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About Northwest labor press. (Portland , Ore.) 1987-current | View Entire Issue (June 3, 2016)
SERVING ORGANIZED LABOR IN OREGON AND SOUTHWEST WASHINGTON SINCE 1900 NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS VOLUME 117, NUMBER 11 IN THIS ISSUE IATSE BATTLES RHINO Riggers trying to get a first contract. | Page 2 STARS RECOGNIZED Painters and Floor Coverers’ commitment to training. | Page 10 Labor History p.4 Meetings p.6 Helping Hands p.11 PORTLAND, OREGON JUNE 3, 2016 Verizon strike ends after 45 days Verizon has reached a tentative deal for a new four-year con- tract, ending a 45-day strike by 39,000 members of Communi- cations Workers of America (CWA) and International Broth- erhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) in its East Coast land line operations. The settlement was an- nounced May 27 by U.S. Sec- retary of Labor Thomas Perez, who spent 13 days working with the two sides to broker a deal. CWA announced in a press release that under terms of the proposed contract, Verizon will add 1,300 new East Coast call center jobs and reverse several other outsourcing initiatives that will create new field tech- nician jobs. The new agree- ment provides 10.9 percent in raises, a $1,250 signing bonus in the Mid-Atlantic and a $1,000 signing bonus plus a $250 healthcare reimburse- ment account in the Northeast, $2,800 minimum in profit shar- ing, pension increases, and a first contract for about 100 Verizon Wireless retail store workers in New York and Mas- sachusetts who voted to join CWA in 2014. “This contract is a victory Turn to Page 9 WELCOME, LABORERS LOCAL 737! Laborers International Union of North America (LiUNA) Local 737 is the newest sub- scriber to the Northwest La- bor Press. The local was formed last August with the merger of Laborers Local 296, Local 320, and Local 121. Add up those numbers and you get 737, the number of the new statewide local, which has nearly 2,500 mem- bers who work in construc- tion, roads and highways, and in the public sector. Local 737 is headquartered in the new Oregon and Southern Idaho Laborers-Employers Training Center at 17230 NE Sacra- mento St., Portland. You can find your Official Meeting Notices on Page 6 of this is- sue. ABOUT THE LABOR PRESS The Northwest Labor Press is an independent union-sup- ported newspaper that is mailed to members of more than 80 unions in Oregon and Southwest Washington. There are few other publica- tions like it. Founded in 1900 by a consortium of trade unions, it’s one of America’s oldest labor movement news- papers. Our focus is on the Portland metro area, Oregon, and the Pacific Northwest, but we also report on national and global issues. Unions are vehicles for promoting and defending the interests of working people. At the Northwest Labor Press, we believe unions are most effective when they have an active membership, an engaged community, and an informed public. Hence our mission: to provide accu- rate and timely information on the issues that matter most to union members and work- ing people. UFCW Local 555 Executive Director Mike Marshall (center) and union rep Frank Handricksen explain a proposed union contract to members during ratifica- tion voting held in Gresham May 18. Grocery workers ratify new UFCW union contracts After nine months of bargaining, members of United Food and Commercial Workers Local 555 employed at Fred Meyer, Safe- way, Albertsons, and QFC have ratified new three-year contracts in the Portland and Vancouver area, Eugene, Longview, New- berg, Bend, Burns, The Dalles, Hood River, Klamath Falls and Lakeview. The union members work in grocery, meat, central checkout, and non-food depart- ments. All of the contracts include wage increases for journeyper- sons in each year of the contract, with retroactive pay for those with expired contracts; increases to the apprentice brackets so as to keep them ahead of the in- creases in the minimum wage; and no cost increases to the health and welfare plan. “This could not have hap- pened without members’ help sending a strong message to the employers that they deserve bet- ter,” UFCW Local 555 said in a statement. Details of the contract will be made available to members upon request, and to the public once members throughout the Local’s jurisdiction have voted. Several Local 555 contracts don’t expire until later this year. Labor’s Oregon primary scorecard By Don McIntosh Associate editor In the May 17 primary, Ore- gon’s labor movement wasn’t always in agreement about who and what to support, but overall, it was a good night for organ- ized labor. Among the highlights were labor commissioner Brad Avakian’s win in the Demo- cratic primary for secretary of state, and first-time wins by at least six union member candi- dates who trained in the Oregon Labor Candidates School, in- cluding Sheri Malstrom, who is all but certain to be in the Ore- gon House come January. Federal elections PRESIDENT Oregon proved to be a Bernie Sanders state, at least among Democrats: The Vermont sena- tor drew 56 percent to Hillary Clinton’s 44 percent. Clinton had the endorsement of most na- tional unions, but in Oregon most local labor organizations sat out the Democratic primary. A notable exception was the la- bor-supported Oregon Working Families Party, which went all in for Sanders, devoting staff time and even encouraging its registered voters to temporarily switch their party affiliation to Democrat to help him win. While Clinton made no cam- paign appearances in Oregon except for a private $2,400-a- plate fundraiser in August, Sanders drew overflow crowds at rallies in Salem, Eugene, and Portland, where 29,000 turned out in August to hear his mes- sage of universal health care, tu- ition-free public higher educa- tion, a living wage for all workers, and serious investment in clean energy. Donald Trump, meanwhile, cleaned up in Ore- gon with support from 67 per- cent of Republicans, but by the Turn to Page 5 A GOOD NIGHT FOR THE OREGON LABOR CANDIDATE SCHOOL: At an elec- tion night party for union member candidate Roberta Phillip-Robbins, Ore- gon Labor Candidates School director Sara Ryan checks results alongside Oregon AFSCME President Jeff Klatke. At least six union members who grad- uated from the Oregon Labor Candidates School won elections May 17, in- cluding one candidate who is almost certain to win election to the state house in November. But Phillip-Robbins herself lost over the next two days as opponent Tawna Sanchez pulled ahead in a very close race.
