NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS | November 20 , 2015 | PAGE 7
...Fair Shot ready for Round 2
From Page 1
the ban on local jurisdictions go-
ing higher.
Fair Shot will also push to
pass a stronger version of the
law passed this year on the prac-
tice of racial profiling by police.
And it will add a new priority:
legislation to combat wage theft.
Wage theft is a catch-all term
that includes employers who fail
to pay the minimum wage, time-
and-a-half for overtime, or pre-
vailing wage on construction
projects where it’s required; em-
ployers who steal tips; and em-
ployers who pay late, issue pay-
checks that bounce, or don’t pay
at all. It also includes situations
where workers don’t get paid
rest breaks or pay for donning
and doffing gear, or are made to
work off the clock or under the
table. And it includes employers
who wrongfully misclassify
workers as independent contrac-
tors.
“Good employers that are try-
ing to do the right thing are un-
dercut when they have to com-
pete with businesses not paying
their workers or paying them
less than they’re due,” said An-
drea Miller, executive director of
the Latino civil rights group
Causa.
Wage theft is particularly
common in construction, where
responsible employers, includ-
ing union employers, lose busi-
ness to competitors who break
the law.
At the Fair Shot event, Darrin
Boyce — now a journeyman
sheet metal worker at Sheet
Metal Workers Local 16 — de-
scribed some of the many ways
he was cheated during the years
he worked the nonunion side of
the industry, including faked
timecards, off-the-clock work,
and pay at a lower classification.
“It seems pretty basic,” Boyce
said. “We should all get paid for
the work we do. But there are
workers every day in Oregon
who are getting shortchanged.
Our elected officials need to un-
derstand that wage theft isn’t
rare, and it isn’t limited to a sin-
gle class of individuals.”
“Many workers don’t report
wage theft out of fear of losing
their jobs,” Boyce said. “That’s
something I’ve seen first-hand.”
Fair Shot’s wage theft pro-
posal is still being worked out,
but will likely include making it
easier for workers to sue when
they’re cheated, and giving the
Bureau of Labor and Industries
the power to require repeat of-
fenders to post a bond guaran-
teeing payment of wages.
— Don McIntosh
Feb. 27. The Oct. 28 complaint,
which followed an investiga-
tion, says Instafab broke federal
labor law when it fired six strik-
ers and repeatedly threatened to
fire other employees for talking
with strikers, among other
charges. The NLRB seeks
nearly $33,000 in back pay, cov-
ering the period from Feb. 27,
when Instafab fired the strikers,
to April 20, two weeks after it
offered to reinstate them. The
complaint gives the company
until Nov. 18 to respond, and
sets a hearing Feb. 23, 2016 be-
fore a federal administrative law
judge.
WORKERS RIGHTS
NLRB says Instafab broke the
law when it fired strikers
The National Labor Relations
Board has issued a formal com-
plaint against Instafab — a
nonunion steel fabrication and
erection company based in Van-
couver, Washington, where a
group of workers went on strike
Why is it that a worker
injured on the job is
made to feel like they
are now “the accused”
who did something
wrong? Good question!
Don’t let them add
insult to your injury!
HOW TO BUY UNION
THIS HOLIDAY SEASON
Plan to do any holiday shop-
ping this year? If you buy
union-made, you’re helping
keep good jobs in the com-
munity, and voting with your
dollars for enterprises that
pay your fellow workers a liv-
ing wage with benefits. Of
course, union-made gifts
aren’t easy to find. here are
10 ideas to make it easier.
Union blankets: Keep your loved ones
cozy in the cold winter months with a
blanket from Pendleton Woolen Mills.
Pendleton blankets (but not apparel) are
made in Washougal, Washington, and
Pendleton, Oregon, by members of the
Workers United union. That means they
earn wages of $15.42 to $17.73 an hour,
with overtime after eight hours, plus
health and pension benefits.
Union Boots: Danner, maker of stylish
and indestructible boots, may be a
subsidiary of Japanese shoe company
ABC-Mart now, but the company’s retail
profile is expanding, with high-end
show rooms like the one at Union Way
across on 1022 W Burnside St., Portland,
or Tanasbourne Town Center. Check the
label: If the boots are U.S.-made, they
were made by members of UFCW Local
555 in Portland.
Union Books: Why would you ever go
to nonunion Amazon? Buying books
(and gifts) at Powells supports about
450 Portland-area members of ILWU
Local 5, from cashiers to truck drivers to
computer programmers. That means
wages that average $14.39 an hour, and
health benefits for full-time employees.
Union Culture: Oregon Ballet Theater,
the Portland Opera, the Oregon
Symphony … even traveling Broadway
shows like the Book of Mormon, which
opens in Portland Jan. 12: All of them
employ members of American
Federation of Musicians Local 99, and
some also employ members of IATSE
Local 28 as stagehands and ushers. The
biggest employer of union musicians is
the Oregon Symphony, with 76 full-
timers. Session players earn $200 per
two-hour appearance, plus pension and
healthcare contributions.
Union gifts: What’s on your list today?
When you buy your holiday gifts at Fred
Meyer, Portland’s only unionized general
retailer, the money you spend will
employ members of UFCW Local 555
(and Bakers Local 114, at Fred Meyer
bakery departments). Or keep it simple
and get a Fred Meyer gift card.
Union chocolate: Ghirardelli
chocolates and See’s Candies gift boxes
are made in California by members of
Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco and Grain
Millers.
Union wine: Unions may be rare in the
wine industry, but happily, Washington’s
award-winning Chateau Ste. Michelle is
an exception. It employs members of
United Farm Workers in its vineyards,
and members of Teamsters Local 117 in
the barrel room, warehouse, production,
shipping and maintenance departments
at its Woodinville facility. Company
labels include Columbia Crest, Chateau
Ste. Michelle wines, Domaine Ste.
Michelle, and Snoqualmie, among
others.
Union cannabis: Another idea for the
21-and-over crowd: Celebrate Oregon’s
legalization with a gift of union-made,
union-retailed cannabis. Hi Casual
Cannabis, 7827 SE Powell Blvd,
Portland; and West Salem Cannabis,
2625 Salem Dallas Hwy NW, Salem,
employ members of UFCW Local 555 at
wages that start at $15 an hour, plus
benefits.
Union kitchenware: Foreign imports
may fill the shelves, but union-made in
America is still a mark of quality for
several brands. U.S.-made Pyrex
glassware and All-Clad Stainless Steel
Cookware are made by United
Steelworkers members in Pennsylvania.
Cutco cutlery are made by union
Steelworkers in New York. And U.S.-
made Fiesta brand dinnerware is made
in West Virginia by members of the
Glass, Molders, Pottery, Plastic and Allied
Workers union.
Union inspiration: The union gospel
needs to reach more doorsteps. Do you
have friends and family who don’t get
the Northwest Labor Press? Not only is it
the only local publication that focuses on
news for workers; it also employs
members of Office and Professional
Employees Local 11. Gift subscriptions
are $13.75 a year (for union members,
$20 for others) for 24 issues — by
credit card online at nwlaborpress.org/
subscribe or by check to P.O. Box 13150,
Portland, OR 97213.