Official
Notices
Eugene area members meet 5 p.m. Monday, Sept.
8, at Best Western Grand Manor Inn, 971 Kruse Way,
Springfield.
Salem area members meet 5 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 9,
at Candalaria Terrace, Suite 204, 2659 Commercial
St. SE, Salem.
B AKERY , C ONFECTIONERY ,
T OBACCO W ORKERS AND
G RAIN M ILLERS 114
Executive Board meets 6 p.m. Wednesday, Sept.
10.
Members meet 7 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 11.
Meetings are at 11145 NE Sandy Blvd., Portland.
Executive Board meets 9 a.m. Tuesday, Sept. 23,
in the meeting room at 7931 NE Halsey, Suite 205,
Portland.
C EMENT M ASONS 555
Members meet 7 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 18, at 12812
NE Marx St., Portland.
C ENTRAL O REGON L ABOR
C OUNCIL
Delegates meet 5:30 p.m. Monday, Sept. 29, at the
Social Justice Center, 155 NE Irving Ave., Bend.
C OLUMBIA -P ACIFIC
B UILDING T RADES
Delegates meet 10 a.m. Tuesdays, Sept. 9 and Sept.
16, at Kirkland Union Manor II, 3535 SE 86th, Port-
land.
E LECTRICAL W ORKERS 48
Electrical Workers Minority Caucus meets 5:30
p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 9, in the Executive Boardroom.
Residential Unit meets 6 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 9, in
the Executive Boardroom.
Wasco Unit meets 6 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 10, at
Northern Wasco County PUD, 2345 River Road, The
Dalles.
Sound and Communication Unit meets 6:30 p.m.
Wednesday, Sept. 10, in the Meeting Hall.
Washington Unit Meeting meets at 6:00 p.m.
Thursday, Sept. 11, at the Longview Hall, 1145 Com-
merce Ave, Longview, WA 98632.
Bylaws Committee meets 5:30 p.m. Monday, Sept.
15, in the Executive Boardroom.
Executive Board Meeting meets 6:30 p.m. Wednes-
day, Sept. 17, in the Executive Boardroom.
Meetings are at 15937 NE Airport Way, Portland,
unless otherwise noted.
DEATH ASSESSMENTS: No. 2401, Maynard J.
Johnson; No. 2402, Robert L. McCoy; No. 2403,
Archie D. Smith; and No. 2404, Daniel Dwyer. The
Sept. 2014 assessment is $1.50.
E LEVATOR C ONSTRUCTORS 23
Members meet 6 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 11, preceded
by 5 p.m. Executive Board meeting, at 12779 NE
Whitaker Way, Portland.
F IRE F IGHTERS 452
Members meet 6 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 1, at 2807
NW Fruit Valley Rd., Vancouver.
F IRE F IGHTERS 1660
Members meet 8 a.m. Thursday, Sept. 11, at 4411
SW Sunset Dr., Lake Oswego.
G LASS W ORKERS 740
I NSULATORS 36
I RON W ORKERS 29
Members meet 7 p.m., Thursday, Oct. 2, preceded
by a 5:30 p.m. Executive Board meeting, at 11620 NE
Ainsworth Cir., #200, Portland.
I RON W ORKERS
S HOPMEN 516
Executive Board meets 6 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 11.
Members meet 6 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 25.
Meetings are at 11620 NE Ainsworth Circle, Port-
land, OR.
L ABORERS 320
Members meet 7 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 11, at Joe
Edgar Hall, Teamsters’ Complex, 1850 NE 162nd
Ave., Portland.
L ABORERS /V ANCOUVER 335
Members meet 7 p.m. Monday, Sept. 8, preceded
by a 6:15 p.m. Executive Board meeting, at the Van-
couver Labor Center, 2212 NE Andresen Rd., Vanc.,
Wash. PLEASE NOTE DATE CHANGE.
Members meet 7 p.m. Monday, Oct. 6, preceded
by a 6:15 p.m. Executive Board meeting, at the Van-
couver Labor Center, 2212 NE Andresen Rd., Vanc.
L ABORERS 483
M UNICIPAL E MPLOYEES
Members meet 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 16, at the
Musicians Hall, 325 NE 20th Ave., Portland.
L ANE C OUNTY
L ABOR C OUNCIL
M ARION -P OLK -Y AMHILL
L ABOR C OUNCIL
Executive Board meets 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 9,
followed by a 7 p.m. General Meeting at 1400 Tan-
dem, Salem.
M ETAL T RADES C OUNCIL
Executive Board meets 10 a.m. Thursday, Sept. 11.
Delegates meet 5 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 23.
Meetings are at the IBEW Local 48 Hall, 15937
NE Airport Way, Portland.
M ID -C OLUMBIA
L ABOR C OUNCIL
Delegates meet 7 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 9, at 3313 W.
2nd, The Dalles.
