... Oregon Legislature
(From Page 2)
‘PERS SAVINGS’ (REDUCING
BENEFITS TO RETIRED
PUBLIC EMPLOYEES)
A central part of this year’s legisla-
tive session was the debate, not on
whether to cut PERS benefits, but how
much. Democrats passed Gov.
Kitzhaber’s proposal, in SB 822, to cut
$200 million in future public employee
pension benefits by reducing cost-of-
living increases, particularly for
higher-income retirees. Republicans
voted against the bill because they
wanted even deeper cuts. Public sector
unions denounced the cuts, saying they
renege on the state’s promise to retirees
— by changing the terms of their re-
tirement after they’ve already retired.
Similar changes have been struck
down by the Oregon Supreme Court in
the past. Members of the PERS Coali-
tion filed suit July 1 challenging the
law. SB 822 contains a provision that
directs any legal challenge immedi-
ately to the Oregon Supreme Court, but
the challenge could still be 18 to 24
months away from resolution.
LET’S LOOK MORE
CLOSE-LY AT THAT …
The boldest proposals in the Legis-
lature didn’t make it all the way to the
finish line, but some moved forward as
study groups, which will report back to
the Legislature in future sessions.
• Tuition-free college. One of the
boldest proposals, known as “Pay it
Forward, Pay it Back,” was supported
by the union-backed Oregon Working
JULY 19, 2013
Families Party. The idea is to reduce
student debt by letting students attend
college tuition-free — if they agree to
pay a small percentage of their future
income over a period of 24 years. To
set it up, lawmakers referred a consti-
tutional amendment to voters in 2014.
But related legislation — authorizing
special bonds to fund the program —
failed to pass. Backers will take up the
proposal in future sessions.
• Single-payer health care. HB
3260 began as a call for a state study
of the merits of a government-admin-
istered and publicly financed single
payer model of health care financing
— alongside the merits of creating a
public insurance option to compete
with private insurers. In the end, law-
makers approved the study, if private
funding can be secured to pay for it.
The Oregon Health Authority would
report back to the Legislature in No-
vember 2014 with the results of the
study.
• Sick leave for all workers. In
March, Portland City Council passed
an ordinance guaranteeing the right to
sick leave for workers employed in
Portland. HB 3390 would have ex-
tended that right to all Oregon work-
ers. But it didn’t have enough support
to pass, and died in committee. Back-
ers expect to form a work group to
study the proposal further and bring a
workable bill back to the Legislature in
2014 or 2015.
RETURNING SHOP CLASSES
TO SCHOOLS
Shop classes got a boost with a bill,
SB 498, that increases funding for
grants to school districts that want to
launch Career and Technical Education
programs. The program started two
years ago with $2 million in funding.
This year, lawmakers voted a total of
$9.4 million in funding.
OTHER LAWS OF NOTE TO
THE BUILDING TRADES
• HB 2820 makes it easier to site
utility-scale solar development in East-
ern Oregon by allowing solar projects
up to 250 acres in size on low-value
farmland.
• HB 2977B requires construction
labor contractors to be licensed by Bu-
reau of Labor and Industries, in order
to help prevent non-payment of wages
owed.
• SB 831 increases the amount of
money set aside in federal funds to in-
crease diversity in the highway con-
struction workforce, and provides
funding for pre-apprenticeship pro-
grams geared toward preparing people
to enter the workforce.
• SB 405-A ensures prompt pay-
ment of subcontractors on public con-
struction contracts.
ATU 1, TRIMET 0
TriMet, embroiled in a protracted
dispute with Amalgamated Transit
Union Local 757, wanted to eliminate
binding arbitration by returning transit
workers to the category of public em-
ployees who are allowed to strike. But
lawmakers would have none of that
proposal. Instead, in the wake of reve-
lations that the TriMet board approved
funds for secret management raises,
lawmakers passed HB 3316B, direct-
ing the secretary of state to conduct a
performance audit of the transit
agency.
RIGHTS FOR IMMIGRANTS
The Oregon AFL-CIO backed two
pieces of legislation this year that will
benefit workers and students who are
unauthorized immigrants.
HB 2787, the “Tuition Equity” law,
allows students who have lived in Ore-
gon for at least three years and are pur-
suing citizenship to pay in-state tuition
when attending college in Oregon.
