Labor commissioner sides with Fire
Fighters in overtime pay dispute
Local Motion
February 2012
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
No unionization elections were reported for Oregon/SW Washington in February 2012.
Requesting a union election
Workplace (Location) Union
Number of workers in unit
Lafarge North America cement terminal (Vancouver) Boilermakers Local D-37
McCormack Coil refrigeration factory (Lake Oswego) Teamsters Local 162
St. Charles Medical Center (Bend) SEIU Local 49 DECERT
Dyno Nobel chemical factory (Deer Island) AWPPW
DECERT
3
17
597
24
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.
GRANTS PASS — The City of
Grants Pass has been ordered by the
Oregon Bureau of Labor and Indus-
tries (BOLI) to include vacation and
sick leave when computing overtime
pay for firefighters. The City also must
pay back overtime wages to 24 fire-
fighters — members of the Interna-
tional Association of Fire Fighters Lo-
cal 3564 — to correct up to two years
(the maximum allowed) of miscalcu-
lated pay. The cost is estimated to be
$30,000.
The union filed a wage claim with
BOLI in February 2011 after discover-
ing state statutes that set working hours
and that established a method of com-
puting overtime pay for firefighters.
“We didn’t know the laws even ex-
isted,” union President Michael Fazio
told the Labor Press.
Some members brought it to
Fazio’s attention late in 2010 after at-
tending an HR officers class.
The statute has been on the books
since 1959, with amendments made in
1969.
And new journeymen
Because a labor commissioner’s de-
termination carries legal weight in all
state jurisdictions, the ruling poten-
tially impacts other fire departments in
Oregon. It is not known how many ju-
risdictions or individual firefighters
may be impacted, though Fazio said at
least five other Fire Fighter locals are
planning to file similar wage claims.
Workers with questions about
proper calculation of overtime should
contact the Oregon Wage and Hour Di-
vision at 971-673-0761 or go online at
http://www.oregon.gov/BOLI/WHD/co
ntact_us.shtml.
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Gradine Storms, Principal Broker
Bricklayers recognize longtime members
Bricklayers and Allied Craftwork-
ers Local 1 in Portland held its annual
pin awards and apprentice graduation
dinner Feb. 25. Guest speakers were
Oregon Congressman Kurt Schrader
(D-5th District), and Multnomah
County Commissioner Judy Shiprack.
Sixty-year pins were presented to
Stan Cliett, Chester Dutton, Eugene
Forsberg, Melvin Morrow, Bruce
Plumb and H. Edward Stelting.
A 50-year pin went to John Schell,
with 40-year pins awarded to Ray-
“I asked the City about it, and they
said, ‘you’re right. We’ll make it right.’
Then they changed their mind,” Fazio
said.
The City argued before BOLI that a
more recently enacted law governing
overtime for public employees (the
1973 Public Employees Collective
Bargaining Act, giving public employ-
ees the right to collectively bargain for
the first time) trumped the firefighter-
specific statute. It also asserted that
language in their collective bargaining
agreement with the Fire Fighters ad-
dressing overtime pay eclipsed the law.
Labor Commissioner Brad Avakian
rejected that analysis, ruling in favor of
the firefighters, stating that they should
be paid overtime wages based on their
total regular duty hours, including au-
thorized vacation and sick leave, as set
forth by the state statutes.
The City of Grants Pass has as filed
a petition with the state Court of Ap-
peals to review the decision as it con-
tinues to calculate overtime pay incor-
rectly, Fazio told the Labor Press.
mond Cain, Michael Garvin, Ron
Moore, Wes Swanger, William Wayne
Terry, and Dan Wildenberg.
Receiving 25-year pins were Gary
E. Brown, Brad Cram, Jay Cram,
Lance Howard, Edward Shane
O’Neill, Dennis Price, and Brent Win-
zler.
Graduating from the three-year ap-
prenticeship program were new jour-
neymen John Lambert and Shane
Salchenberg.
Handing out the awards were Busi-
ness Manager Matt Eleazer, Appren-
ticeship Coordinator Shawn Lenc-
zowski, and Business Agent Mike Ti-
tus.
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Local Real Estate market shows
upward trend in pending sales, while
interest rates remain ultra-low.
K NoW Y our r igHTS
I F yOU ARE HURT ON THE JOB ,
yOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO
CHOOSE yOUR DOCTOR .
y OUR EMPLOyER CANNOT
FORCE yOU TO USE A CERTAIN
DOCTOR OR FACILITy .
Forty-year pin recipients (holding plaques) are from left to right: Wes
Swanger, Raymond Cain, and Ron Moore. Bricklayer and Allied
Craftworkers Local 1 officers handing out the awards are Business Manager
Matt Eleazer (left), Apprenticeship Coordinator Shawn Lenczowski (center),
and Business Agent Mike Titus (right).
PAGE 12
NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS
MARCH 16, 2012