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July 1, 2016 | NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS
Portland School District agrees UNION DEMOCRACY
Machinists District Lodge W24
to lead testing for all workers New leadership at Willet,
57, has been a union
“I look forward to the chal-
The Portland School Board on
June 21 approved a budget for
2016-17 that includes up to
$250,000 to make free lead test-
ing available to any Portland
Public School (PPS) school
worker who requests it.
The new funding comes from
an agreement made between the
district and leaders of four
unions representing school
workers at PPS over the course
of two meetings—the school
board meeting on June 14, and a
district and employee stake-
holder meeting on June 16.
Showing a united front on issues
of safety, accountability, and
trust, the union leaders con-
fronted the board about two ma-
jor issues.
The first issue: Lead testing
results had been held secret from
employees, as well as the public,
degrading trust and potentially
endangering students, faculty,
and staff.
The second issue: The District
had been refusing to pay for lead
testing for school employees not
currently assigned to Creston or
Rose City Park schools.
At the stakeholder meeting,
PPS Superintendent Carole
Smith and management agreed
to open lines of communication
on vital issues, including health
and safety, with unions and
school workers; and to provide
free lead testing to any school
worker who requests it, regard-
less of their worksite.
Taking part in the discussions
were representatives from Port-
land Federation of School Pro-
fessionals, Local 111, AFT-Ore-
gon; the Portland Association of
Teachers, Oregon Education
Association; Service Employees
Local 503; School Employees
Union Local 140; and the Dis-
trict Council of Unions.
“I’m pleased that we’ve
reached an agreement that will
improve the peace of mind and
safety of workers who are dealing
with this situation,” said Belinda
Reagan, president of Local 111.
... A doctors’ union contract
From Page 1
wanted to have a say in how
medicine is practiced.”
The new union contract bars
the hospital from outsourcing
their jobs. And it sets up a com-
mittee of three doctors and three
administrators which will meet
regularly to discuss patient loads
and staffing levels. Any signifi-
cant changes to work load or
working conditions will have to
be approved by a majority of the
committee.
Schwartz says it took solidar-
ity — and the threat of a picket-
line — to get agreement.
PNHMA became part of a coali-
tion of Sacred Heart unions —
Service Employees Local 49,
Operating Engineers Local 701,
and Oregon Nurses Association
(a fellow AFT affiliate). They at-
tended each each other’s con-
tract bargaining sessions, wore
each other’s stickers on days of
action, and supported each other
in other ways.
By June it became clear
PeaceHealth managers were
dragging out negotiations with
the doctors. Management nego-
tiators were scheduling sessions
farther and farther apart, and
walked out of a June 7 bargain-
ing session when observers
from other unions showed up.
The following day, PNHMA an-
nounced that doctors would
picket outside the hospital on
June 23. Management returned
to the bargaining table almost
immediately and by June 14, the
two sides had a tentative agree-
ment. Now ratified, the contract
runs through October 2017.
PNHMA isn’t the only union
representing doctors in the
United States, but it may be the
only one representing just doc-
tors who are employees of a
hospital. It’s unusual enough
that their struggle was written
about in the New York Times.
Schwartz says he’s gotten calls
from doctors around the country
who are interested in unioniz-
ing.
“Anyone who works in
health care is fed up with how
corporate it has become,”
Schwartz said. “Decisions on
how hospitals are run are being
taken away from physicians,
nurses, CNAs, pharmacists,
technicians — the ones who ac-
tually know how to do the job
— and are increasingly in the
hands of people who have busi-
ness degrees, who say you need
to maximize profits, minimize
expenses. But they’re so far re-
moved from what we actually
do that they don’t understand
what is good health care.”
Noel Willet succeeds Chip Elliott
as Directing Business Rep
Chip Elliott has retired mid-term
as president/ directing business
representative (DBR) of Ma-
chinists District W24. He will be
succeeded by Assistant DBR
Noel Willet, effective July 1.
Machinists District Lodge 24
and Woodworkers District
Lodge W1 merged in January
2011 to create Machinists Dis-
trict W24.
