Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Northwest labor press. (Portland , Ore.) 1987-current | View Entire Issue (May 6, 2016)
SERVING ORGANIZED LABOR IN OREGON AND SOUTHWEST WASHINGTON SINCE 1900 NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS VOLUME 117, NUMBER 9 May 17 Primary Election Endorsements of the Northwest Oregon Labor Council CLACKAMAS COUNTY Commissioner, Position 3 : M ARTHA S CHRADER Commissioner, Position 4 : T OOTIE S MITH (no endorsement*) Chair: J OHN L UDLOW (no endorsement*) * Actively oppose Measure 3-476 (General obligation bond to replace obsolete emergency radio communications sys- tem in Clackamas County) S UPPORT Measure 3-477 (Milwaukie, Oregon general obligation bond for library repairs, improvements and updated technology) S UPPORT COLUMBIA COUNTY Commissioner, Position 1: M ARGARET M AGRUDER Commissioner, Position 3: T ONY H YDE METRO Councilor, 5th District: S AM C HASE Councilor, 6th District: B OB S TACEY MULTNOMAH COUNTY Commissioner, District 3: J ESSICA V EGA P EDERSON Commissioner, District 4: A MANDA S CHROEDER CITY OF PORTLAND Commissioner, Position 1: A MANDA F RITZ Commissioner, Position 4: S TEVE N OVICK Measure 26-173: Fix Our Streets Portland (a temporary 10-cents-per-gallon Portland gas tax for street repair, traffic safety) S UPPORT WASHINGTON COUNTY Commissioner, District 1: D ICK S CHOUTEN MT HOOD COMMUNITY COLLEGE Measure 26-170 (Bond to construct Workforce Training Center; enhance safety and technology) S UPPORT Authorized and paid for by the Northwest Oregon Labor Council, 9955 SE Washington, St., Suite 305, Portland, OR 97216 IN THIS ISSUE WORKERS MEMORIAL DAY Labor honors fallen workers. | Page 2 NEW PRESIDENT AT NW OREGON LABOR COUNCIL UFCW’s Jeff Anderson elected. | Page 5 Meetings p.6 Bowling for MDA p.8 Classifieds p.11 PORTLAND, OREGON MAY 6, 2016 Instafab hearing turns to shouting match Oregon House Speaker Tina Kotek headlines a Workers Rights Board panel An April 28 forum for striking ironworkers turned into a shout- ing match between pro- and anti-union workers after the company owner showed up with about 15 employees to re- but stories about his company that supporters of Ironworkers Local 29 have been telling. At Vancouver-based Instafab, a nonunion steel fabricator and installer, five employees went out on strike Feb. 27, 2015, after the company general manager rejected a list of demands they presented —water and dry shacks on every job, safety and other training, company-paid health coverage, a retirement plan, and area standard wages. Most of Instafab’s approxi- mately 75 employees remained on the job, but strikers say their At nonunion Instafab, supporters of Iron Workers Local 29 have been on strike over a year, but at an April 28 meeting organized by Jobs with Justice, the owner, Bruce Perkins (above) and anti-union employees came to say em- ployees are happy. number has grown to 19, though several have also gone back to Instafab. Strikers have called on Instafab customers to stop doing business with the company, and have even taken their com- plaints about Instafab to Port- land City Council. The April 28 event, held at a meeting room at the downtown Portland offices of Mercy Corps, was to be a hearing on worker safety at Instafab, put on by Portland Jobs with Justice as Turn to Page 3 Union standoff widens at Nabisco By Don McIntosh Associate editor Nabisco and its principal union have reached a standoff. The union contract covering 2,000 American workers in five states expired Feb. 29, but the two sides haven’t reached a new agreement, and no further con- tract talks are scheduled. At any time, the workers could strike, or the company could lock them out of their jobs, or just imple- ment its own contract offer and see what the union does about it. As the union’s national president told local officers in a recent conference call, it’s like a game of chess when there are very few pieces left on the board. Leaders of the Bakery, Con- fectionery, Tobacco and Grain Millers (BCTGM) say it’s no se- cret why there’s no new agree- ment: Mondelēz, owner of the Nabisco brand, is proposing to withdraw from the union pen- sion plan and worsen health in- surance coverage — despite the fact that the company is prof- Bakers Local 364 member Shelly Lasher hands out Boycott Nabisco fliers out- side a May 1 Portland Timbers game. Mondelēz is the official “snacks partner” of Major League Soccer. Lasher’s union is calling on consumers to check the label, and not buy made-in-Mexico Nabisco products. itable. The company is also shut- ting down some production lines in Chicago and shifting produc- tion of Oreos and other snacks to Mexico. When the two sides last met April 7-8, Mondelēz presented what it called its “Revised Last, Best and Final Offer.” The com- pany is proposing a four-year contract with 2.25 percent an- nual wage increases and a $5,000 ratification bonus — but it also wants concessions on health and retirement benefits. Mondelēz proposes to replace the current “100 percent” health- care plan with a “90/10” health- care plan in which workers Turn to Page 10
