Northwest labor press. (Portland , Ore.) 1987-current, May 06, 2016, Image 12

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Northwest labor press., May 06, 2016, Page 12, Image 12

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Newspaper Page TextPAGE 12 | May 6, 2016 | NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS Get your disability Jordan Vaandering and Luis Brennan are part of a group of Burgerville em- ployees who want a union. Burgers, fries, and a union? On April 26, about 100 union supporters marched to the Burg- erville at SE 26th and Powell in Portland. Simultaneously, a del- egation of five Burgerville work- ers — accompanied by union or- ganizers from the Painters Union and UNITE HERE — entered Burgerville’s corporate head- quarters in Vancouver to present a letter announcing the forma- tion of the Burgerville Workers Union. The 41-store regional chain, privately held by The Holland Inc., has so far failed to respond. The union is affiliated with the Portland chapter of Industrial Workers of the World. It seeks a Oregon Shakespeare Festival drags out union bargaining A group of 65 stagehands at Ore- gon Shakespeare Festival (OSF) in Ashland voted to join the International Alliance of The- atrical Stage Employees (IATSE) last June, but 11 months later, they still don’t have a first contract. Union and manage- ment bargaining teams have been negotiating since Septem- ber 2015 and have yet to agree on any economic terms. OSF has hired former Na- tional Labor Relations Board agent Bill Leopardi, now a Cali- fornia union-busting consultant, to help communicate with its workers. But they can make up their own minds: Bargaining is open to all employees. As a re- sult, says IATSE Rep David Bateman, more stagehands sup- port the union now than when the 37-to-25 vote took place. OSF is represented at the bar- gaining table by attorney Rick Liebman, while IATSE is as- sisted by attorney Liz Joffe. They’ve been assisted by a fed- eral mediator since April 11, and they next meet May 9. $5 an hour raise for workers in all 41 stores. “They promote themselves as a good employer, and I would say it’s better than McDonald’s,” says Luis Brennan, cashier at Burgerville’s airport location. “But that doesn’t mean it’s enough for us to build a life on.” Currently wages are at or near minimum wage. Full-time em- ployees get health insurance, but it comes with a high deductible. FIND OUT MORE At BurgervilleWorkersUnion.org, you can ﬁnd out how to help, and watch a video of workers explaining in their own words why they want a union. application done right, right from the beginning. We help folks from the start. THIS NEWSPAPER BROUGHT TO YOU BY AMERICA’S LABOR MOVEMENT … AND BY OUR ADVERTISERS. LET THEM KNOW YOU APPRECIATE THE SUPPORT!