...Portland sitting on $120 million stash
(From Page 1)
Council, and Jan. 9, the City’s chief ad-
ministrative officer Jack Graham (who
heads OMF) responded with his own
letter to City Council, which seemed to
say “keep your hands off those funds.”
“Internal service funds’ balances are
needed to meet the financial obligations
of the internal service providers,” Gra-
ham wrote.
Donohue, seeing the letter, was in-
credulous, saying the City had sworn in
its CAFR that those funds had no out-
side restrictions on their use.
Local 483 kept at it, bringing it up at
every public meeting. At length, the
mayor’s office agreed to answer Local
483’s questions about the funds. Bee-
tle, joined by union communications
assistant Megan Hise, met April 9 with
Mayor Sam Adams, the mayor’s chief
of staff, the head of human resources,
and Graham. On the assumption that
“where there’s smoke, there’s fire,”
Beetle smelled smoke and went look-
ing for fire, but in the hour-long meet-
ing, all he got was more smoke.
“We know that the city has got
something in mind for this money,”
Beetle told the mayor and his aides,
“and we’d like to get an idea of what
that is.” But they never really answer.
An audio recording of the meeting
shows that Graham basically re-reads
his Jan. 9 letter, talks about how impor-
tant reserves are to maintaining the
City’s exceptional AAA bond rating,
and gives a general defense of the idea
of putting money aside to buy police
cars and computer servers.
Then, on May 3, Adams pulled a
rabbit out of a hat: After hearing
months of emotional testimony from
workers and the public, the mayor fig-
...TriMet Lift operator strike nets settlement
(From Page 1)
even dry on the subcontract, First Tran-
sit announced it was firing a dozen
drivers and changing health and wel-
fare benefits.
ATU called foul, saying such action
would violate Section 13(c) arrange-
ments it had and cause TriMet to lose
federal funding. Section 13(c) is part
of a federal statute that requires that
employee protections — including
their collective bargaining agreements
— be certified by the Department of
Labor and in place before federal tran-
sit funds can be released to a mass tran-
PAGE 6
sit provider.
Jonathan Hunt, president of ATU
Local 757, said its 13(c) arrangement
with TriMet also requires contract dis-
putes be settled through arbitration.
Hunt told the Labor Press that after
the union complained to TriMet’s then-
general manager Fred Hansen about
what First Transit was attempting to
do, Hansen immediately intervened.
“He gave them the ultimatum to
comply with the 13(c) agreement or
forfeit the contract,” said Hunt.
First Transit signed an agreement
with the union on Jan. 29, 2010, in
which, for the most part, they agreed
to comply with the 13(c) arrangement
and assume the MV Transportation
contract until a new deal was negoti-
ated.
That day didn’t come until this
week.
A key sticking point has been
wages. At the strike rally May 9, Hunt
said First Transit’s revenue under its
contracts with TriMet increases 5 per-
cent a year, yet its wage offer to em-
ployees was less than 2 percent a year.
The wage increase, he said, was offset
by a proposal that workers pay more
for their health insurance.
“This foreign corporation is suck-
ing huge profits out of the community
and sending those profits overseas,
while the folks who work and live in
the community are being shafted. And
TriMet is standing by and allowing
them to get away with it,” said Hunt.
Hunt said First Transit refused the
union’s request for arbitration and that
current TriMet General Manager Neil
McFarlane refused to intervene, claim-
ing the Section 13(c) agreement on ar-
bitration didn’t apply to their lift serv-
ice contractors.
“McFarlane is taking a position
contrary to all of the general managers
before him,” said Hunt.
At a recent TriMet board of direc-
tors meeting, McFarlane, when re-
sponding to calls from the union and
members of the public to bring the
paratransit service in-house in order to
save millions of dollars, said that if lift
operators became public employees
they would be subject to the no-strike
law and that would not be good for get-
ting a timely resolution of a contract.
“It is clear that McFarlane wants
employees to strike, rather than prevent
a disruption of service,” said Hunt.
“Well, it looks like McFarlane’s wish
came through.”
Pickets went up at 5 a.m. on May 9
at the TriMet administration building
at 4012 SE 17th Ave., Portland. The
strike rally was held at 11 a.m. But be-
fore it was over, Hunt announced that
First Transit had agreed to a federal
mediator’s request to return to the bar-
gaining table.
The sides met May 10 without res-
olution. They reconvened on May 11,
finally coming to terms at 1 a.m. on
May 12.
NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS
ured out a way not only to avoid the
worst of the proposed service cuts, but
also to contribute $7 million to three
Portland school districts to lessen
teacher layoffs. How had he done it?
The public explanation is that the
mayor’s budget trims overhead and ad-
ministration. Instead of cutting front-
line workers who provide the services,
the mayor’s proposed budget cuts whole
layers of managers in some bureaus.
But wade into the nitty-gritty, and it
seems that … the mayor took Local
483’s suggestion. The mayor’s pro-
posed budget appears to draw down in-
ternal service fund balances by about
$1 million, and reduce by $3.9 million
what bureaus pay into the internal serv-
ice funds. And it finds another $6.3
million savings in the OMF budget
through such measures as “extend po-
EE
R
F
lice vehicle life cycles” ($238,000),
“reduce 1900 Bldg MM Reserve”
($210,000), line items which sound
very much like tweaks to the internal
service funds. Of course, it’s not en-
tirely clear that’s what’s happening.
