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About Northwest labor press. (Portland , Ore.) 1987-current | View Entire Issue (May 16, 2014)
Paid sick leave could be coming soon to Eugene EUGENE — The City of Eugene is considering a sick leave ordinance modeled on the ordinance Portland passed last year. Eugene City Council has held sev- eral work sessions on the concept, and in April appointed a task force to gather information. The task force met May 8 for the first time and will report back to City Council in mid-June. It has representatives of business, and two representatives from labor: United Food and Commercial Workers Local 555 Staff Director Kevin Billman, and Painters Local 1277 Business Repre- sentative Pat Smith, who is also secre- tary-treasurer of the Lane, Coos, Curry, Douglas Building Trades Council. Eugene Mayor Kitty Piercy led the kickoff meeting of the task force, which also includes Eugene City Council members Claire Syrett and Alan Zelenka. Lili Hoag, policy director for the MAY 16, 2014 group Family Forward Oregon, said there appears to be majority support on Eugene City Council for an ordinance. On April 28, about 40 Eugene resi- dents turned out to City Council for what she described as a “show of grat- itude.” One worker told City Council about his experience recovering from surgery without the help of his wife, who had no paid sick days. Behind him stood eight activists holding peti- tions from each of the eight City Coun- cil wards. The petitions, signed by over 3,200 Eugenians, were gathered in a door-to-door canvass by Oregon Work- ing Families Party. Portland Jobs with Justice annual dinner May 31 Portland Jobs with Justice is hold- ing its 23rd anniversary celebration and dinner at 6 p.m. Saturday, May 31, at the Teamsters Joe Edgar Hall, 1860 NE 162nd Ave., Portland. Tick- ets are $70 each and can be purchased online at jwjpdx.org. Jobs with Justice is a coalition of labor organizations and community groups dedicated to protecting the rights of working people. The Port- land chapter has 96 member organi- zations and 5,000 individuals who pledge to be there five times a year for other people’s struggles. For more information, call 503- 236-5573. Grants Pass firefighters victorious in OT ruling Supporters of paid sick leave turn up April 28 to thank Eugene City Council for moving forward on a City ordinance. Photo by Lisa Frack, courtesy of Family Forward Oregon National LERA confab expects to draw 400 people to Portland The Labor and Employment Rela- tions Association (LERA) will hold its national conference in Portland May 29-June 1 at the Hilton Portland and Executive Towers. The event is ex- pected to draw 400 representatives from labor, management, government, academics and neutrals to Portland. The keynote luncheon speaker on May 29 will be Dr. David Weil, newly appointed administrator of the Wage and Hour Division of the U.S. Depart- ment of Labor. It will be Weil’s first policy speech as the new head of the agency. He was sworn in as the admin- istrator of the Wage and Hour Division NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS on May 5. Weil is the first Senate-ap- proved administrator since Tammy D. McCutchen resigned in 2004, serving in the Bush Administration from 2001 to 2004. The theme of the conference is “Re- newing Employment Relations for Shared Prosperity: Research, Practice and Policy.” It features over 70 ses- sions. Some of the topics include: “Se- curity, Surveillance and Implications for Labor Relations;” “New strategies for Low-Wage Workers?;” “What a Re- imagined Labor Movement Means for Employer/Employee Relations?” LERA is an organization that pro- vides a forum for professionals inter- ested in all aspects of labor and em- ployment relations to network and share ideas. It has a local chapter in Portland. For more information or to register for the conference, go to: www.LERA web.org/66thAnnualMtgProgram, or contact Michael Lillich at clearlyex- pressedllc@gmail.com. GRANTS PASS — The Oregon Court of Appeals ruled May 7 that the City of Grants Pass must pay back wages and overtime to city firefighters. In June 2011, the International As- sociation of Fire Fighters Local 3564 petitioned the Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries (BOLI) for a ruling about whether the City of Grants Pass must include authorized vacation and sick leave time when calculating the overtime wages of its members. The union filed the wage claim after discovering state statutes that set work- ing hours and that established a method of computing overtime for firefighters. Labor Commissioner Brad Avakian said it did, and he ordered the city to correct up to two years of miscalcu- lated pay for 24 firefighters. At that time the cost was estimated to be $30,000. (See NW Labor Press, “La- bor commissioner sides with Fire Fighters in overtime pay dispute,” March 16, 2012.) The City of Grants Pass appealed, arguing that enactment of the Public Employees Collective Bargaining Act (PECBA) in 1973 created a collective bargaining exception to the overtime requirements cited by the union. On May 7, the Court of Appeals up- held BOLI’s ruling, which will result in the payment of more than $100,000 in back wages and overtime for the fire- fighters. On its Facebook page, Local 3564 called it “a big win for all Oregon fire- fighters.” The City of Grants Pass has 35 days to appeal the ruling to the Oregon Supreme Court. PAGE 5
