Union-label green jobs — in your
attic — for no money down
In terms of “bang for the buck,” the
most important green jobs of the future
look a lot like the low-tech home insu-
lation jobs of the past. That’s because
dollar-for-dollar, home insulation is the
cheapest way to reduce energy use and
combat climate change.
But the jobs don’t have to be low-
wage too. In a state-sponsored program
now entering its third year, workers earn
a living wage insulating attics and walls,
and Portland-area homeowners even
have the option to choose union-signa-
tory contractors.
The program, Clean Energy Works
Oregon, uses in-program financing and
rebates of up to $1,500 to eliminate up-
front costs for homeowners. Home-
owners who take out loans through the
program have the option of paying them
back on their utility bills.
And two contractors participating in
the program — Abacus Energy Solu-
tions and Faison Energy Solutions —
are signatory contractors employing
members of Laborers Local 296.
“It’s not rocket science, insulating a
Hearing on paid
sick leave pushed
back to March 7
A second public hearing on a pro-
posed sick leave ordinance by the Port-
land City Council has been pushed back
to March 7. Initially, earned sick leave
was supposed to come up for a second
hearing Feb. 27 and then up for a final
vote in early March. Instead, the second
hearing on a revised version of the ordi-
nance will be held Thursday, March 7,
at 3 p.m.
A final vote will follow on a later
date.
home, so people tend to get paid a lower
rate,” said Abacus owner Jim Plantico.
But thanks to a Clean Energy Works
Oregon requirement that participating
contractors pay at least 180 percent of
Oregon’s minimum wage, workers earn
at least $16.11 an hour. As a union-sig-
natory contractor, Plantico said, Abacus
pays 3 percent over that to cover union
dues, and offers a better set of health
benefits through the union health trust,
plus paid holidays and vacation.
Plantico said Abacus also uses union
subcontractors on furnace and duct
work, such as Milwaukie Heating and
Cooling, an HVAC contractor signatory
with Sheet Metal Workers Local 16.
Homeowners can plug into the pro-
gram and get a union-signatory energy
audit at weatherizeforgood.org or by
calling 503-893-9240.
Rochelle Sadler, a member of Laborers Local 296, blows insulation in the
attic of a 1986 home in Portland’s St. Johns neighborhood. She is one of 10
full-time employees at Abacus Energy Solutions. The homeowners — Oregon
AFSCME lobbyist Eva Rippetaeau and her husband, AFSCME
international field coordinator Andy Chavira — chose Abacus because it’s a
union shop. Chavira said $4,500 of blown fiberglass attic insulation, air
sealing, and HVAC improvements will cut their energy bill — and make a
couple of chilly rooms more comfortable.
... SPEEA split decision in Boeing
(From Page 1)
ber 2011. During that time the union
has filed three unfair labor practice
(ULP) charges against Boeing. The
most recent was Feb. 13, after company
security, acting on management orders,
banned engineers and technical work-
ers from leafletting at the Everett fac-
tory. The actions are in addition to re-
ports of managers holding mandatory
meetings with employees to interrogate
and intimidate them regarding the con-
tract votes. The other ULPs relate to
Boeing taking surveillance photo-
graphs of employees marching last
year inside and outside the factory, and
for seizing employee cameras and pho-
tographs of union marches.
All of the charges are pending be-
fore the National Labor Relations
Board.
Meantime, SPEEA and Boeing met
Feb. 27 (after this issue went to press)
under the auspices of the Federal Me-
diation and Conciliation Service to “ex-
plore settlement options.”
Boeing has said its previous pro-
posal was the company’s “best and fi-
nal offer.”
“There are pathways to a negotiated
agreement available,” Goforth said
prior to the talks. “With this second re-
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PAGE 8
NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS
jection by technical workers of Boeing
takeaways, it’s time for the company to
stop wasting resources and improve its
offer to reflect the value and contribu-
tions technical workers bring to Boe-
ing. That way, we can avoid a strike
and focus on fixing the problems of the
787 and restoring customer confidence
in Boeing.”
Boeing tried to build its Dreamliner
787 passenger jet on the cheap by out-
sourcing much of the work. After ex-
periencing yearslong delays, the
Dreamliner is currently grounded be-
cause of problems with the plane’s
lithium-ion batteries.
Boeing currently is enjoying record
profits, a completely funded pension
plan, 4,200 airplanes on backorder, and
$20 billion cash on hand, the union
said.
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MARCH 1, 2013