Elliott, 62,
is a resident of
Dryad, Wash-
ington, an un-
incorporated
town south-
east of Cen-
tralia. He is a
43-year mem-
ber of Wood-
Chip Elliott
workers Local
130 in Centralia. After working
26 years as a log processor opera-
tor for Weyerhaeuser, in 1997 he
joined the staff of Local 130 as a
union rep. In 2004 he was ap-
pointed as a district representative
for Woodworkers Lodge W1, and
in 2010 he was named assistant
DBR. He served as one of three
assistant DBRs at Machinists
District W24 following the
merger. He was appointed to the
District’s top post in July 2013
to finish out the term of Robert
Wilson, who retired. He was
elected to a full term in Decem-
ber 2014.
member for 38 years. He comes lenge of leading this District and
from a union family—his father representing our members,”
and grandfather were Operating Willet said. “The District will
Engineers who helped build the continue to evolve in the next
Astoria-Megler Bridge.
few year as business reps retire
Willet started work-
and new reps come on
ing for Weyerhaeuser
board. My primary focus
in 1978 and was a
will be improving our
member of Wood-
service to our members,
workers Local W2 in
organizing new mem-
Aberdeen, Wash. [Lo-
bers, engaging our mem-
cal W2 has since
bers through mentoring,
merged into Local
and increased involve-
W130.] Over the years
ment within our commu-
he has held several po-
nities. It is vital that we
Noel Willet
sitions in the Local, in-
organize new members.”
cluding president.
One of his first actions
Woodworkers Lodge W1 ap- as DBR was to appoint business
pointed him as a business rep and representative Britt Cornman of
organizer in 2007. He held the Lodge 1005 as vice president/as-
same title when W1 merged with sistant DBR.
the Machinists.
Machinists District W24 rep-
Willet was elected assistant resents 155 contracts serving
DBR in December 2014. He 6,500 members in Oregon,
now will finish out the remain- Washington, Idaho, Montana
der of Elliott’s term, which ex- and Northern California. Mem-
pires in December 2018.
bers work in aerospace, truck
Willet currently serves as a manufacturing, automotive re-
delegate to the Oregon Machin- pair, general manufacturing, log-
ists Council. He also is co-chair ging, sawmills, plywood, parti-
of the Nelson Trust Healthcare cleboard, pole yards, sort yards,
Plan and he’s a vice president on dock workers, tree farm opera-
the Oregon AFL-CIO Executive tions, microbreweries, manufac-
Board.
turing of styrofoam containers,
Willet lives in rural Grays prefab homes, and flight training
Harbor County, Washington, for the defense industry. The
with his wife Shelley, who union also represents service in-
works in law enforcement. They dustry workers in the areas of
have been married for nearly 32 deputy sheriffs, corrections sup-
years, and have a son who is a port staff, city public works de-
maintenance mechanic in Min- partment, prosecuting attorneys,
neapolis, Minnesota.
church employees, and health
care workers.
The district lodge headquarters
is located in Gladstone, Oregon.
Farrell Richartz appointed business
manager at Laborers Local 483
Farrell Richartz was sworn in June 2015.
June 21 as the new full-time
He becomes business man-
business manager for
ager because Local 483 is
Laborers Local 483.
temporarily combining
Local 483 — part of
the jobs of business man-
LiUNA’s public sec-
ager and secretary-trea-
tor division — repre-
surer until the next sched-
sents about 1,000
uled officer election.
workers at the City of
Richartz will serve out
Portland, Oregon
the remainder of former
Zoo, and several other
business manager Erica
public employers.
Askin’s term, which runs
Richartz, 52, is a Farrell Richartz through June 2017, and
longtime City of Port-
said he expects to run for
land employee. He first worked re-election. Askin left in March to
at the Parks Bureau, then for the become in-house attorney for
Bureau of Maintenance as a Service Employees Local 49. The
street cleaner and dump truck Local 483 Executive Board ap-
driver. Over the years he served pointed Local 483 president Wes-
as a union steward, newsletter ley Buchholz as a part-time in-
editor, and recording secretary, terim replacement. Buchholz
and was elected secretary-trea- nows return to his full-time job as
surer, a full-time position, in a storekeeper for Portland Parks.
Everice Moro tapped
First VP of NOLC
Everice Moro, a retired member
of Oregon School Employees
Association Local 6732, was
elected first
vice president
of the North-
west Oregon
Labor Coun-
cil (NOLC)
on June 27.
She succeeds
Jeff Ander-
son, secre-
Everice Moro
tary-treasurer
of United
Food and Commercial Workers
Local 555, who earlier this year
was elected president.
Moro has served as NOLC’s
second vice president for many
years.