Inside
Meeting
Notices
See
Page 6
Volume 114
Number 15
August 2, 2013
Portland, Oregon
Strike ends at Daimler’s Western Star truck plant
After 22 days, Machinists
and Painters vote to
accept company offer
By DON McINTOSH
Associate Editor
Union members returned to work at
Portland’s Western Star truck plant July
23 after Machinists and Painters ac-
cepted a company offer and ended their
strike. The offer from Daimler Trucks
North America was little changed from
the one the union members rejected in
June.
Said Sign Painters and Paint Mak-
ers Local 1094 Business Agent Dave
Winkler: “I don’t think we won. I don’t
think we lost.”
Bargaining teams for Machinists
Lodge 1005 and Local 1094 met July
17 and 18 with Daimler management
— and came away with two modifica-
tions to the previous offer. Workers will
have two more months to retire before
Daimler terminates its promise of post-
65 supplemental medical benefits. And
Daimler added a 25-cent-an-hour raise
at the end of its previous three-year
contract offer. The new contract runs 40
months, and expires Oct. 26, 2016.
“The strike moved the needle a little
bit,” said Machinists Union Rep Joe
Kear. “People should be proud that they
were able to accomplish that.”
Though members of Service Em-
ployees Local 49 and Teamsters Local
305 had voted to accept the company’s
previous offer, they honored the other
unions’ picket lines and did not work
during the strike. On July 20, those two
groups voted to amend their contracts
to add identical language. The striking
Painters voted to accept the new offer
the same day. And two days later, strik-
ing Machinists voted to accept the new
offer.
The new contract provides immedi-
ate raises of 60 cents an hour, followed
by a 40-cent raise July 1, 2014; a 30-
cent raise July 1, 2015; and a 25-cent
raise July 1, 2016. In all, wages will
rise $1.55 an hour by the end of the
contract, topping out at $24.80 an hour
for the most common machinist classi-
fication.
Union members return to work July 23 at the Western Star truck plant in
Portland’s Swan Island Industrial Park.
Labor Day
PICNICS
Labor Day – Monday, Sept. 2
Every year, labor organizations throughout Oregon hold La-
bor Day picnics. Check with your union local to see if it is par-
ticipating. Here is a list of picnics taking place :
BEND — Solidarity Day Picnic at Pioneer Park in Bend.
12:30 p.m. – 3:30 p.m. Sponsored by the Central Oregon Central
Labor Council. Contact Linda Bradetich at 541-350-0965 or
Steve Williamsen at 541-678-0235 for more information.
EUGENE/SPRINGFIELD — John Lively Picnic Shelters,
behind SPLASH at 6100 Thurston Road in Springfield. Noon – 4
p.m. Please bring a side dish. SPLASH will be open for families
that wish to swim. Sponsored by the Lane County Central Labor
Council and Eugene-Springfield Solidarity Network. Contact
ESSN at essn@efn.org for more information.
Hamburgers, hot dogs, and politicians will be in abundant
supply at union-sponsored Labor Day picnics throughout
the state. Above, U.S. Sen Jeff Merkley grills hot dogs for
union members at last year’s picnic at Oaks Park in
Portland. Assisting him is Jeff Anderson, secretary-treasurer
of UFCW Local 555. Check out the list of picnics on this
page for the location nearest you.
MEDFORD — TouVelle State Park, 8425 Table Rock Road,
Central Point. The fun begins at 11 a.m. with speakers. Lunch
will be served from noon to 2 p.m., followed by music by Broad-
way Phil & Shouters and Patrick Tovatt. Donations accepted, and
there is a $5 charge for parking. Tables are limited, so bring your
own chairs. Sponsored by the Southern Oregon Central Labor
Those raises will be partially offset
by increased employee contributions to
the company-provided health insurance
plan. The increases range from $5 a
month for individual coverage to $45 a
month for family coverage. The pre-
mium increases work out to a reduction
in take-home pay of between 3 and 26
cents an hour.
For Daimler, total compensation
costs will be going up in other ways
during the contract. To make up for fi-
nancial losses in the Machinists-spon-
sored multi-employer pension fund,
Daimler is obligated to pay a pension
rehabilitation surcharge that will reach
$6.15 an hour by July 2016. That’s on
top of the regular pension contribution
of $4.47 an hour. And though the
worker share of health insurance costs
will increase, Daimler’s contribution
will rise even more: Premiums are fore-
casted to rise about 15 percent in two
years, reaching $554 a month for em-
ployee-only coverage and $1,601 a
(Turn to Page 9)
Council. Call Kathy McUne at 541-664-0804 for more informa-
tion.
NORTH BEND — Ferry Road Park in North Bend. Noon
– 2 p.m. Sponsored by the Southwestern Oregon Central Labor
Council. Free barbecue, but asking for donation of non-perish-
able food items for the needy. For more information, contact
Robert Westerman at 541-756-3907 or by email at ibew932@
frontier.com, or Megan Rivas at 541-756-0579, ext 6311, or
email at mrivas@ufcw555.org.
PORTLAND — Oaks Amusement Park in Southeast Port-
land. 10 a.m. – 5 p.m., with a program at 1 p.m., featuring U.S.
Sen. Jeff Merkley. Food scrip sells for 50 cents. A hamburger
with chips is 3 scrip; a hot dog with chips is 2 scrip; chili is 1
scrip and beer is 4 scrip. Deluxe ride bracelets are $9. All are
welcome to attend, whether your union is reserving a spot or not.
Sponsored by the Northwest Oregon Labor Council. Call 503-
235-9444 for more information.
The Oregon Pacific Railroad Shuttle Train will transport peo-
ple ($3 per person roundtrip) to and from Oaks Park from 8:30
a.m. to 7 p.m. Parking will be available at the Portland Opera,
211 SE Caruthers St., and in the vicinity of SE Ivon and 4th St.
SALEM — Riverfront Park in Salem. 11 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.
Sponsored by Marion-Polk-Yamhill Central Labor Council.
Cost: two food items per person or donation to the food bank. For
more information and/or to RSVP, call Judy by Aug. 20 at 503-
362-7057 or e-mail her at jsugnet@att.net.