NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS | March 20, 2015 | PAGE 7
Machinists conduct
informational picket
at Bodycote in Camas
Labor educator Feekin to retire
Members of Machinists District
Lodge W24 conducted an infor-
mational picket Feb. 24 at Body-
cote in Camas, Wash.
Forty workers at the plant, which
specializes in making titanium
aerospace parts for Precision Cast-
parts (PCC Structurals), voted last
June to join the Machinists. It was
a hard-fought campaign, with the
company — a multi-national cor-
poration with nonunion facilities
in several states — hiring a union
buster. Immediately after the
union victory, the company retali-
ated against some union support-
ers, changing their work shifts and
break times. The Machinists filed
and won an unfair labor practice
(ULP) complaint with the National
Labor Relations Board (NLRB).
Bargaining for a first contract
hasn’t been much better. Talks be-
gan in August with an attorney
flown in from Oklahoma. On Dec.
29, the Machinists filed a second
ULP complaint, this one accusing
Bodycote of bad-faith bargaining
and refusing to put proposals in
writing. The NLRB is currently in-
vestigating the charges.
Meantime, talks were held Feb.
25-26, with more scheduled for
March 30-31. To date, the sides
have tentatively agreed to only
nine items.
Machinists union rep Will Lukens
said more informational picketing
is likely if the company doesn’t
start making some movement in
bargaining.
Labor educator Lynn
her mother worked for a
Feekin will retire April 1
department store. She
after 21 years at the La-
was the first in her fam-
bor Education and Re-
ily to go to college, and
search Center at the Uni-
earned a bachelor’s de-
versity of Oregon.
gree in sociology from
Feekin, 64, helped
University of Northern
train a generation of
Iowa in 1972.
union staff and leaders in
She became involved
Oregon. She worked
with
organized labor
Lynn Feekin
with unions to prepare
when — as a worker at
for collective bargaining and de- a factory making prefabricated
velop strategic plans, and she or- houses for hogs — she helped a
ganized LERC’s Collective Bar- campaign to unionize with Ma-
gaining Institute, an annual chinists Local 1728. She then
week-long training at the served on the union bargaining
Menucha Retreat Center in Cor- committee. Through her union,
bett. She also did research for she learned about a graduate as-
Change to Win labor federation, sistantship at University of Iowa
Communications Workers of Labor Center that was sponsored
America, and the Association of by the Iowa Federation of Labor.
Western Pulp and Paper Work- She applied, was accepted, and
ers, and was part of a strategic studied industrial relations at the
planning effort with the 325,000- University of Iowa. From 1976
member California Teachers As- to 1984, she worked at Univer-
sociation.
sity of Iowa Labor Center as an
“I feel really privileged that instructor and later director. Then
I’ve been in a department that re- for 10 years, she taught labor
ally focuses on trying to build a studies at Indiana University. She
strong labor movement,” Feekin also served as executive director
said.
at the Calumet Project for Indus-
Feekin grew up in Iowa. Her trial Jobs, a non-profit in East
father was a railroad worker and Chicago, Indiana, that was
formed to contend with thou-
sands of layoffs from factory and
steel mill closures.
She moved to Eugene, Ore-
gon, in 1993 to accept a tempo-
rary position at LERC, and was
hired to a permanent position in
1994. There she also served as
co-chair of the Eugene-Spring-
field chapter of Jobs with Justice,
and was a member of the Eugene
Mayor’s Sustainable Business
Initiative Task Force in 2005 and
Mon-Fri 9-6, Sat 9:30-5:30, Sun 12-6
2006.
Low Prices!
LOCAL MOTION
FEBRUARY 2015
The following are Oregon and Southwest Washington workplaces where workers are
determining whether to be represented by a union. The thumbs-up symbol means workers will
be union-represented. Thumbs-down means they’ll be on their own. Decert means a
decertification election, where union-represented workers vote whether to remain union. The
information comes from the National Labor Relations Board and the Oregon Employment
Relations Board. NOTE: There were no representation elections held in February.
Election Requests
Employer (Location) Union
Highland Laboratories (Mt. Angel) UFCW Local 555
■ 24 workers – vitamin factory
City of Medford (Medford) Teamsters Local 223
DECERT
■ 5 workers – mechanics
Unionization by majority signup
Employer (Location) Union
City of Tualatin (Tualatin) Tualatin Sergeants’ Association
■ 5 workers –police department sergeants
City of West Linn (West Linn) West Linn Sergeants’ Association
■ 6 workers –police department sergeants