Oregon labor law conference
Friday, Jan. 27, in Portland
Mark your calendars for Friday, Jan.
27, date of the 16th annual Oregon La-
bor Law Conference.
The conference is for business man-
agers, business agents and union offi-
cers. The goal is to provide information
that will help them do their jobs better
and to help avoid legal liability.
The focus this year is on the basic
mechanics of running a union. There
will be classes on arbitration, collective
bargaining, the National Labor Rela-
tions Board, the Oregon Employment
Relations Board; classes on how to
conduct union elections and required
recordkeeping; a class on the world af-
ter Wisconsin; and classes on workers’
compensation and Social Security.
The conference is sponsored by
IBEW Local 48, Oregon AFL-CIO,
Northwest Oregon Labor Council, the
Labor Education and Research Center
of the University of Oregon, the Ore-
gon and Columbia Pacific building and
construction trades councils, and the
Center for Worker Rights.
For registration information, go to
www.laborlawconference.com or con-
tact Norman Malbin by email at Nor-
man@ IBEW48.com, or call 503 889-
3669; or Kristi Straight by email at
Kristi@IBEW48.com, or call 503-889-
3660.
Avakian to speak at LERA breakfast
Thank you, Senator Merkley
In a special holiday gesture, staff from Working America delivered 100 “thank you” letters Dec. 20 to U.S. Sen. Jeff
Merkley (D-Oregon) expressing appreciation for his votes against three free trade agreements. The letters were penned
by Working America members from Beaverton and Portland. In a statement, Working America said that at a time
when corporations are shipping jobs overseas and domestic jobs have an average of nearly five applicants per opening,
Working America’s 150,000 Oregon members look to their elected leaders to protect American working families. In
rejecting the free trade agreements, Sen. Merkley stood up for the middle class and the local economy. Unfortunately,
all three trade deals received majority votes. Working America is a community affiliate of the AFL-CIO, with three
million members nationwide. Standing on the far right is Ed Hall, Merkley’s labor liaison.
JANUARY 6, 2012
NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS
Oregon Labor Commissioner Brad
Avakian will be the featured speaker at
a Jan. 17 breakfast program sponsored
by the Oregon Labor Employment Re-
lations Association (LERA). Avakian
will give an update on activities at the
Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industry,
including changes in laws and decisions
and regulations that may impact work
sites in 2012 and beyond.
The breakfast begins at 7:30 a.m. at
the Clackamas Community College,
29353 Town Center Loop East in
Wilsonville. The cost for LERA mem-
bers is $25, or $35 for non-members.
To register in advance, e-mail ore-
gonlera@gmail.com, or contact Anna
Roberts at Annar@seiu49.org.
LERA is an organization that brings
labor, management, neutrals and aca-
demics together to improve labor-man-
agement relations.
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