Inside
Meeting Notices
See
Page 6
Volume 113
Number 17
September 7, 2012
Portland, Oregon
Avakian, Starr spar at
building trades gathering
Welcome, Postmaster General Donahoe
More than 50 protesters picketed outside the Vancouver Hilton and Convention Center Aug. 21, where Postmaster
General Patrick Donahoe was speaking to business representatives from the Greater Portland Postal Customer
Council’s annual Mailer’s Conference and Expo. Protesters handed out a “WANTED” poster for Donahoe, whom they
allege is violating federal law by willfully destroying mail service. Donahoe is in the process of cutting half of the
Postal Service’s mail processing plants, including four in Oregon, and eliminating Saturday mail delivery. National
Association of Letter Carriers union officials Kevin Card and Jim Cook signed up with retired Rev. John Schwiebert
to attend the mailers conference. Schwiebert handed out fliers inside. Afterward, Card reported that Donahoe talked
about the “crisis in confidence” surrounding USPS. “I don’t think anyone has created more of a crisis than Patrick
Donahoe himself, going out in front of the American people and telling them that we’re broke and that we’re about
to go out of business — and nothing could be further from the truth,” Card said. Union officials say the post office isn’t
broke, it’s not going out of business, and it’s not asking for a bailout.” Card said Congress created much of the problem
when it passed a law in 2006 requiring USPS to pre-pay its retiree health benefits for 75 years in the future — at a cost
of $5.5 billion a year. “Basically, all Americans are being held hostage by a Congress that does not want to admit that
they are taxing the USPS to death, and they’re destroying an American institution that’s been around since before we
had the Declaration of Independence. That’s the real crime here,” Card said. The protest was organized by Portland
Community and Postal Workers United, a coalition of groups committed to save USPS.
club, which in turn pays for
BEND — Oregon Labor
re-turfing without being
Commissioner Brad Avakian
subject to prevailing wage
said he will work with labor
laws. After the project is
to close a loophole in state
done, the field is gifted back
statutes that allow universities
to the school.
and public schools to avoid
“It’s a loophole in the law
paying prevailing wages on
that has absolutely got to be
construction projects.
closed,” Avakian said. “You
“This is a sham,” Avakian
B RAD A VAKIAN
better believe that I will be
told delegates at the 51st
right up there with your
convention of the Oregon
leadership and leading the
State Building and Construc-
way to get that loophole
tion Trades Council (OS-
closed and make sure that
BCTC). Avakian was re-
workers who work on these
sponding to question about
truly public projects get the
the Oregon University Sys-
money they deserve.”
tem skirting prevailing wage
Starr wasn’t quite as em-
laws during a candidates’ fo-
phatic with his answer. “As
rum Aug. 16. Avakian, a De-
B RUCE S TARR
far as I’m concerned, univer-
mocrat, is being challenged
in November by Republican state Sen. sities that use public tax dollars should
Bruce Starr. OSBCTC endorsed be paying prevailing wage on any con-
struction project.”
Avakian in the non-partisan race.
A legislator since 1999, Starr said
“We’ve got projects in the state right
now that are being done by public enti- bills on this issue have been introduced
ties, but what they’re doing is taking in the past but have gone nowhere.
their land, they’re taking the project, “The politics on this are interesting to
they’re giving it to a booster club or say the least,” he said. “Legislation has
some other private group that does all been introduced; we’ve seen where
the construction and all the funding to those bills have gone ... You look at
it — with this handshake that at the who runs the Oregon Senate, and that
end, it’s all going to be gifted back to has a lot to do (with) where legislation
the public body for use,” Avakian said. like this goes.”
In response to a question about us-
Avakian said this scenario played
out on the $200 million basketball ing the labor commissioner bully pul-
arena project at the University of Ore- pit to advocate for a fair permitting
gon, and it’s happening at some local process for proposed coal and liquefied
high schools, whereby the school do- natural gas (LNG) export terminals,
nates its football field to the booster Starr replied: “There’s no equivocation
on this from my perspective, it’s ab-
solutely yes ... I will be championing
projects like this in the Legislature ... I
will advocate for it. I will lead on it. We
have to get it done.”
Elder thinks a majority of those em-
Avakian wasn’t quite as emphatic.
ployed at Dosha today were not there a
“My opponent and I both know that
year ago, when the vote to unionize there are no real plans in Oregon right
took place. And most of the actively now that are going to end up with an
pro-union workers quit for better jobs LNG facility or a coal facility being
elsewhere as bargaining dragged on.
built in the near future. Politically
“Our people stuck it out as long as speaking, it just is not going to happen
they could,” Elder said. “But our com- right now. Whoever tells you different
mittee started leaving because they be- than that, whether it’s politics or not, is
lieved that we weren’t going to get a not giving you the straight scoop.”
contract. And they were absolutely cor-
Avakian said he supports memo-
rect. We could have gotten a contract if randa being signed by building trades
we’d agreed to everything staying the councils assuring that terminals are
way it is now, but why would we do built under union project labor agree-
that?”
(Turn to Page 12)
CWA effort for contract at Dosha comes to an end
A five-store local chain of
Aveda-branded salons is
nonunion once again
Communications Workers of Amer-
ica (CWA) Local 7901 called it quits at
Dosha Salon Spa on Aug. 16 — a week
before a scheduled decertification elec-
tion was to have taken place. Local
7901 President Madelyn Elder said the
decision to “disclaim interest” was a
painful one, and came after a discus-
sion with a committee of pro-union
workers. Sentiment among Dosha
workers was running two-to-one
against continued union representation,
Elder said. Hair stylists, massage ther-
apists, estheticians and other workers
at the five-location Aveda-branded
chain had voted 79 to 66 to unionize on
March 30, 2011. But Dosha’s owners
never agreed to a union contract.
Dosha hired former Oregon Repub-
lican Party chair Bob Tiernan to over-
see contract talks. The negotiations
went nowhere, Elder said: The union
made all sorts of proposals, to which
the employer’s response was “no” —
even to a proposal for direct deposit of
paychecks.
When there is no union contract a
year after workers vote to unionize, the
National Labor Relations Act allows a
decertification vote.
“Employers know they can wear us
down, and at the end of the year, get
workers to sign an anti-union petition,”
Elder said. “All they have to do is say,
‘Well, what did they accomplish for
you?’ They say, ‘What’s in your con-
tract? Oh, you don’t have a contract.
Then why do you have a union?’ ”
Meanwhile, turnover took its toll, of
employees and of union supporters.