Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Northwest labor press. (Portland , Ore.) 1987-current | View Entire Issue (July 5, 2013)
Columbia River Crossing: Dead in the water Keys to a new motorcycle Christine Smith, a member of International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) Local 28, gets the keys to her new Harley-Davidson motorcycle from Jamie Anderson, sales manager at Columbia Harley- Davidson. Smith, of Milwaukie, Oregon, was the big winner at the 11th annual Unions for Kids motorcycle poker run held June 8 in and around Portland. The event is a fundraiser for Doernbecher Children’s Hospital, with most of the money is raised through a raffle for a new motorcycle. This year Unions for Kids donated a record $64,000 to Doernbecher. Unions for Kids is a nonprofit and all-volunteer organization, with 100 percent of proceeds going to the kids at Doernbecher. Since its inception, the Poker Run has donated $390,000 to the hospital. After eight years and over $170 mil- lion spent on engineering and planning, the Columbia River Crossing project is dead, along with its promise of four to five years of employment for thousands of construction workers. The plan was to have replaced the I- 5 bridge over the Columbia River and upgraded six nearby highway inter- changes, at a cost of $3.4 billion. But it fell victim to Washington legislative politics. Oregon lawmakers voted in March to approve $450 million in bonds for the project, which was to be matched by Washington state and a much bigger contribution from the federal govern- ment. The project had strong backing from Washington Democrats in the House and Senate and from Washing- ton’s Democratic governor Jay Inslee. But last December, two Senate De- mocrats defected and voted to hand over leadership of the Washington Sen- ate to the Republican minority. Republicans opposed the bridge in part because it would have included light rail. Including light rail made fed- eral transit money available to the proj- ect, which was a necessary part of its financing. But Clark County residents have voted several times to oppose light rail. Oregon’s funding commitment to the project passed as a stand-alone bill, but in Washington, the bridge replace- ment was one of a series of large proj- ects, including work on state Highway 167, the North Spokane Corridor, and Interstate 90 over Snoqualmie Pass. The total bill for the transportation package was estimated to be $10 bil- lion, and to help pay for it, the bill in- cluded a 10.5-cent increase in the state gas tax. Both labor and business groups lob- bied for the bill’s passage, and it passed in the Washington House 51-41 on a second attempt. But Washington Sen- ate leaders declined to bring the bill to a vote, both in the regular legislative session that ended April 28 and in two subsequent special sessions called by the governor. At the last-minute, Sen- ate Democrats tried to use a procedural maneuver to get a floor vote on the package, but were unable to get the votes needed. When Washington’s second special legislative session adjourned without passing the bill, Oregon Gov. John Kitzhaber declared the project dead in a press statement. “Without the funds from Washing- ton and adherence to the project budget and schedule, neither state can incur the further costs of delay,” Kitzhaber said. “Consequently, project managers have begun to close down the project.” “It’s really disappointing, after all the hard work and effort that so many peo- ple put into it, that a small minority de- railed the project,” said John Mohlis, executive secretary of the Oregon State Building and Construction Trades Council. “I honestly have no idea when it’s going to get going again. We’re now years and years away from being able to move forward, and it’s a real disserv- ice to the entire West Coast economy.” Kitzhaber said he asked the Oregon Department of Transportation to review all of the work on the Oregon side of the project to determine if any stand- alone investments could be made to im- prove safety and reduce congestion on a smaller scale. UNITE HERE and Hyatt reach national agreement Pact provides contracts and process for workers to join unions Hyatt Hotels Corp. and UNITE HERE, the union of hospitality workers in the United States and Canada, an- nounced a national agreement July 1 that resolves longstanding disputes be- tween the two organizations. The agreement creates a framework for the company and the union to work to- gether moving forward. Both UNITE HERE and Hyatt hailed the pact as a positive step. The agreement will go into effect upon the settlement and ratification of union contracts by Hyatt workers in San Francisco, Honolulu, Los Angeles and Chicago. Pending approval, the contracts will provide retroactive wage increases and maintain quality health care and pension benefits. The pro- posed new contracts would cover workers into 2018. A key provision of the agreement establishes a fair process, which in- Broadway Floral for the BEST flowers call 503-288-5537 1638 NE Broadway, Portland JULY 5, 2013 NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS cludes a mechanism for employees at a number of Hyatt hotels to vote on whether they wish to be represented by UNITE HERE. As part of the accord, upon ratification of the union contracts, UNITE HERE will end its global boy- cott of Hyatt. D. Taylor, president of UNITE HERE, said, “We look forward to a new collaborative relationship with Hyatt. This agreement shows that when workers across the hotel industry stand together, they can move forward, even in a tough economy. Both organiza- tions deserve credit for working out this constructive step forward.” Last November, UNITE HERE Lo- cal 8 and Hyatt signed a neutrality agreement on a proposed Hyatt- flagged headquarters hotel at the Ore- gon Convention Center in Northeast Portland. Mortenson Development Inc. is asking the Portland Development Commission, Portland City Council and the Metro regional government for a package of public incentives for a pri- vately-built privately-operated hotel operation consisting of 600 rooms. Under the agreement, workers would be free to join a union of their choosing, and could do so through a “card check” process or through a gov- ernment-administered election. The Columbia-Pacific Building Trades Council also has assurance that the hotel will be built with union labor. PAGE 5
