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About Northwest labor press. (Portland , Ore.) 1987-current | View Entire Issue (March 6, 2015)
PAGE 2 | March 6, 2015 | NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS (International Standard Serial Number 0894-444X) Established in 1900 in Portland, Oregon as a voice of the la- bor movement. Published on a semi-monthly basis on the first and third Fridays of each month by the Oregon Labor Press Publishing Co. Inc., a non-profit mutual benefit corpo- ration owned by 20 unions and councils including the Ore- gon AFL-CIO. Serving more than 120 union organizations in Oregon and Southwest Washington. Office location: 4275 NE Halsey St., Portland, Oregon Mailing address: P.O. Box 13150, Portland, OR 97213 Phone: (503) 288-3311 Web address: http://nwlaborpress.org Editor & Manager: Michael Gutwig Associate editor: Don McIntosh Office manager: Cheri Rice Printed on recycled paper, using soy-based inks, by members of Teamsters Local 747-M. SUBSCRIPTIONS: Individual subscriptions are $13.75 per year for union members, $20 a year for all others. Send a check for that amount, indicating mailing address and union affilia- tion, to P.O. Box 13150, Portland, OR 97213. For 25 or more subscriptions, group rates of $9.60 a year per person are available to trade union organizations. Call 503-288-3311 for de- tails. CORRECTIONS: See an error? Please let us know at editor@nwlaborpress.org or by phone at 503-288-3311. PERIODICALS POSTAGE PAID AT PORTLAND, OREGON. CHANGE OF ADDRESS NOTICE: Three weeks are required for a change of address. When or- dering a change, please give your old and new addresses and the name and number of your local union. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS P.O. BOX 13150 PORTLAND, OR 97213-0150 IRS PROBLEMS? • Haven’t filed for ... years? • Lost records? • Liens - Levies - Garnishments? • Negotiate settlements. • Prepare offer in Compromise. Call Nancy D. Anderson Enrolled Agent NPTI Fellow/America’s Tax Expert LTC-1807 www.nancydanderson.com 503-244-2577 COLLECTIVE BARGAINING Swan Island shipyard workers reject contract offers Shipyard workers at two Vigor Industrial-owned facilities at Portland’s Swan Island have turned down new contract pro- posals. At Cascade General, 221 workers narrowly rejected a ten- tative agreement in voting held Jan. 16. Workers are represented by the Portland Metal Trades Council, a coalition of 10 craft unions. The contract expired Nov. 30, 2014. At Vigor Fab, 231 workers at facilities in Portland and Puget Sound, Wash., voted down a “last, best and final” offer — 226 to 5. Voting was held Jan. 14. Workers are represented wall-to-wall by Boilermakers Local 104. The contract expired on Feb. 28. Vigor Industrial is the parent company of Vigor Marine at Swan Island, plus several other ship building and repair facili- ties in Seattle, Tacoma, Everett, Bremerton and Port Angeles. The company is owned by Frank Foti. Last October, Foti brought in a new 960-foot floating drydock to Swan Island, opening Portland to new markets, such as cruise ships and post-Panamax vessels. Shipyard workers at Cascade General, Vigor Shipyard, and Washington Marine Repair are covered under one master labor agreement negotiated and ad- ministered by the national Metal Trades Department, AFL-CIO. The region’s respective metal trades councils bargain local terms and conditions in side agreements. The national agreement does- n’t expire until June 2017. After workers at Cascade General rejected their contract offer on Jan. 16, the sides re- turned to the bargaining table on Feb. 9. At that time, the em- ployer rescinded a ratification bonus that was part of the first tentative agreement. “The company said the ratifi- cation bonus was a one-time of- fer, and will not be put back on the table for discussion,” said Brian Opland, business manager of Boilermakers Local 104, an affiliate of the Portland Metal Trades Council. Union officials consider the ratification bonus equivalent to retroactive pay to when the con- tract expired in November. “I think it will be very diffi- cult to get to a deal without that (retro pay) in there,” said Bud Bartunek, president of the Port- land Metal Trades Council and area director of Painters and Al- lied Trades District Council 5. At the Feb. 9 bargaining ses- sion, Cascade General did agree to allow individual unions to se- lect their medical plans. The re- jected proposal had called for an across-the-board change from a 90-10 medical plan to an 80-20 medical plan. The premium on an 80-20 insurance plan is less expensive. Under the revised proposal, each union will be al- lowed to vote on which medical plan they want. However, those unions whose members elect to have better benefits will be re- sponsible for covering the addi- tional cost through a wage de- duction. Another bargaining session is scheduled for March 19. Opland of the Boilermakers told the Labor Press no new talks have been scheduled at Vigor Fab. Last year, Vigor Shipyard in Puget Sound implemented its last, best and final offer on workers represented by the Puget Sound Metal Trades Council. Workers then voted not to strike. It takes a two-thirds majority to strike. Vigor Shipyard is signatory to the master labor agreement. Last September, Vigor Indus- trial unilaterally implemented a “no tobacco” policy at all of its facilities. In response, the Port- land and Puget Sound metal trades councils filed an unfair la- bor practice complaint with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). A few weeks after the filing, several hundred shipyard work- ers at six Vigor Industrial facili- ties in Oregon and Washington conducted a one-day unfair la- bor practice strike during lunch break and at the afternoon shift change. Opland said the NLRB Re- gion 19 ruled in favor of the metal trades councils and or- dered Vigor Industrial to rescind the policy. The company has ap- pealed. A hearing is scheduled for June. Broadway Floral for the BEST flowers call 503-288-5537 1638 NE Broadway, Portland
