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About Northwest labor press. (Portland , Ore.) 1987-current | View Entire Issue (March 4, 2016)
SERVING ORGANIZED LABOR IN OREGON AND SOUTHWEST WASHINGTON SINCE 1900 NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS VOLUME 117, NUMBER 5 NO MORE PERMATEMPS AT PARKS & REC City of Portland ratifies a settlement with LiUNA. | Page 2 THE NATION’S HIGHEST MINIMUM WAGE? Portland-area wage will reach $14.75 by 2022 | Page 12 Meetings p.6 Labor History p.9 Classifieds p.10 PORTLAND, OREGON Bernie or Hillary? MARCH 4, 2016 Deal ends ATI Steelworker lockout AFL-CIO won’t pick sides The national AFL-CIO will remain neutral in the presidential primary this year. At the Feb. 23 AFL- CIO Execu- tive Commit- Clinton tee meeting in San Diego, AFL-CIO Presi- dent Richard Trumka limited political discussion to efforts to raise the minimum wage and defeat the Trans-Pacific Partner- ship, and tamped down talk about the presidential race. Northern Virginia Labor Fed- eration president Dan Duncan, who attended the meeting, said union leaders decided there will be no endorsement now in the presidential race between for- mer secretary of state Hillary Clinton and U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont. IN THIS ISSUE “And when anybody started com- menting on one of the two, Rich would pull the mike,” cutting the speaker off. At least 23 unions — in- Sanders cluding sev- eral that are not affiliated with the AFL-CIO — have endorsed Clinton. Three AFL-CIO-affili- ated unions are backing Sanders. An AFL-CIO federa- tion-wide presidential endorse- ment requires votes from dele- gates representing a two-thirds majority of the federation’s members. Previous to the Exec- utive Committee session, other union leaders ruled out endors- ing any of the Republican presi- dential hopefuls, all of whom oppose unions in one way or an- other. — (PAI) Locked-out workers in six states will return to work March 14 under a settlement between United Steelworkers of Amer- ica (USW) and Allegheny Tech- nologies Inc. (ATI). The two sides reached a tentative four- year agreement Feb. 22, and members voted on it March 1. ATI locked out the 2,200 work- ers Aug. 15, 2015 — after USW didn’t schedule a vote on the company’s final offer by a deadline the company set. The lockout included about 180 workers at ATI’s Oremet tita- nium plant in Albany, Oregon. The settlement came 10 days after a National Labor Relations Board complaint that the com- pany didn’t bargain in good faith, and thus its lockout was il- legal. The complaint was sched- uled to be heard by a judge May 23, and if upheld, would have made the company liable for back pay — minus any wages or unemployment insurance compensation workers received since the lockout began. But USW agreed to withdraw charges as part of the settle- ment. Under the settlement: ■ New hires won’t be eligible for pension benefits; instead ATI will contribute $2.65 an hour to a 401(k) plan. ■ New hires won’t get retiree health insurance, but will get an extra 50 cents to their 401(k) ■ ATI may use outside contractors, but assures USW that it won’t result in any active employee losing employment. ■ ATI will pay 90 percent of health insurance premiums, down from 100 percent previously. ■ Health insurance benefits remain the same. ■ Workers will get a $3,500 signing bonus spread out over four years. ■ A $1.50-an-hour quarterly bonus is eliminated; instead base pay is raised $1 an hour and ATI will contribute 50 cents an hour to a retiree medical fund. ■ ATI will reinstate a profit-sharing plan; workers would get from 2 to 6.5 percent of profits each quarter, up to a cap of $3.75 million. ■ All replacement workers hired by ATI will be let go. ATI also increased a com- pany-paid supplemental unem- ployment insurance benefit for workers who are laid off when a plant is temporarily idled. That may end up being used im- mediately for some workers: Two plants in Pennsylvania will remain idled for now, and other plants will be reducing the workforce. All workers will be laid off their first day back, with most then recalled immediately. In Albany, 130 workers will return, and 30 will be laid off; 12 others retired since the lock- out. Picketing will continue un- til workers are back on the job. The lockout prompted law- makers in Oregon and Massa- chusetts to introduce bills ex- tending unemployment six months for workers locked out in a labor dispute. In Oregon, the bill was heading toward passage as of press time. OREGON’S FREE-TRADE DEMOCRATS TPP divides labor from U.S. Reps. Blumenauer, Bonamici, and Schrader Last year, five out of six House Democrats voted against Fast Track — a law that will make it easier for Congress to pass more NAFTA-style trade deals over the next six years. So how is it that all three Port- land-area Democrats — Earl Blumenauer, Suzanne Bon- amici, and Kurt Schrader — voted for it? Maybe pro- Fast-Track Nike and Intel speak more sweetly and carry a bigger stick? Thanks to Fast Track, President Obama could ask Congress to implement his Trans-Pa- cific Partnership (TPP) deal, and within 90 days, Con- gress would have to vote on it, with limited debate and no amendments allowed. Obama can start that clock ticking at any time. At a Feb. 17 breakfast meeting, Congressman Kurt Schrader (D-Oregon) and Northwest Oregon Labor Council Executive Director Bob Tackett lock eyes. Tackett – a member of United Steelworkers – worked at the Reynolds Aluminum plant in Troutdale until it closed in 2000. Schrader voted last June to “fast track” future NAFTA-style trade agree- ments through Congress. Schrader: Still reading up on it By Don McIntosh Associate editor Going into a Northwest Oregon Labor Council (NOLC) break- fast with Clackamas County Democratic Congressman Kurt Schrader, I wasn’t sure what to expect. Labor’s ties to Schrader frayed last summer when the “Blue Dog” Democrat voted to “fast track” Congressional ap- proval of future NAFTA-style trade agreements. Schrader was later quoted in a DC blog calling national AFL-CIO president Rich Trumka a “bully” because Turn to Page 10 Bonamici: Still undecided Chile, Malaysia, Mexico, New By Michael Gutwig Editor and Manager Zealand, Peru, Singapore, Viet- U.S. Rep. Suzanne Bonamici nam and Japan — signed the TPP on Feb. 4, 2016. It says she is still unde- now must be ratified by cided on how she will Congress on a “fast vote on the Trans-Pa- track” vote, which cific Partnership (TPP), means the deal must be a major initiative of the voted up-or-down with- Obama Administration. out any amendments. The Oregon Democ- Bonamici supported the rat told the Executive bill that implemented Board of the Northwest fast track — formally Oregon Labor Council known as Trade Promo- on Feb. 22 that she is Bonamici tion Authority. still reviewing the com- The AFL-CIO strongly op- plex two-thousand-plus page poses the TPP, while corporate document that was negotiated in America strongly supports it. secret starting in 2010. The full Bonamici’s district includes text of the agreement was re- Nike and Intel. leased last November. The labor federation said it The United States and 11 provided the Obama Adminis- other Pacific Rim nations (40 tration with ideas to improve percent of the world’s economy) — Australia, Brunei, Canada, Turn to Page 11
