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About Northwest labor press. (Portland , Ore.) 1987-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 7, 2015)
NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS | August 7, 2015 | PAGE 9 LOCAL MOTION ] JUNE/JULY 2015 ...TPP on ice From Page 1 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. Election Requests Employer (Location) Union Fred Meyer (Tillamook) UFCW Local 555 ■ 10 meat and seafood employees First Student (Gresham) Oregon School Employees Association DECERT ■ 120 school bus drivers Janus Youth Programs (Portland) Oregon AFSCME ■ 70 workers – all employees in residential and re-entry services Waste Management (Klamath Falls) Teamsters Local 962 ■ 21 drivers, mechanics and laborers Ricardo Campos and Jonathan Quinonez took part in an Oregon AFL- CIO citizenship clinic. Union movement helps workers become citizens The Oregon AFL-CIO is help- ing legal permanent residents become U.S. citizens. Thanks to a $50,000 grant from the national AFL-CIO, which was matched by local unions, the state labor federation is hosting immigration “clinics” at its Portland headquarters at 3645 SE 32nd Ave. To hold the clinics, the Ore- gon AFL-CIO partners with the Latino civil rights group Causa — its office mate at the Oregon Labor Center since March. Im- migration attorneys volunteer their time to help people fill out the lengthy forms required to apply. Oregon AFL-CIO field spe- cialist Jessica Giannettino-Villa- toro, who coordinates the pro- gram, says private legal help filing the paperwork can cost $1,500; at the clinics, it’s free, though applicants must still pay the U.S. government’s $685 ap- plication fee. Giannettino said the hope is that new citizens will stay in touch by becoming members of Working America, the AFL-CIO’s community or- ganization. Three clinics have taken place so far, with two more planned in the coming months. IBEW member injured at race track ‘pays it forward’ with motorcycle giveaway fundraiser On July 26, 2014, Bruce Barnes, a member of IBEW Local 48, was critically injured while vol- unteering at Washougal Mo- tocross Park when he was struck by a motorcycle that came off the track. After being life-flighted to OHSU, family and friends (his father is Ed Barnes, a retired business manager of Local 48) gathered by his hospital bed in the ICU and prayed for his re- covery. A Gofundme page was set up in the days following the accident and quickly grew to over $29,000. Bruce Barnes was humbled by the outpouring of both emo- tional and financial support from people across the country and vowed that he would “pay it forward” in the future. As he recovered, Barnes be- gan thinking of what he could do to make an impact and help those who had helped him. He began calling on his friends throughout the motocross indus- try to share with them his vision of a fundraiser. They decided to sell a chance to win a 2015 Kawasaki KX 250F motocross motorcycle. A $10 donation gets you a chance to win the bike. The winner will be announced Sept. 20 at the motothenw.com Dream Race. All proceeds will be donated to Medics at the Washougal MX track, Asterisk Mobile Medical, the IBEW Injured Workers Fund, and the Brandon Layton Memorial Fund. For more information or to donate, go to facebook.com/ payingitforward2015 or go- fundme.com/payitforwardmx. Con-Way (Clackamas) Teamsters Local 162 ■ 15 workers – mechanics, parts personnel, custodian Sunshine Dairy Foods (Portland) Teamsters Local 305 ■ 4 dairy lab technicians Election Results Employer (Location) Union Yes-No = Food Front Cooperative Grocery (Portland) UFCW Local 555 First Student (Dillard) Oregon School Employees Association Oregon Shakespeare Festival (Ashland) IATSE Janus Youth Programs (Portland) Oregon AFSCME West Linn-Wilsonville School District (Tualatin) OSEA DECERT 64-11 10-0 37-25 26-12 102-57 ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ...Group seeks $13.50 minimum wage From Page 2 2015. The other four pieces of legislation passed—dealing with paid sick leave, retirement sav- ings, ban the box, and racial pro- filing. Raising the minimum wage was the one big exception to the progress made in 2015, Chamberlain said. To pledge support and stay up- dated on the campaign, backers can sign up online at raisethewa- georegon.org. The campaign also hit the streets of Portland, Eugene, Woodburn, Bend, Coos Bay, and Pendleton July 25, talk- ing to local residents. Meanwhile, a separate union- backed effort seeks to qualify a November 2016 ballot measure to raise the minimum to $15 an hour by 2019. That campaign turned in 1,808 valid signatures on June 30, and is now waiting for a final official ballot title be- fore heading out to raise another 86,376 signatures by July 2016. human rights provision that was added to the Fast Track bill. Some opponents have criticized the TPP because it includes Vietnam, Malaysia and Brunei, countries considered to be hu- man rights abusers. Malaysia, in particular, was classed by the U.S. State Department as one of the worst countries in the world on human trafficking. That’s be- cause Malaysian industries from electronics to apparel to palm oil employ two million foreign workers, many in conditions of forced labor. In May, mass graves were discovered near abandoned jungle camps in Malaysia. The camps, which featured bamboo cages and watch towers, were used by smugglers bringing in workers from Myanmar. Aware of that horror, members of Congress added a provision that no coun- try classed in Tier 3 of the State Department’s human trafficking list would be eligible for a trade treaty with the United States. On July 27, the State Depart- ment upgraded Malaysia to Tier 2 in its annual human trafficking report, even though no progress has been made. That’s after 160 members of the U.S. House and 18 U.S. senators wrote to Secre- tary of State John Kerry urging him to keep Malaysia on Tier 3. On Aug. 3, Reuters reported that political staff had overruled the department’s own specialists to make that change. Broadway Floral for the BEST flowers call 503-288-5537 Roofers to merge with UA Citing strong ties and common interests in water conservation, the general presidents of the United Association of Union Plumbers, Pipefitters, Sprinkler- fitters, Welders and HVAC Technicians (UA) and the United Union of Roofers, Wa- terproofers and Allied Workers announced on July 30 that the two unions will merge effective Nov. 1, 2015. Under the agreement, the 22,000-member Roofers Union will affiliate with the 410,000- member UA. The agreement maintains the two unions’ au- tonomy and structure while pro- viding for close cooperation be- tween the two organizations in relation to training, organizing and other areas. According to UA General President William P. Hite and Roofers President Kinsey M. Robinson, the agreement with the Roofers was motivated in large part by a shared passion for water conservation and a de- sire to offer client/owners envi- ronmentally responsible build- ing solutions that will improve their bottom line. In recent years, the UA has inked affiliation agreements with the Plumbing Trades Em- ployees Union of Australia, and the Technical Engineering and Electrical Union of Ireland. 1638 NE Broadway, Portland APPRENTICESHIP Masonry Trades Union Tile, Terrazzo, Brick & CPC Finisher Must have high school diploma or GED and be at least 18 years old at time of application Applications will be taken the 2nd and 4th Thursday each month for 2015 from 7:30 a.m. to noon. Location: 12812 NE Marx St. Portland, Ore. 97230
