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About Northwest labor press. (Portland , Ore.) 1987-current | View Entire Issue (March 6, 2015)
NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS | March 6, 2015 | PAGE 7 Portland airport shop workers want a union too Another group of low-wage workers at Portland International Airport (PDX) is seeking to unionize. UNITE HERE Local 8 organ- izer Shellea Allen says more than two thirds of a group of 45 em- ployees of the multinational cor- poration World Duty Free Group have signed union cards. The World Duty Free Group employ- ees staff four shops at PDX: Kiehl’s, Rich’s News, The Ore- gonian, and The Market. On Feb. 18, pro-union workers and supporters presented a de- mand to local management that the company recognize their choice to unionize, and they set up a brief informational picket at the airport. The company de- clined to respond. The workers want more regular schedules, affordable health care, and wage increases, Allen said. Currently their wages range from Oregon’s $9.25 minimum wage to a little over $10 an hour. World Duty Free Group has over 500 stores in 20 countries, and spe- cializes in airport sales of fra- grance, wine and spirits, cosmet- ics, food, travel accessories and souvenirs. UNITE HERE represents World Duty Free workers at the Detroit, Oakland, and San Jose airports. The effort to unionize World Duty Free is part of a larger fight to improve wages and conditions for airport service workers. Last September, the multinational food concessions company HMS Host agreed to recognize UNITE HERE Local 8 as the representa- tive of its 176 PDX employees at Starbucks Coffee, Gustav’s Pub & Grill, Rogue Ales Public House, and Rose’s Restaurant and Bakery. Gustav’s later closed when airport managers cancelled its lease, but the union is bargain- ing a first contract for the remain- ing workers. The World Duty Free shops used to be staffed by HMS Host, but the company sold its retail di- vision to World Duty Free and kept its food service division. Mon-Fri 9-6, Sat 9:30-5:30, Sun 12-6 Keen-eyed local unionists might have noticed something familiar about a location in a recent episode of the comedy show Port- landia: It’s the regional satellite of- fice of the Pacific Northwest Re- gional Council of Carpenters. Of course, that wasn’t obvious: In the show, the union sign on the front of the building was digitally replaced with “Make-A-Wish” for a skit about a very immature man (played by Fred Armisen) diagnosed with cancer. But that is the union office in Season 5, Episode 3, “Health Care,” which aired Jan. 22 on the IFC cable network. Regional Council spokesperson Ben Basom says the film crew shot a second skit at the office, which may even feature union secretary Martha Verduzco as an extra, though it hadn’t aired as this issue went to press. Basom says the union was approached last year by a location scout who admired the building. The Re- gional Council allowed Portlandia to use its location at no charge, and filming took place over about four hours Aug. 1. Portlandia is famed for lampooning Portland’s quirks. It’s available through Hulu, iTunes and Amazon, and on Netflix streaming. ... IATSE, IBEW, and SAG/AFTRA gear up for conflict at KGW From Page 1 Low Prices! A union office like something out of Portlandia anyone in to do our jobs, and you couldn’t prevent that,” said Brad Anderson, executive direc- tor of SAG-AFTRA in Seattle. “We’ve been struggling for months to get an explanation as to why this is all of a sudden necessary,” said attorney John Bishop, who was brought in to assist Portland-based IBEW Lo- cal 48 in negotiations. Gannett has already elimi- nated the union jurisdiction clause in a SAG-AFTRA con- tract at television station WUSA-TV in Washington, D.C., and pushed it so hard in bargaining at KSDK-TV in St. Louis that members of IBEW Local 4 launched an ongoing boycott of their employer 10 months ago, using billboard and radio ads, an airplane banner, and a web site and Facebook page to call on viewers to stop watching. According to Gannett’s most recent annual report, about 10 percent of its U.S. employees are represented by unions, divided among 78 bargaining units and eight international unions. In Portland and Seattle, IATSE, IBEW and SAG-AF- TRA are joining forces to fight Gannett, though they continue to bargain separately for contracts at the two stations. KGW and KING became Gannett proper- ties when the company acquired Belo Corporation in 2013. IATSE represents camera opera- tors and video editors. SAG-AF- TRA represents on-camera staff. IBEW Locals 48 and 46 repre- sent master control operators and maintenance technicians. “We’re all in this together,” said IBEW Local 48 business rep Donna Hammond. IATSE Local 600 representa- tive Dave Twedell says Gannett is pushing other issues besides jurisdiction. It’s also proposing to eliminate the “successor” clause that keeps the union contract in effect if the company sells the station. And in January, it unilat- erally worsened the family health insurance coverage — raising the employee share of the premium from $250 to $475 a month, and increasing the deductible from $1,500 to $5,000 a year. That’s despite the fact that Gannett is highly profitable. Gannett’s broadcast revenue set a new record in the fourth quar- ter of 2014. The company paid CEO Gracia Martore $7.9 mil- lion in total compensation in 2013. And on Feb. 24 Gannett announced it will pay $45 mil- lion in quarterly dividends. Twedell said IATSE will fight the health care change with an unfair labor practice charge at the National Labor Relations Board. Union reps say they won’t agree to give up jurisdiction, but management hasn’t budged from its demand that they do. “We have every reason to be- lieve this is going to be their fi- nal proposal as well as initial, first of all because that’s what they told us,” Twedell said. That sets the ground for a standoff, and the allied unions are beginning to line up outside backing for a public campaign. Last month the Northwest Ore- gon Labor Council, AFL-CIO, passed a resolution of support. The labor clash comes as Gan- nett prepares to spin off its news- paper and broadcast/digital divi- sions into separate publicly- traded companies, a move that has drawn interest from corpo- rate raider Carl Icahn, who owns 6.6 percent of Gannett stock.
