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About Northwest labor press. (Portland , Ore.) 1987-current | View Entire Issue (June 7, 2013)
Bakers Union organizing video lottery delis one at a time Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers Local 114 is quietly organizing small video lottery delis in Oregon. Workers at Doozy’s in Wilsonville approached the union last September to represent them, and the union won an National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) election in November on a 3 to 1 vote. Then, in March, workers at Cooper’s Deli in South Salem voted 3 to 1 for union representation. Both video lottery “delis” are owned by Jasper Food Management in Eu- gene. Jasper operates 37 lottery delis in Oregon under the names Doozy’s, Cooper’s, Jasper’s, Ashley’s Purple Par- rot, Fast Track, and Richard’s. In 2012, Doozy’s did $828,466 in video poker sales and took a commis- sion of $173,566, as per its contract with the Oregon State Lottery. Cooper’s did $792,327 in video poker sales in 2012 and took a commis- sion of $165,454. “These are very lucrative busi- nesses,” said Terry Lansing, financial secretary of Bakers Local 114. Lansing said the delis typically include six video poker machines, cheap booze, cheap cigarettes, and four or five minimum wage workers with no benefits. “And they’re not a transient group,” he said. “Workers we’ve talked to have been there anywhere from two to 15 years.” They range in age from early 20s to over 60. There are 2,521 video poker outlets in Oregon. Many are located inside restaurants and bars, but more and more are the type of lottery deli the Bakers Union is seeking. “Because they contract with the state, we believe they should be intent on following all labor laws,” Lansing said. Jasper Food Management initially contested the union filing at Doozy’s, insisting that the bargaining unit must include employees from all 37 lottery delis. At a hearing before the regional office of the NLRB, Jasper presented a copy of its employee handbook to sub- stantiate its claim. The NLRB ruled against the company, and the union went on to win the election. As Local 114 prepared to expand its organizing campaign, Lansing detected several troubling sections in Jasper Food Management’s 57-page employee handbook. (The union had obtained a copy when it was presented as evidence at the NLRB hearing). Lansing filed an unfair la- bor practice complaint al- leging several sections to be illegal. The NLRB in- vestigated and ordered Jasper to repeal nine sec- tions of the handbook. The company also agreed to post a notice at all 37 Jasper outlets and to send email notices to all its em- ployees explaining the sit- uation. The settlement agree- ment states in part: • WE WILL NOT tell you not to provide infor- mation about employees to people who are not employed by us, and WE WILL repeal the portion of the Personal Records and Files policy in our handbook on that subject. • WE WILL NOT tell you that if you are questioned by someone outside of the company you are required not to answer and refer the inquiry to us, and WE WILL repeal the portion of our Confidentiality & Non-Disclosure pol- icy in our handbook on that subject. • WE WILL NOT tell you that you may not solicit your co-workers for any outside social activities, organizations, religious groups or other non-Jasper’s events during working hours without defining “working hours” and instruct you to report staff members who are so- liciting you for any reason to us, and WE WILL repeal the portion of our Non-Solicitation policy in our hand- book regarding reporting staff members who are soliciting and the term “work- ing hours,” and revise the policy to de- fine the time an employee is restricted from solicitation as during their work time or any other time if the solicitation interferes with another employee’s work time. • WE WILL NOT tell you that all communications made using our com- munication equipment or accounts should be appropriate and professional, even if it is a personal message without defining the terms “appropriate” or “professional;” WE WILL NOT threaten to discipline you for violating this portion of the policy and WE WILL repeal the portions of our Com- puter and Telephone Usage policy in our handbook on those subjects. • WE WILL NOT tell you to not talk with your co-workers about guest complaints and WE WILL repeal the portion of our Handling a Guest Com- plaint policy in our handbook on that subject. • WE WILL NOT instruct you to communicate and resolve your com- plaints solely with us, and not your co- workers, and WE WILL repeal the portion of our Complaint Resolution Procedure in our handbook on that sub- ject. • WE WILL NOT tell you not to engage in misconduct while off-duty of such nature as to discredit or cause em- barrassment to us or our employees, and WE WILL repeal the portion of our Other Forbidden Behavior, Personal Conduct policy in our handbook on the subject. • WE WILL NOT forbid you from sharing, distribut- ing or other non-authorized use of our handbook or train- ing materials, and WE WILL repeal that portion of our Other Forbidden Behav- ior, Personal Conduct policy in our handbook on that sub- ject. • WE WILL NOT main- tain a rule where we forbid you from engaging in activi- ties constituting obstacles to harmonious relations be- tween employees and us, in- cluding gossiping, spreading rumors, intimidation, or use of insulting language and WE WILL repeal the portion of our Other Forbidden Behavior, Personal Conduct policy of our handbook on that subject. • Federal law gives you the right to form, join or assist a union; choose a representative to bargain with us on your behalf; act together with other em- ployees for your benefit and protection; and choose not to engage in any of these protected activities. WE WILL NOT do anything to prevent you from exer- cising the above rights. Lansing said the agreement to change the handbook was a first for him and for the Bakers Union. The union is still working to get a first contract at Doozy’s and Cooper’s. After six rounds of negotiations, a fed- eral mediator was brought in last month. Two more bargaining sessions with the mediator are scheduled, with the next one set for June 12. Local 114 is now bargaining for workers at both delis simultaneously. And even though progress has been slow, Lansing said the eight employees already are benefiting from unioniza- tion. “The moment they voted to be union they won immediate job security,” he said. “Because hours of work are nego- tiable, management cannot change or re- duce the hours of work. Because filling vacant hours is negotiable, all vacant hours must first be offered to bargaining unit employees before they are filled by a supervisor or outside employee. Be- cause transfer of employees to another store is negotiable, no employee can be transferred unilaterally. Because union workers have a right to representation, they now have a legal right to have a union representative present at any man- agement meeting where they fear disci- pline may be a result.” (Editor’s Note: In February, Local 114 lost an election at Dotty’s lottery deli in Beaverton by a vote of 3 to 1. The union had support prior to Dotty’s holding mandatory meetings with work- ers. Financial Secretary Terry Lansing filed an unfair labor practice complaint after an incident in which the owner threatened to have him removed from a deli in front of workers who were eligi- ble to vote. The complaint was dis- missed because no employee who wit- nessed it was willing to give a statement as to how the confrontation effected them in their decision-making process going into the election.) K NOW Y OUR R IGHTS KBOO radio station goes union Employees of KBOO-FM voted 8 to 0 May 30 to join Communications Work- ers of America Local 7901. The union effort came after a newly hired manager at the non-profit radio station reduced workers’ maternity and sick leave and declared their employment at-will. Workers asked manager Lynn Fitch to voluntarily recognize the union on April 2, and after hearing no response, filed for an election April 18. At a well-attended May 4 community meeting called by the station’s board of di- rectors, Fitch was criticized for not recognizing the union, and for hiring Bullard Law, a labor law firm that advises employers on “union avoidance.” Fitch an- nounced at the meeting that she would dump Bullard, and agree to recognize the union. But she later balked at the terms of the union’s proposed neutrality agree- ment — a commitment to bargain a contract in 60 days, and to recognize the union for a period of two years. In the end, the question of union representation was set- tled by election. PAGE 4 I f you were treated poorly by an IMe doctor In your workers ’ coMp claIM , you can lodge a coMplaInt wIth the w orkers c oMpensatIon d IvIsIon by callIng 503-934-6001. NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS JUNE 7, 2013
