SERVING ORGANIZED LABOR IN OREGON AND SOUTHWEST WASHINGTON SINCE 1900
NORTHWEST
LABOR
PRESS
VOLUME 116, NUMBER 15
INSIDE
Minimum wage 2
Fast Track rancor 5
Union meetings 6
Free classifieds 10
PORTLAND, OREGON
AUGUST 7, 2015
Trans-Pacific
Partnership
talks stall
IAM helps combat ALS
PRESIDENT OF MACHINISTS LODGE 63 TAKES
ICE BUCKET CHALLENGE. The ALS Ice Bucket
Challenge became a global phenomenon in
2014 and raised $220 million for ALS research
and patient care. As a result, significant new in-
vestments in research on the causes of and po-
tential treatments for this fatal disease have
been made. Year two of the Ice Bucket Chal-
lenge officially began July 31 in Boston and will
continue through the month of August. Ma-
chinists Lodge 63 got a jump on the field at
their annual picnic July 18. There, retired mem-
ber Sam Beekman, who was diagnosed with
ALS a few years ago, challenged Local 63 Presi-
dent John Kleiboeker (pictured above) to have
a bucket of ice and water dumped over his
head by Secretary-Treasurer John Hall (photo
left). Beekman’s challenge raised a quick $184 from the membership. Here’s how the Ice Bucket Chal-
lenge works: A person has a bucket of ice and water dumped over his or her head, then challenges
three friends to either do the same, donate to the ALS charity of their choice, or do both. Last year,
more than 17 million videos of people taking the challenge were posted on Facebook. Those videos
were watched by 440 million people a total of 10 billion times. Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS),
also known as Lou Gehrig's disease, is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that leads to paralysis
due to the death of motor neurons in the spinal cord and brain. There is no known cure. For more in-
formation, go to www.alsicebucketchallenge.org.
The Trans-Pacific Partnership
(TPP)— a proposed 12-nation
NAFTA-style deal — is on ice.
The corporate-led agreement is
a top priority for the Obama Ad-
ministration, and it was sup-
posed to be finalized at a July
28-31 summit of trade ministers
in Maui. Instead, the summit
ended July 31 without a deal,
and without any further dates set
for negotiation.
The talks have been con-
ducted entirely in secret, and
even the U.S. proposals are clas-
sified. But news reports pointed
to a variety of sticking points
that caused the breakdown: U.S.
unwillingness to open up its pro-
tected sugar market to Australia,
Canada’s unwillingness to open
up its protected dairy sector to
New Zealand, Mexico’s con-
cern about duty-free import of
Japanese cars made with Thai
parts, and multiple countries’
unwillingness to go along with
a U.S. demand for 12-year
patent monopolies on new
drugs.
Meanwhile, on the same day
the summit ended, Wikileaks re-
leased classified evidence that
the United States National Secu-
rity Agency (NSA) has con-
ducted surveillance on Japanese
trade negotiators. That certainly
won’t foster an atmosphere of
trust going forward.
It’s possible the stall could
spell the end of Obama’s
chances of passing the TPP. Un-
der the recently-passed Fast
Track procedure, Congress re-
views trade deals for 30 days,
followed by 60 days during
which the public can see it. That
means at least three months
would elapse before a vote, and
Congress is less likely to pass
the unpopular trade deal in
2016, an election year. Obama’s
term ends in January 2017.
On a related issue, the Obama
Administration appears to have
employed a cynical dodge to a
Turn to Page 9
HIGH-ROAD EMPLOYER:
UFCW secures first union contract for cannabis workers in Oregon
Oregon’s first unionized
cannabis dispensary had its
grand opening July 15 in a
newly-renovated storefront at
7827 SE Powell Boulevard in
Portland. A three-year contract
between United Food & Com-
mercial Workers (UFCW) Local
555 and Stoney Brothers LLC
spells out wages that start at $15
an hour for cashiers, $20 an
hour for trimmers, and up to $32
an hour for master cannabis cul-
tivators. The contract also pro-
vides paid holidays and vacation
days, pension contributions of
75 cents an hour, and employer-
paid health insurance offered
through the union’s multi-em-
ployer trust.
“I’m really hoping this spreads
to other dispensaries all over
Oregon,” said Stoney Brothers
employee Kyle Maestas.
The union contract covers
just three employees now, but
Stoney Brothers has expansion
plans. Company president
Trevor Reed says a second loca-
tion is slated to open within a
few months at 193 Marine
Drive in Astoria. And grow, pro-
cessing, extract and wholesale
operations will follow.
Turn to Page 12
Kyle Maestas and Hannah Poole
— on the job at the brand-new
Stoney Brothers medical mari-
juana dispensary — are Oregon’s
first unionized cannabis workers.
Poole, whose husband Stephen
McBride is a union member with
Glaziers Local 740, holds a copy of
the collective bargaining agree-
ment between Stoney Brothers
and UFCW Local 555.