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About Northwest labor press. (Portland , Ore.) 1987-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 4, 2013)
KOIN-TV accused of ‘union-busting’ Off-camera workers are having a hard time getting a contract from the new owner Mark Mack, a laid-off master control technician at Channel 6, protests “union-busting” Sept. 26 outside KOIN-TV studios in Portland. You didn’t see it on KOIN 6 news, but union picket signs protesting “union-busting” appeared Sept. 26 out- side downtown Portland’s KOIN Cen- ter, where the studios of CBS affiliate KOIN-TV are located. About 50 off-camera KOIN-TV employees are members of the Na- tional Association of Broadcast Em- ployees & Technicians (NABET), a di- vision of the Communications Workers of America (CWA). KOIN was one of 34 television stations bought last year by Rhode Island headquartered LIN Media. Now in union contract bargain- ing, the new owner is proposing to get rid of core provisions like “union secu- rity” and “dues checkoff,” as well as re- strictions on doing the work of other classifications. LIN is also proposing that news crews be on-call on week- ends for no extra pay. “They want to break the union,” said Kathleen McCarthy, a member of the union bargaining team. McCarthy was laid off in August af- ter 19 years at the station — one of seven master control technicians at KOIN who were let go by LIN Media in line with an industry trend toward consolidation into hubs. The work they do monitoring the quality and accuracy of the on-air signal can now be done re- motely, and KOIN isn’t the only Port- land station whose signal is controlled elsewhere: KATU is controlled out of Seattle, and KPTV out of Phoenix, for example. In KOIN’s case the work went to non-union technicians at a LIN Me- dia hub in Indianapolis. Laid-off KOIN employees say they were given no opportunity to transfer. One who applied for an opening in In- dianapolis was reportedly told he would not be “a good fit” with the culture there. Laid-off master control techni- cian Mark Mack told the Labor Press that the move to hubs is sacrificing quality — more technical glitches, and Union retiree can assist with Obamacare registration Thousands of Oregonian individu- als, families, and small businesses be- gan signing up for insurance Oct. 1 through Cover Oregon, the health care exchange that is part of President Obama’s Affordable Care Act. Individuals, families and small busi- nesses can apply for health insurance and get access to help pay for premiums through a statewide, on-the-ground net- work of Cover Oregon certified insur- ance agents, community partners or tribal organizations. Cover Oregon of- ficials are urging consumers to work with a certified insurance agent or com- munity partner until mid-October, when consumers should be able to browse for policies and enroll themselves through Cover Oregon’s web portal. One of the trained community part- ners is Ambrose Bittner, secretary-treas- urer of the Northwest Oregon Labor Retirees Council. Bittner is a retired ap- prenticeship training official with the U.S. Department of Labor and a retired member of Seattle Plasterers Local 528. Cover Oregon certified community partners and agents can assist and enroll Oregonians in coverage, but only insur- ance agents are able to recommend a specific health insurance plan that fits an individual’s needs and budget. Cover Oregon has certified nearly 2,000 insur- ance agents to help Oregonians enroll. Customers who want to buy com- mercial plans have until Dec. 15 to en- roll for coverage to kick in Jan. 1, 2014. If you have questions about Cover Oregon, call Bittner at 503-669-8454 or email him at ambroseii@frontier.com. fewer eyes on picture quality. The previous NABET contract at KOIN expired two months ago, and union members say the company is dragging its feet in negotiations. Fur- ther negotiation sessions were sched- uled Oct. 1 and 2, after this article went to press. LIN is KOIN-TV’s fifth owner in two decades. ...Food bank (Turn to Page 1) tain either a whole chicken, a roast or ham ... and for sure a turkey at Thanks- giving. At its peak, the Carpenters Food Bank distributed 850 boxes of food a month. Most recently it was handling 700 customers a month. “It’s more than 15 million meals,” Fahey said. In addition to the Faheys and Ted Totten, the core group of volunteers over the past 30 years has been Ann Totten, Don Powers, George Socha, Jenny Schmuck, Jerry Schmuck, Jim Berdadin, Lee Herman, Don Peters, and Claude McMahon. All are retired. “We served people on strike, people out of work, retirees on fixed incomes, young people, families, everybody,” Fahey said. “Nobody left without a food box.” (International Standard Serial Number 0894-444X) Established in 1900 at Portland, Oregon as a voice of the labor movement. 4275 NE Halsey St., P.O. Box 13150, Portland, Ore. 97213 Telephone: (503) 288-3311 Editor: Michael Gutwig Staff: Don McIntosh, Cheri Rice Published on a semi-monthly basis on the first and third Fridays of each month by the Oregon Labor Press Publishing Co. Inc., a non- profit corporation owned by 20 unions and councils including the Oregon AFL-CIO. Serving more than 120 union organizations in Ore- gon and SW Washington. Subscriptions $13.75 per year for union members. Group rates available to trade union organizations. PERIODICALS POSTAGE PAID AT PORTLAND, OREGON. CHANGE OF ADDRESS NOTICE: Three weeks are required for a change of address. When ordering a change, please give your old and new addresses and the name and number of your local union. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS, P.O. BOX 13150, PORTLAND, OR 97213-0150 PAGE 2 NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS OCTOBER 4, 2013
