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About Northwest labor press. (Portland , Ore.) 1987-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 18, 2015)
PAGE 2 | December 18, 2015 | NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS (International Standard Serial Number 0894-444X) Established in 1900 in Portland, Oregon as a voice of the la- bor movement. Published on a semi-monthly basis on the first and third Fridays of each month by the Oregon Labor Press Publishing Co. Inc., a non-profit mutual benefit corpo- ration owned by 20 unions and councils including the Ore- gon AFL-CIO. Serving more than 120 union organizations in Oregon and Southwest Washington. Office location: 4275 NE Halsey St., Portland, Oregon Mailing address: P.O. Box 13150, Portland, OR 97213 Phone: (503) 288-3311 Web address: http://nwlaborpress.org Editor: Michael Gutwig Associate editor: Don McIntosh Office manager: Cheri Rice Printed on recycled paper, using soy-based inks, by members of Teamsters Local 747-M. SUBSCRIPTIONS: Individual subscriptions are $13.75 per year for union members, $20 a year for all others. Send a check for that amount, indicating mailing address and union affilia- tion, to P.O. Box 13150, Portland, OR 97213. For 25 or more subscriptions, group rates of $9.60 a year per person are available to trade union organizations. Call 503-288-3311 for details. CORRECTIONS: See an error? Please let us know at editor@nwlaborpress.org or by phone at 503-288-3311. PERIODICALS POSTAGE PAID AT PORTLAND, OREGON. CHANGE OF ADDRESS NOTICE: Three weeks are required for a change of address. When or- dering a change, please give your old and new addresses and the name and number of your local union. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS P.O. BOX 13150 PORTLAND, OR 97213-0150 Broadway Floral for the BEST flowers call 503-288-5537 1638 NE Broadway, Portland 140 Low Prices! Mon-Fri 9-6, Sat 9:30-5:30, Sun 12-6 SPELLING IT OUT FOR PORTLAND CITY COUNCIL Low-wage employees of City rec centers want union recognition — and $15 an hour. LiUNA 483 to City: Let Rec workers into the union Portland Parks & Rec employees look to get $15 and a union About 40 mostly youthful work- ers from Portland’s recreation and community centers showed up to City Hall Dec. 2 to remind City Council of a public commit- ment Mayor Charlie Hales made Oct. 21 to recognize more work- ers into the union. The union, in this case, is 920- member Laborers Local 483, which has waged a relentless campaign to regularize and unionize contingent workers, and to bring up their wages. Local 483, which at the time represented about 80 permanent workers at Parks and Rec, won a significant arbitration May 1. Ar- bitrator David Stiteler found that the City had been violating the union contract by assigning bar- gaining unit work to non-union employees classified as seasonal or casual. He ordered the City to stop. But how to comply is sub- ject to interpretation. Both parties agreed to start with union recog- nition for those most obviously doing bargaining unit work. Thus, 86 more workers have now been added to the union — with sizable raises in pay and benefits. “I believe in the power of the union,” Will Zeigler, 24, told the Labor Press outside city council chambers. Moments later, as fel- low Parks & Rec workers watched, Zeigler called on City Council to do the right thing. Zeigler earns up to $13.25 an hour after five years teaching swimming and music at Mt. Scott Community Center — but he’s currently on annual layoff after exceeding a city-imposed hours cap. “If I don’t make it into the union but other people do, then my work was worth it,” Zei- gler told the Labor Press. The two sides have set, and extended, deadlines for what to do with hundreds of other Rec workers who fall into a grey area. Will the City make the union fight for the right to represent each new individual, or will the City voluntarily recognize new members? Local 483 organizer Tom Colett says he got an an- swer at a Dec. 11 meeting with city managers: About 50 more will be added to the union bar- gaining unit now, and the City will look at a new union classifi- cation covering up to 300 more rec workers, via an ordinance set to go to City Council by Jan. 16.
