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August 7, 2015 | NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS
U.S. wage, benefit growth
at slowest pace in 33 years
Wages and benefits for Ameri-
can workers grew in the spring
at the slowest pace in 33 years.
The employment cost index
rose just 0.2 percent in the April-
June quarter after a 0.7 increase
MEDICARE TURNS 50. Scott Blau, president of the Oregon chapter of the Alliance for Retired Americans (ARA),
hands out buttons at a gathering July 30 in Portland celebrating the 50th anniversary of Medicare and Med-
icaid. Similar events were held in more than 100 cities nationwide, including Medford. In 1965, President
Lyndon Johnson signed legislation to establish Medicare for the elderly and Medicaid for low-income adults,
children, pregnant women, and people with disabilities. Today it is the single largest source of health insur-
ance in the United States, with 55 million people (660,000 in Oregon) covered. Despite its success, this year’s
U.S. House and U.S. Senate budgets seek to cut billions of dollars from the program and to transform it from
a guarantee to a voucher program. The ARA opposes the cuts. It wants Congress to strengthen the program.
... Union contract for cannabis workers
From Page 1
Reed owns a similar vertically
integrated cannabis company in
New Mexico—Natural Rx—
which is also UFCW-repre-
sented. Natural Rx has medical
marijuana dispensaries in Albu-
querque and Las Cruces, plus a
grow and processing operation.
In Oregon, Reed says he’s one
of 10 partners in Stoney Brothers
LLC, along with New Mexico’s
former Republican governor
Gary Johnson, CEO of Nevada-
based Cannabis Sativa Inc.
Reed, once a member of Iron
Workers Local 495 in Albu-
querque, said he views the rela-
tionship with UFCW as a part-
nership. It was Reed who
contacted the union, at the sug-
gestion of a friend. UFCW has
been part of efforts to legalize
marijuana in Oregon and else-
where, and the union has a new
division devoted to marijuana
and hemp workers known as
Low Prices!
Mon-Fri 9-6, Sat 9:30-5:30, Sun 12-6
Cannabis Workers Rising.
Stoney Brothers displays
union signage, and offers a 10
percent discount to union mem-
bers. Currently, customers must
have a medical marijuana card,
but starting Oct. 1, Oregon’s li-
censed medical marijuana dis-
pensaries will be allowed to sell
to any adult 21 and over.
in the first quarter, the Labor
Department reported. The index
tracks wages, salaries and bene-
fits. Wages and salaries alone
also rose 0.2 percent. Both
measures recorded the smallest
quarterly gains since the second
quarter of 1982.