Seeking confirmation, the Labor
Press called the mayor’s spokesperson
and was referred to the OMF spokes-
person, who promised that a City
budget officer would call. Three days
and several reminders later, the call
hadn’t come.
“I think we dodged a bullet,” Bee-
tle said, “because of members standing
up and bringing attention to this early
on.”
The mayor’s proposal still has to be
voted on by City Council. The City is
required to adopt a budget no later than
June 30, the close of the fiscal year.
BARGAIN COUNTER
Free ads to subscribers
DEADLINE: Friday prior to publication
Published 1st and 3rd Fridays
Send to:
NW Labor Press, PO Box 13150,
Portland, OR 97213
• 15 words or less
• Include address label from front
page and telephone number
• Sorry, we cannot accept ads over
the telephone
• No commercial or business ads
• 1 ad per issue
• Type or print legibly
Classified ads MUST include area code on all phone numbers or they will
not be published
A utomotive
’95 buick lasabre limited, 92,000 miles, 1
owner, leather, climate control, tires almost new,
20 mpg city, $1,900 cash. 503-887-5571
’72 MaVerick 4 dr, good tags, auto, good tires,
$2,000 ObO. 503-473-4706 or 503-281-1580
’99 WiNNebaGO aDVeNTurer, 33’ w/slide,
excellent condition, always garaged, lots of ex-
tras, 46k, $30,950. 503-255-5156
’00 PONTiac GraND PriX, moonroof, full
power, white, $3,995. 503-771-5000
that uses tubes, 503-823-4577
u.s., GerMaN, Japanese military items,
uniforms, aviation, hats, helmets, swords,
daggers, bayonets, rifles, pistols. 503-852-
6791
HisTOrical iNfO, photos, memorabilia,
pioneer stories from lincoln county area,
central Oregon coast, need before
aug.10. 971-235-6732, sandy
MOTOrcycles, running or not, guitars
basses, amps, cash paid. 503-880-8183
useD caNOPy for 1980 Toyota pickup, 5’x7.5’
box. 503-244-1672
H OUSING
liNcOlN ciTy vacation rental, 3 bdrm, 2
bath, sleeps 8, wi-fi, 2 blks to beach, 3 blks
to casino. 503-804-7976
rOckaWay ocean front 503-777-5076
http://home.comcast.net/~rockaway.beach
5 bdrm, 2 bath, booking now for summer!
lONG beacH, Wa 2bdrm, 2bath, loft,
large shop, 1 acre, gardens, berries
$165,000 503-739-2412
JOsePH, OreGON, 2000 triple-wide, 4
bed, 2.5 bths, formal dining, family room,
fantastic views, $289,900. 541-432-0595
rOckaWay beacH rental, 3bd, 2bth,
slps10, Jacuzzi, 5min to beach/shops. 503-
236-7004,Vacationhomerentals.com/ 43026
sPray, OreGON, two 200-acre parcels, your
choice, $750 per acre, will carry contract. 1-541-
468-2961
suN Valley idaho vacation rental, 1 bdrm
condo w/kitchen, sleeps 2-4, 5/31- 6/7/2012, $175
total. 503-929-3593
W ANTED
casH PaiD old fishing tackle, wood plugs, reels,
creels, salmon fishing photos, derby items, hunt-
ing knives, game calls, etc. 503-775-4166
OlD WOODWOrkiNG tools, planes, lev-
els, chisels, handsaws, slicks, adzes,
wrenches, folding rulers, leather tools, tool
chests. 503-659-0009
cOllecTOr Pays cash for older toys,
older oil paintings and older american art
pottery. 503 703-5952
HaM raDiO and short wave radio equip-
ment, particularly older 1950s/60s equip-
S porting g oodS
’05 Harley DaViDsON Xl1200c, volcano red,
some extras. 360-892-9536
elecT. DOWNriGGer, cannon Digi-Troll ii, like
new, w/boat mount and ball, $400. 503-252-2136
MarliN MODel 1893 lever action 30-30, good
original condition, $750. 360-606-9541
saiGa russiaN rifle, ak style, semi-automatic,
caliber 7.62x39, excellent w/extras, $425. 503-
545-6520
’
06 Harley Davidson ultra classic 1450cc,
14,945 mi, new rear tire, loaded with extras, sin-
ister blue, $15,000 obo. 360-597-6999.
m iScellAneouS
seNTry fire safe, 1.5’x1.5, 100 lbs, push but-
ton and key, $100; 24" monitor aOc $100; 2012
Mustang mufflers/tailpipes, $150. 503-336-0864.
JOiNTer, 4-inch Delta Homecraft with stand,
120v, excel cond, $50. 971-340 3993
POND PlaNTs, 5 lillies, 1 iris, 1 grass type, rub-
ber liner, Doughboy sand filter (new motor), 3
small pumps, 30 goldfish, $150. 503-761-0003
2 sPaces W/DOuble marker, evergreen Me-
morial Gardens, Vancouver, Wa, current price
over $4700, $3,200 ObO. 360-573-3349
Broadway Floral
for the BEST flowers call
503-288-5537
1638 NE Broadway, Portland
MAY 18, 2012