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About Northwest labor press. (Portland , Ore.) 1987-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 5, 2014)
Guide Dog Dash motorcycle poker run raises cash for a good cause Forty-seven motorcycle riders participated in the 8th annual Guide Dogs Dash Aug. 23, sponsored by Ma- chinists Lodge 63 and Machinists District W24. This year’s ride was held in honor of Chuck Drake, who passed away last December. Drake had the original idea for the ride to raise money for Guide Dogs of America. Guide Dogs was founded by the International Associa- tion of Machinists in 1948 in Sylmar, California, to provide guide dogs free of charge to the blind commu- nity. The organization depends solely on voluntary do- nations, bequests, and fundraising events, such as the motorcycle poker run. This year’s event raised nearly $3,500. (PHOTO LEFT) This Harley, with license plate UNION 2, belongs to IAM W24 Assistant Directing Business Rep Bob Petroff. Guide-dog-in-training Zeus enjoys the poker run. Laborers Local 483 reaches tentative agreement at Metro Laborers Local 483 reached tenta- tive agreement Aug. 14 on a new col- lective bargaining agreement with the Metro regional government, covering about 500 workers at the Oregon Zoo and Metro’s regional parks and natural areas. The four-year agreement provides an immediate 2.5 percent cost-of-living wage increase, followed by annual raises equal to the increase in the Con- sumer Price Index (minimum 1.25 per- cent, maximum 3.5 percent). The agreement grants up to 50 hours of paid sick leave, institutes premium pay for split shifts, and guarantees at least four hours of pay when an em- ployee reports to work. It provides new rights to workers who are classified as “temps”: After 2,080 hours (two years), they will no longer be considered at-will employ- ees, and will have the right to contest unfair discipline through a grievance process and binding arbitration. The agreement also improves the contract’s definition of temps. Local 483 agreed to halt further in- formational picketing at the Zoo as part of the agreement. Local 483 also made several con- cessions. The agreement increases em- ployee contributions to health insur- ance premiums to 8 percent, up from the current 6 percent. It also adds a new parking charge of $10 a month starting January 2016 ($40 a month for those who don’t currently have a parking spot.) If approved, the contract would be retroactive to July 1, 2014 and would run through June 30, 2018. Members were slated to vote on the agreement the first week of September. ...ILWU (From Page 1) United Grain and the Clark County Board of Commissioners tried to per- suade the county sheriff’s department to provide escorts, but Sheriff Garry Lucas declined. [United Grain offered to pay the sheriff’s department for the service.] Without police escorts, grain in- spectors refused to enter the facility, ef- fectively shutting down grain exports at the Port of Vancouver. On Aug. 12, FMCS announced that a tentative agreement had been reached. Members of ILWU have loaded grain for export in the Pacific North- west since 1934. TRUST AND EXPERIENCE MAKE A STRONG UNION. UN Administering labor management funds is a complex process. At Union Bank,® we’ve made it more eff icient for Taft-Hartley clients for over 60 years. We off er specialized collection and disbursement services that are tailored to serve the needs of benefit administrators—from a customized lockbox that improves the employer remittance process, to state-of-the-art electronic receivables. Our experienced deposit specialists will help you identify your specific commercial banking needs and design a plan to streamline your banking experience, increase eff iciency, and reduce costs. Union Bank is proud to provide commercial banking services to nearly 250 labor management clients of every size, representing over $525 million in deposits. Please contact us today for more information. unionbank.com/labor Collette Witting Labor Industry Manager 949-553-4302 Armand Antonian Sr. Relationship Manager 213-236-5046 Southern California, Southwest, Midwest John Mendoza Sr. Relationship Manager 415-705-7112 Northern California, Pacific Northwest, East Coast ©2014 MUFG Union Bank, N.A. All rights reserved. unionbank.com SEPTEMBER 5, 2014 NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS PAGE 5
