NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS | October 16 , 2015 | PAGE 7
SW Washington Labor Roundtable recognizes labor stalwarts
VANCOUVER — More than 150 union members, politi-
cians, family and friends attended the 31st annual Labor
Roundtable of Southwest Washington awards banquet
Sept. 25 at the Vancouver Hilton Hotel and Convention
Center.
Awards are given to individuals or organizations
whose leadership has made a significant impact on or-
ganized labor and the community at large. Awards are
presented in a variety of categories.
The Phil Parker Public Service Award for Excel-
lence went to former Clark County sherriff Gary Lucas.
Parker, a member of IBEW Local 48, was the longtime
chair of the Labor Roundtable who died of a heart attack
two years ago.
John Murphy, a retired union rep for Bakery, Con-
fectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers Local
364, was named “Union Member of the Year.”
Dave Ritchey, business manager of Laborers Local
335, was awarded “Labor Leader of the Year.” Ritchey
has served as the leader of the local for 15 years. He said
he plans to retire at the end of the year.
Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Lo-
cal 775 was awarded “Labor Union of the Year.” No
one was present to receive the award.
The “Community Service Award” went to Vancou-
ver City Councilmember Anne McEnery-Ogle, a retired
teacher and member of the Oregon Education Associa-
tion.
The “Lifetime Achievement Award” went to retiring
Port of Vancouver commission president Nancy Baker.
“When I first ran for port commissioner I was told I
needed to understand labor issues. I went out and did that
... and you have become part of my family,” she said.
Columbia Litho Printing and Imaging took home
the “Labor Service Award.” Accepting the award was
owner Pat Guard, a member of the Graphic Communi-
cations International Union, a division of the Teamsters.
He bought the business from his father (also a member
of GCIU) in 1988.
“Business of the Year” went to SEH America Inc.
Accepting the award was Ben Bagherpour, vice president
of operations.
A first-time award — “Legislator of the Year” —
was presented to State Sen. Annette Cleveland (D-19th
District).
The “In Solidarity Award” went to Didi Gray of the
Labor Roundtable of Southwest Washington award winners from left to right: Ben Bagherpour of SEH America, Inc.; John
Murphy, a union rep for Bakers Local 364; Didi Gray of the Washington State Nurses Association; Vancouver City Councilmem-
ber Anne McEnery-Ogle; Dave Ritchey, business manager of Laborers Local 335; retiring Port of Vancouver Commissioner
Nancy Baker; Vancouver City Councilmember Larry Smith; Pat Guard, owner of Coumbia Litho; and State Sen. Annette Cleve-
land. In the back are Roundtable officers Roy Jennings and Ed Barnes.
Washington State Nurses Association. Gray, who works
at PeaceHealth Southwest Medical Center, is a new del-
egate to the Southwest Washington Central Labor Coun-
cil, which sponsors the award.
Special presentations were made to Vancouver City
councilmember Larry Smith and to Clark College pres-
ident Bob Knight for their military service. Both men are
veterans of the U.S. Army, and each received a plaque
and a U.S. flag donated by U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell that
at one time flew over the U.S. Capitol. Smith served for
26 years, retiring in August 1991 as an infantry colonel.
Knight attended the U.S. Military Academy at West
Point, and served more than 21 years as an infantry of-
ficer before retiring as a lieutenant colonel. His last
duty was as commander of Vancouver Barracks.
The keynote speaker was Reema Griffith, executive
COLLECTIVE BARGAINING
IATSE bargaining begins at
Oregon Shakespeare Festival
Oregon Shakespeare Festival
(OSF) is finally negotiating a
first union contract for its 71
stagehands and theater techni-
cians.
The newly-unionized group
runs backstage operations dur-
ing the nine months of the year
that shows are being rehearsed
and performed. They voted 37
to 25 on June 10 to join Interna-
tional Alliance of Theatrical
Stage Employees (IATSE). But
OSF management appealed the
results of the election with the
National Labor Relations Board
(NLRB), arguing that perma-
nent year-round crew members
(who mostly don’t want to
unionize) should have voted too.
The NLRB’s national Board in
Washington, D.C., dismissed
OSF’s appeal with a one-sen-
tence ruling Aug. 20.
“[OSF] did what most em-
ployers typically end up doing
in an organizing campaign,”
says IATSE rep Radar Bateman.
“It wasn’t outside of the norm,
but they weren’t aggressive do-
ing it …. It never got very ad-
versarial.”
Bargaining teams for the two
sides met Sept. 28, and again on
Oct. 2. The union bargaining
team consists of Bateman, attor-
ney Elizabeth Joffe, and mem-
director of the Washington State Transportation Commis-
sion.
Congratulatory messages were received from Sen.
Cantwell, U.S. Sen. Patty Murray, Washington Gov. Jay
Inslee, and Third District Congresswoman Jaime Herrera
Beutler.
Rob Aichele, a union rep for the Pacific Northwest Re-
gional Council of Carpenters, won the 50/50 drawing,
worth $835. He donated his winnings to a needy family
of the Cowlitz Indian Tribe. Philip Harju, vice chair and
tribal attorney, accepted the donation. Harju then told the
crowd that “hundreds of millions of dollars” in construc-
tion on roads, interchanges, and a new Cowlitz casino in
La Center will be done with union labor under a project
labor agreement.
Gresham-Barlow bus drivers decertify OSEA
bers and alternates from each of
five departments. OSF’s team
consists of by attorney Rick
Liebman, executive director
Cynthia Rider, production direc-
tor Alys Holden, and depart-
mental managers.
OSF managers hope to have
an agreement before the 2016
season begins in February, Bate-
man said.
“My team has lots and lots of
respect for OSF, and they take
great pride in the work they do,”
Bateman said. “We want the
employer to take the same
amount of pride in their em-
ployees, and respect their
employees the same way.”
School bus drivers at Gresham-
Barlow School District voted
out their union Sept. 29. The
drivers are employees of giant
multinational contractor First
Student. Their union — Oregon
School Employees Association
(OSEA) — was gearing up to
negotiate a second contract at
the time of the election. The
vote to decertify was 32 to 62.
Workers earlier voted down
an attempt to make dues non-
mandatory. But OSEA organiz-
ing director Richard Ramirez
said high workplace turnover
and management support for the
anti-union campaign con-
tributed to the union loss.
“They gave anti union organ-
izers free rein over the work-
place,” Ramirez said — posting
materials on the bulletin board
and in some cases taking down
union fliers. Managers also as-
signed union supporters to new
job duties, Ramirez said. The
anti-union National Right to
Work Foundation also got in-
volved, and helped workers file
complaints against the unions.
OSEA filed objections to the
election with the National Labor
Relations Board — based on
charges that the employer inter-
fered with employees ability to
freely choose whether or not to
remain union.