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.