Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Northwest labor press. (Portland , Ore.) 1987-current | View Entire Issue (May 2, 2014)
P RIMARY E LECTION Endorsements of the N ORTHWEST O REGON L ABOR C OUNCIL U.S. SENATE J EFF M ERKLEY Inside MEETING NOTICES See Page 8 U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES First District: S UZANNE B ONAMICI Third District: E ARL B LUMENAUER ; Fifth District: K URT S CHRADER CLACKAMAS COUNTY Commissioner, Position 2: P AUL S AVAS Commissioner, Position 5: J IM B ERNARD Ballot Measure 34-211 (Tualatin Valley Fire & Rescue Local Option Levy) Support COLUMBIA COUNTY Circuit Judge, Position 1: C ATHLEEN C ALLAHAN METRO President: Tom Hughes Councilor, District 1: Shirley Craddick Councilor, District 2: Carlotta Collette Councilor, District 4: Kathryn Harrington CITY OF MILWAUKIE Ballot Measure 3-439 (Authorizes general obligation bonds to refinance light rail construction debt) Support Volume 115 Number 9 May 2, 2014 Portland Labor peace, finally, between DCTU and the City of Portland By DON McINTOSH Associate Editor Members of the 1,600-strong Dis- trict Council of Trade Unions (DCTU) have ratified a new contract at the City of Portland. Each of the DCTU’s seven member unions held separate votes on the tentative agreement, then met April 25 to tally the results. Majorities in all seven unions favored ratification, though by different margins. It passed by 93 percent at AFSCME Local 189, the largest DCTU union, but just 52 percent at Laborers Local 483, the sec- ond-largest. The agreement provides an imme- diate cost-of-living raise of 0.9 percent, which is only about half the current rate of inflation. The raise is retroactive to Aug. 29 — two months after the last contract expired. Those two details ac- count for the low approval rate in Local 483, said Executive Board member Wesley Buchholz: Members felt there was no good reason to give up a full cost-of-living increase given past hard- ships and the fact that the City is not in crisis financially. Buchholz said the other factor in Local 483’s near-rejec- tion was lingering mistrust toward changes to Article 6, the contract clause that restricts the City’s ability to out- source union members’ work. DCTU chief negotiator Rob Wheaton said the City sought conces- sions throughout bargaining. Members rejected an earlier tentative agreement and authorized a strike, but DCTU did- n’t set a strike date. Instead, the two sides continued to meet, and reached a deal March 28. In the end, Wheaton said, the DCTU was able to retain the previous contract’s most important pro- tections. The final sticking point was a City proposal to allow contracting out bar- gaining unit work in cases where it lacked “proper equipment and skills.” “What we were having trouble (Turn to Page 12) MULTNOMAH COUNTY Chair: Deborah Kafoury Commissioner, District 1: Jules Bailey Commissioner, District 2: Loretta Smith Sheriff: D AN S TATON CITY OF PORTLAND City Council, Position 2: N ICK F ISH City Council, Position 3: D AN S ALTZMAN Ballot Measure 26-156 (Create New Water Bureau District) Oppose WASHINGTON COUNTY Commissioner, District 2: Greg Malinowski Commissioner, District 4: Elizabeth Furse OREGON HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES Dist. 18 - S COTT M ILLS ; Dist. 31 - B RAD W ITT ; Dist. 38 - A NN L ININGER ; Dist. 42 - R OB N OSSE ; Dist. 45 - B ARBARA S MITH W ARNER ; Authorized and paid for by the Northwest Oregon Labor Council, 9955 SE Washington, St., Suite 305, Portland, OR 97216 Union pension funds create union jobs in Portland Dozens of workers, elected officials, and community leaders gathered in Portland April 28 for a ceremonial groundbreaking on the $43.2 million mixed-use residential development project called Lloyd District Commons. Located adjacent to the Oregon Convention Center in Northeast Portland, construction is a project of the AFL-CIO Building Investment Trust (BIT) using union pension funds and 100 percent union labor. April 28 is Workers Memorial Day, so in addition to the groundbreaking, attendees paid tribute to workers who have been injured or died on the job. Among those shoveling dirt are Portland Mayor Charlie Hales, Metro President Tom Hughes, City Commissioner Steve Novick, Labor Commissioner Brad Avakian, Mike Stotz, president of the AFL-CIO Investment Trust Corporation, Kevin McCarthy, president of PNC Realty Investors, Tom Chamberlain, president of the Oregon AFL- CIO, John Mohlis, executive secretary of the Oregon State Building Trades Council, and Willy Myers, executive secretary of the Columbia Pacific Building Trades Council.
