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