...Union
campaign
at Jeld-Wen
(From Page 1)
workers. Organizers are hearing from
workers who complain about fa-
voritism for promotions and incentive
pay; safety policies that blame workers
who get injured (with no followup to
determine the actual cause of an acci-
dent); mandatory overtime with little
notice; and numerous allegations of su-
pervisors throwing door and window
parts at workers.
In Illinois, Jeld-Wen docked atten-
dance points to workers who failed to
show up on a day when the Illinois
state police had issued a snow travel
advisory and asked everyone to stay off
the roads.
As the union campaign ramps up,
organizers and members have been
threatened with arrest by Jeld-Wen
management while engaged in lawful
leafleting. In two cases, Elliott said, the
threat of gun violence was directed
against handbillers.
Meanwhile, Jeld-Wen has remod-
eled break rooms and lunch rooms at
several locations. Managers are now
personally handing out paychecks with
a smile and a handshake. And at least
five plant managers have been termi-
nated or transferred.
To support the struggle fo justice for
Jeld-Wen workers, go to their Face-
book page at www.facebook.com/Jeld-
WenJustice.
Women in Trades Fair touts
scores of career possibilities
A Women in Trades Career Fair held May 16-18 in Portland introduced nearly
2,000 women and teens to the possibility of a future career in the building and con-
struction trades.
The three-day fair is produced by Oregon Tradeswomen Inc. This year was the
21st annual event.
The fair offered 34 different interactive/hands-on workshops. Attendees learned
how to make their own concrete stepping stones in a workshop with the Cement
Masons Local 555 (photo above left). They tried their hand at virtual welding in a
workshop put on by Sheet Metal Workers Local 16 (photo above right). And they
received instruction on how to operate a crane in a workshop with Interstate Crane
(photo right).
All told, 70 exhibitors had booths at the fair, including employers, educational
institutions, government agencies, apprenticeship and other training programs, and
community and technical colleges.
The first day was set aside for middle school girls; Day Two was for high school-
ers; and Day Three was open to the general public. Nearly 1,300 students from
schools throughout Oregon and Southwest Washington attended. Another 450 at-
tended to the Careers for Women Day on May 18.
Union-backed candidates, measures do well on election night
Candidates and ballot measures endorsed by
the Northwest Oregon Labor Council (NOLC)
did well in the May 21 special election.
Measure 26-152, a regional property tax ini-
tiative to pay for parks owned by Metro, passed
148,542 (54.2 percent) to 124,830. The labor-en-
dorsed measure was widely supported in Mult-
nomah County, but it drew more opposition than
support in Clackamas and Washington counties.
Homeowners in those three counties will pay
9.6 cents per $1,000 of their home’s assessed
value to generate $50 million over five years to
fight invasive species, limit erosion and build
trails on about 13,000 acres of open spaces
bought by Metro using money from previously
approved bond measures.
In Clackamas County, voters in Oregon City
narrowly passed Measure 3-423, amending the
City Charter to eliminate an automatic rollback
of water rates to near 1994 levels. Had the rate
setback gone into effect in 2014, it would have
decreased water revenue by approximately 27
percent, resulting in significant changes to the
City’s water system operations and maintenance
programs.
The vote was 2,343 (51.8 percent) in favor of
amending the city charter, to 2,183 (48.2 percent)
against.
PAGE 8
NOLC-endorsed candidates Larry Sowa,
Kenneth Humberston, and Hugh Kalani were
elected to full terms on the five-member volun-
teer Clackamas River Water board of directors.
All three were appointed by the Clackamas
County Board of Commissioners in November,
following a successful union-led recall of board
member Patricia Holloway in March.
Humberston defeated Grafton Sterling, with
68.9 percent of the votes. Sterling, who was an
ally of Holloway, already holds a seat on the
board, so he retains that seat. [An effort to recall
Sterling at the same time as Holloway failed due
to a clerical error that disqualified the petition.]
Kalani outpolled Warren Mitchell, a former
Clackamas River Water board member who was
ousted by voters in 2009. Mitchell is an ally of
Holloway and Sterling.
Sowa ran unopposed.
In the North Clackamas School District, Vi-
vian Scott was re-elected to a third term on the
school board, capturing 62.6 percent of the vote
against one challenger.
In Washington County, labor-endorsed
Jaime Rodriguez, a member of the Portland
Community College Federation of Faculty and
Academic Professionals Local 2277, American
Federation of Teachers (AFT), lost his bid for a
seat on the Hillsboro School District board of di-
rectors.
Rodriguez was a graduate of the first class
(2012) of the Oregon Labor Candidates School,
which helps prepare rank-and-file union mem-
bers to run for political office.
Several graduates of OLCS were elected to
office May 21. They include:
Francisco (Frank) Acosta, a member of
Portland Federation of School Professional
Local 111, was elected to the Multnomah Edu-
cation Service District Board.
Erick Flores, a member of the Oregon Edu-
cation Association, defeated two other candi-
dates for an open seat on the Parkrose School
Board.
Sam Aley, a member of the Oregon Educa-
tion Association, was elected to the Coos Bay
School District board of directors.
Austin Folnagy of Service Employees In-
ternational Union Local 503 was elected to the
Klamath Falls Community College board of
directors.
Nancy MacMorris-Adix, a member of the
Oregon Nurses Association, and Paul Kyllo, a
former member of the Oregon Education As-
socation, were elected to the Salem-Keizer
School District board of directors.
Two other graduates of the Oregon Labor
Candidates School lost their elections. Trish
Stephens of the Oregon School Employees As-
sociation lost her race for Amity School District
NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS
board of directors, and IBEW office secretary
Nicole Milam finished third in a three-person
race for the Medford School District board of di-
rectors.
A Portland City Council initiative — Meas-
ure 26-151 — to fluoridate Portland’s water sup-
ply, was rejected by voters 60 percent to 40 per-
cent. The measure had support from several
unions, including United Food and Commercial
Workers (UFCW) Local 555, the Oregon Fed-
eration of Nurses & Health Professionals Local
5017; the Oregon Nurses Association; and Serv-
ice Employees International Union locals 49 and
503. It was not endorsed by NOLC.
In other election results:
Chris Groener, a union rep for UFCW Lo-
cal 555, was re-elected to the Clackamas Com-
munity College board of directors. He ran un-
opposed.
And Barbara Carter, a former president of
the Oregon School Employees Association,
McMinnville Chapter 90, was elected to the
McMinnville School Board. She won with 55
percent of the vote in a three-way race for Posi-
tion 2.
Voter turnout reached 41 percent in Mult-
nomah County, 30 percent in Washington
County, and 28 percent in Clackamas County.
JUNE 7, 2013