And SB 833-B, the Safe Roads Act,
allows individuals who have resided in
Oregon for at least a year to obtain a
driver's card without having to provide
proof of legal residence in the United
States.
“It’s not good, for anybody, to have
unlicensed drivers on the road,” the
AFL-CIO’s Guiney explained. “Any
person who’s in this country and try-
ing to work should have a safe way to
get to work.”
PRESERVING INDUSTRIAL
LAND: BETTER LUCK
NEXT TIME
The Oregon AFL-CIO pushed a
bill, HB 2657, making it harder to re-
zone industrial land without replacing
it. It passed the House but failed to win
a majority in a Senate committee.
TELLING CONGRESS AND
THE PRESIDENT WHAT
OREGON WANTS
There’s a non-binding category of
legislation known as the “Joint Memo-
rial” in which the Legislature urges the
president or Congress to do or not to
do things that will affect the people of
Oregon. This year, labor had a hand in
passing at least three such measures,
(Turn to Page 6)
Portland union leaders share concerns with
mayor about City contract, union-busting
Portland Mayor Charlie Hales spent
an hour with the Executive Board of the
Northwest Oregon Labor Council
(NOLC) July 8, where he opened the
floor to questions.
Top among labor’s concerns is
drawn-out negotiations between the
City and the District Council of Trade
NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS
Unions. Hales was asked who is direct-
ing negotiations for the City and why
the City seems hell-bent on subcon-
tracting out members’ jobs.
Hales responded that City Council
directs negotiations, though “I pay some
attention to it.” The first-term mayor
said there is “no agenda on my part or of
the City Council to erode the base of
what your members do,” adding that he
will look for ways “to get to yes” on a
new agreement.
The previous contract for more than
1,600 workers represented by seven
unions expired June 30.
Next, Hales was asked why he was
challenging the legality of the Portland
Police Commanding Officers Associa-
tion. The 51-member union — com-
prised of lieutenants, captains, and com-
manders — has been in existence for 25
years. One of its past presidents is State
Rep. Jeff Barker (D-Aloha). In the past,
the union has successfully challenged
firings and demotions handed down by
chiefs of police and previous mayors.
Some of those reversals have caused
huge public outcry.
Eliminating the union would make
the commanding officers “at will” em-
ployees.
Hales said that in order to change the
culture of the Portland Police Bureau,
there needs to be a clearer chain of com-
mand. “Are they labor or are they man-
agement? We think they’re manage-
ment,” Hales said. “The time to ask the
question is before a new contract, and
that time is now.”
The Oregon Employment Relations
Board will make the final determina-
tion. “Once the ERB rules, we’re done,
either way (the City won’t challenge
it),” Hales said.
Other topics discussed included the
demise of the Columbia River Crossing
(CRC). Hales said he doesn’t have a
Plan B, but wants to help put a Plan B
together. He’s contacted the Oregon De-
partment of Transportation and TriMet
to look at transit projects that could be
done on a smaller scale.
“I don’t think the answer is to do
nothing,” he said. “Whatever is next, the
City will play more of a leadership
role,” he said, noting that the City “was-
n’t as engaged as it should have been”
with the CRC project.
Hales was asked about development
of West Hayden Island following the
death of the Columbia River Crossing.
“It’s a difficult equation,” he re-
sponded. “The easier question is:
‘should it be annexed into the City and
be ready to be developed?’ And the an-
swer is ‘yes.’ ”
The Portland Planning and Sustain-
ability Commission voted 7-3 on July 9
to endorse annexing the 800-acre island
into the City. If the Portland City Coun-
cil approves it, 300 acres of the property
owned by the Port of Portland would be
identified for future deep water marine
terminal development that would create
thousands of jobs. The remaining 500
acres would be set aside for open space.
Annexation and development is sup-
ported by the Columbia Pacific Build-
ing Trades Council, the Oregon AFL-
CIO, and NOLC.
Hales told the NOLC Executive
Board that he sees better times ahead for
the City. “Business taxes are rising and
building permits are way up. I think
we’ve hit bottom with this budget,” he
said.
The mayor cut $20 million from this
year’s City budget, which resulted in 25
layoffs. Another 120 vacant jobs at the
City will go unfilled.
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