Northwest labor press., December 20, 2013, Image 1

Inside
MEETING NOTICES
See
Page 12
Volume 114
Number 24
December 20, 2013
Portland
TriMet, ATU may join to
fight health cost burden
Unions host holiday party for kids of out-of-work members
Labor’s Community Service Agency (LCSA) and the Northwest Oregon Labor
Council held their annual “Presents from Partners” holiday party for children of
out-of-work union members Dec. 14 at the Sheet Metal Workers Local 16 union
hall in Northeast Portland. Several hundred boys, girls, tweens, teens, toddlers and
their parents participated. Children received a Christmas stocking hand-made by
retirees of the American Federation of Teachers-Oregon; a turkey lunch catered by
Madison’s Grill; dessert made by members of Bakers Local 114 at Fred Meyer;
face painting, coloring, a visit with Santa Claus (played by Dave Williams of
IBEW Local 48), and several toys and books.
IBEW and United Workers Federal Credit Union also sponsored a room with
gifts for moms and dads. Children selected an item for each parent, and volunteers
from the credit union helped wrap them.
Union organizations, members, unionized businesses, and professionals that
work with unions donated toys and cash for the event, said LCSA Executive Di-
rector Vickie Burns. A total of 90 volunteers (pictured above) helped in some fash-
ion, either by decorating the union hall the night before or assisting families the day
of the event. This year, United Way of the Columbia-Willamette donated T-shirts
for all the volunteers to wear.
“The outpouring of support was a gift from and for working people and organ-
ized labor,” Burns said.
See more photos on Page 15.
By DON McINTOSH
Associate Editor
In the long and bitter battle between
TriMet and Amalgamated Transit
Union Local 757, the biggest fight is
health insurance. TriMet wants bus
drivers, mechanics and others to pay a
much bigger share of the costs, which
are by all accounts sky-high — up to
$28,966 a year to cover an employee
and his or her spouse and children on
Regence Blue Cross Blue Shield.
Neither side created America’s
grossly overpriced health care system,
but that only explains why costs are
high to begin with, not why they’re
higher than average at TriMet.
But now a foundation-funded initia-
tive — and the intervention of Portland
City Commissioner Steve Novick —
has a chance to bring the two parties to-
gether to grapple with the underlying
issue: why so many TriMet workers
and their families have health prob-
lems, and why they’re so expensive to
treat.
In April, the nonprofit business
group known as the Oregon Coalition
of Health Care Purchasers (OCHCP)
received a $50,000 seed grant from the
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to
galvanize a community to address its
health issues. OCHCP executive direc-
tor Jill Freeman reached out to TriMet
and Local 757 leaders and met with
each side separately. Freeman, a former
benefits administrator for Les Schwab
and Jeld-Wen, was given access to the
underlying data about how 3,500
TriMet workers, managers and retirees
use health care — so she could better
understand why costs are so high.
On Dec. 5, Freeman presented her
findings to a meeting attended by 30
leaders from the union, TriMet man-
agement, and Novick’s office, as well
as health experts. The numbers were
shocking.
TriMet workers have diabetes and
high blood pressure at rates twice as
high as the general population served
by Kaiser Permanente. They have
greatly elevated rates of depression and
coronary artery disease. They go to the
emergency room more often. And they
smoke at a rate significantly higher than
the general population.
“Data tells a story,” Freeman said.
Just not necessarily a story where the
sick are to blame for their illnesses. Are
there things about TriMet as a work-
place that are worsening worker health?
Smoking, for example, can be a re-
sponse to stress, and is more common
in stressful occupations. More frequent
visits to the emergency room may sug-
gest that work hours make it difficult to
see a primary care physician and get
preventive care.
Union leaders have been telling
TriMet for years that the nature of the
work, and some management deci-
sions, are contributing to workers’
health issues. Bus drivers perform a
sedentary job, in a vibrating workspace,
with all the attendant stress of maneu-
vering a large vehicle safely through
traffic, watching for people at bus stops,
and interacting with passengers, while
(Turn to Page 21)
Sheet Metal rep
to head building
trades council
Willy Myers, a business agent at
Sheet Metal Workers Local 16, was
elected executive
secretary-treasurer
of the Columbia
Pacific Building
and Construction
Trades Council.
He defeated Eric
DeSantos
of
Plumbers and Fit-
W ILLY M YERS ters Local 290 by a
vote of 61-19. The election was held
Dec. 2.
Myers will succeed Jodi Guetzloe
Parker on Jan. 6. Guetzloe Parker, a
member of Laborers Local 320, is step-
ping down from the full-time position
mid-term.
Myers, 44, has served as president
of the Columbia Pacific BCTC since
2010. Before that he was a delegate
representing Local 16.
Nominations for the vacant presi-
dent’s post will be held in January.
Myers got his start with the union in
1995. He has worked for Local 16 as
an organizer and as elected business
agent since 1999.