M OLDERS 139B
Members meet 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 18, pre-
ceded by a 6 p.m. Executive Board meeting at the Car-
penters Hall, 2205 N. Lombard, Portland.
N ORTHWEST O REGON
L ABOR C OUNCIL
Delegates meet 7 p.m. Monday, Sept. 22, at IBEW
Local 48 Hall, 15937 NE Airport Way, Portland.
O FFICE AND P ROFESSIONAL
E MPLOYEES L OCAL 11
Members meet 7 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 9, at the Lo-
cal Union Office, 3815 Columbia St., Vancouver.
P AINTERS & D RYWALL
F INISHERS 10
Members meet 6 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 17, at
11105 NE Sandy Blvd., Portland. Website: www.iu-
patlocal10.org
P ORTLAND C ITY &
M ETROPOLITAN E MPLOYEES
189
Delegates meet 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 24, at
1116 South A St., Springfield.
Executive Board meets 6:15 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 9.
General membership meets 6:15 p.m. Tuesday,
Sept. 23.
Meetings are at 6025 E Burnside, Portland.
L ANE , C OOS , C URRY &
D OUGLAS B UILDING T RADES
R OOFERS & W ATERPROOFERS
49
Delegates meet at noon Wednesday, Sept. 24, at the
Springfield Training Center, 2861 Pierce Parkway,
Springfield.
L INN -B ENTON -L INCOLN
L ABOR C OUNCIL
Delegates meet 7 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 24, pre-
ceded by a 6:30 p.m. Executive Board meeting, at
1400 Salem Ave., Albany.
L INOLEUM L AYERS 1236
Portland area members meet 6 p.m. Thursday, Sept.
25, at 11105 NE Sandy Blvd., Portland.
Members meet 7 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 11.
Executive Board meets 7 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 2.
Meetings are at 5032 SE 26th Ave., Portland. (503
232-4807)
S ALEM BCTC
Delegates meet 10 a.m. Thursday, Oct. 2, at the
IBEW 280 Training Center, 33309 Hwy 99E, Tangent.
S HEET M ETAL W ORKERS 16
Portland members meet 6 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 9, at
the Sheet Metal Training Center, 2379 NE 178th Ave.,
Portland.
Medford area members meet 4 p.m. Wednesday,
Sept. 10, at Wild River Pizza, 2684 N. Pacific Hwy.,
Medford.
Eugene area members meet 6 p.m. Thursday, Sept.
11, at the Local 16 Hall, 1887 Laura St., Springfield.
Coos Bay area members meet 4 p.m. Thursday,
Sept. 18, Abby’s Pizza, 997 First St., Coos Bay.
Women of Sheet Metal Workers Local 16
(WOSM) meet 4:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 19, at
Beaulahland, 118 NE 28th Ave., Portland. Children
are welcome.
Portland area VOC meets 6 p.m. Wednesday, Oct.
1, at the Sheet Metal Training Center, 2379 NE 178th
Ave., Portland.
S IGN P AINTERS &
P AINT M AKERS 1094
Members meet 3:30 p.m. Monday, Sept. 15, in the
District Office, at 11105 NE Sandy Blvd., Portland.
S OUTHEASTERN O REGON
L ABOR C OUNCIL
Delegates meet 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 11, at the
Woodworkers Hall, 3836 Altamont Drive, Klamath
Falls.
S OUTHERN O REGON
C ENTRAL L ABOR C OUNCIL
Delegates meet 6 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 9, at the La-
bor Temple, 4480 Rogue Valley Hwy. #3, Central
Point.
S OUTHWEST W ASHINGTON
L ABOR C OUNCIL
Delegates meet 6 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 1, preceded
by an Executive Board meeting, at the Laborers hall,
2212 NE Andresen Rd., Vancouver, WA.
U NITED A SSOCIATION 290
Portland area members meet 7:30 p.m. Friday,
Sept. 19, at 20210 SW Teton Ave., Tualatin. The fol-
lowing locations will be able to participate remotely in
the Regular Business Meeting at 7:30 on the 3rd Fri-
day of every month: Bend, Eugene/Springfield, Eu-
reka, Medford, and Salem.
Astoria area members meet 6 p.m. Thursday, Sept.
25, at the Astoria Labor Temple, 926 Duane, Astoria.
Brookings area members meet 5:30 p.m. Tuesday,
Sept. 23. Please contact Craig Spjut at 707-496-1767
for location information.
Coos Bay area members meet 6 p.m. Tuesday,
Sept. 23, at the Coos Bay Training Center, 2nd &
Kruse, Coos Bay.
Klamath Falls area members meet 5 p.m. Tuesday,
Sept. 23, at 4816 S 6th St., Klamath Falls.
The Dalles area members meet 6 p.m. Tuesday,
Sept. 23, at the United Steelworkers Local 9170
Union Hall, The Dalles.
