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
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...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