened to call police when an off-the-clock worker in- vited co-workers to sign union cards. Since then, the com- pany has been terminating union supporters. According to charges filed by attorney Sarah Drescher on behalf of Team- sters Local 223, MetroWest discharged employees Jason Gordan and David Arellano Aug. 31 in retaliation for their legally protected union activity, and followed that up Oct. 10 with the layoff of 13 employees, many of whom were union supporters. Within weeks, the company hired a dozen new employees, without recalling any of those laid off. MetroW- est has a contract to provide ambulance service for Washing- ton County. A campaign to join the Teamsters has been under NOVEMBER 4, 2011 NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS PAGE 9