Retiree Meeting Notices
A LLIANCE FOR R ETIRED
A MERICANS O REGON C HAPTER
Executive Board meets 10 a.m.
Thursday, Sept. 11, followed by an
11 a.m. General membership meet-
ing at 3645 SE 32nd, Portland.
E LECTRICAL W ORKERS 48
Retirees, wives and friends meet
11 a.m. Tuesday, Sept. 9, at Kings
Omelets, 10711 NE Weidler, Port-
land. For reservations and more in-
formation, please contact Glenn
Hodgkinson at 503-656-0028.
E LEVATOR C ONSTRUCTORS 23
Retirees meet 11:30 a.m.
Wednesday, Sept 10, at Home
Town Buffet, 10542 SE Washing-
ton St., Portland.
I NSULATORS 36
Retirees meet for breakfast 9 a.m.
Thursday, Oct. 2, at the Dockside
Restaurant, 2047 NW Front Ave.,
Portland.
I RON W ORKERS 29
Retirees meet at noon Wednes-
day, Sept. 10 at 11620 NE
Ainsworth Circle, Portland for a
catered lunch.
O REGON AFSCME
Retirees meet 10 a.m. Tuesday,
Sept. 16, at the AFSCME office,
6025 E. Burnside, Portland. Call
Michael Arken for information at 1-
800-521-5954, ext. 226.
S HEET M ETAL 16
Retirees meet 11:30 a.m. Thurs-
day, Sept. 11, at Izzy’s Pizza, 1307
NE 102nd, Portland.
U NITED A SSOCIATION 290
Retirees meet 10 a.m. Thursday,
Sept. 18, at 20210 SW Teton Ave.,
Tualatin.
Siemens medical equipment workers unionize with IBEW #48
Twenty skilled medical equipment engineers in the Pacific North-
west won union representation Aug. 28 — after a union campaign
that got help from as far away as Boston, New York, and Germany.
The campaign began when International Brotherhood of Elec-
trical Workers (IBEW) Local 48 got a phone call in May from a
“customer service engineer” at Siemens Medical Services USA.
That’s the division of the massive German electronics conglomerate
Siemens that maintains and repairs company-made medical imaging
equipment like MRIs and cat scans.
Local 48 organizer Ray Lister says the worker had done his
homework before the call. He knew everybody’s name in his work
group, knew what it would take to win a union, and knew which
union to call: IBEW represents workers in the same occupation in
Boston and New York.
In this case, the work group consisted of 20 customer service en-
gineers spread out over Oregon, Washington, Idaho and Montana.
They work out of their homes servicing contracts with health care
providers, and they meet infrequently.
Lister said nearly all the workers have been there more than a
decade; they are fiercely loyal to the company, care a lot about their
customers, and all make decent money. But they were also sick of
PAGE 6
several things, Lister said: overwork, arbitrary pay and promotions,
occasional disrespect from management, and no say over changes
— like the company’s decision to freeze their defined benefit re-
tirement plan.
IBEW assigned international staff to meet with workers in the
four states, and set up conference calls with their IBEW-represented
co-workers at Local 2222 in Boston and Local 3 in New York.
A majority of workers signed union authorization cards, and on
July 8 they petitioned the National Labor Relations Board to sched-
ule a union election. But the company immediately filed a challenge
to the proposed bargaining unit definition — a standard anti-union
maneuver designed to delay the election.
“In a union election campaign, time is an employer’s best friend,”
Lister said. “It gives them more opportunities for captive audience
meetings, and more time to spread fear.”
But IBEW had an ally in IG Metall, the massive German indus-
trial union. Under German law, workers have a seat at the table in
large companies, and exercise sway with company works councils.
Siemens had signed an international framework saying it would re-
spect workers rights to unionize, and wouldn’t attempt to bust union
efforts. A union representative on the negotiation committee of the
NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS
Siemens Central Works Council complained that the company’s le-
gal maneuver against Local 48 violated that framework. A day later,
the company withdrew its objections, and the election was sched-
uled for Aug. 27-28.
The result: 13 to 6 in favor of joining IBEW Local 48.
“These guys were committed to their job, and to each other,” Lis-
ter said.
Lister said a few people were persuaded by management appeals
during conference calls.
“I call it the, ‘baby, please don’t go’ defense,” Lister said. “The
company says, “Give us another chance. Siemens will get better.”
Lister said he thinks other workers were swayed by fear tactics,
or were just uncomfortable with change.
Nonetheless, 13-6 is more than two to one. It’s a mandate, and
the company is legally required to bargain in good faith toward a
collective bargaining agreement setting out terms and conditions of
work.
Lister said the Siemens workers in this case hope to get more
predictable pay, greater clarity on the steps to promotion, and a com-
mitment by the company to hire more workers to address com-
plaints of overwork and difficulty taking time off.
SEPTEMBER 5, 2014