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About Northwest labor press. (Portland , Ore.) 1987-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 16, 2016)
SERVING ORGANIZED LABOR IN OREGON AND SOUTHWEST WASHINGTON SINCE 1900 NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS VOLUME 117, NUMBER 18 IN THIS ISSUE FAIR SCHEDULING Seattle get ready to pass fair scheduling ordinance. | Page 2 NO ENDORSEMENT FOR YOU! Support for TPP costs Oregon governor Machinists endorsement. | Page 3 Labor Day Picnic Photos p. 4-5 Meeting Notices p. 7 PORTLAND, OREGON SEPTEMBER 16, 2016 Portland truck plant layoffs put Machinist pension in danger CALM BEFORE THE LABOR DAY STORM. Bob and Janet Tackett sit practically alone an hour before the opening of the Northwest Oregon Labor Council’s Labor Day picnic at Oaks Park. Tackett is the exec- utive secretary-treasurer of the council, which sponsors the event. A few hours later, nearly 15,000 people filled the park, according to park officials. For more photos from Labor Day picnics throughout Ore- gon, turn to Pages 4 and 5. In Labor Day speech Sen. Merkley calls for national motor-voter Just as Oregon led the nation as the first state to recognize Labor Day as a holiday, the United States should follow Oregon’s lead by implementing a national motor voter registration law. That was the message U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley shared at a Labor Day picnic at Oaks Park. The picnic, sponsored by the Northwest Oregon Labor Coun- cil, attracted nearly 15,000 peo- ple, according to park officials. “Across the nation there are dark forces that are all about voter suppression,” Merkley said. “They don’t believe in democracy. They want the pow- erful and the privileged to run our country.” “But what are the first three words of the Constitution?” Merkley asked. “‘We the peo- ple.’ It’s not ‘we the privileged.’ It’s not ‘we the powerful.’” Oregon is the first state in the country to make voter registration automatic when you go to the DMV (Department of Moter Ve- hicles). Since its inception on Jan. 1, 2016, a total of 222,197 new voters have been registered, ac- cording to the Elections Division. “With each month of 2016, we are adding a new wave of Oregon voters,” said Secretary of State Jeanne P. Atkins. “With fewer than 90 days until Novem- ber 8, we are on track to give over 250,000 new voters the op- portunity to participate in the general election.” During his remarks, Merkley called for a doubling of the na- tional minimum wage; for na- tional (paid) sick leave; and for a public option choice under the federal Affordable Care Act. “And let’s make sure that we don’t have trade agreements that undermine the success of Amer- ican workers,” Merkley contin- ued. “We can’t compete against countries that pay workers less than a dollar an hour and no en- vironmental rules. We know that already. Let’s not dig this hole any deeper.” Merkley said if the U.S. does- n’t make things in America, “we won’t have a middle class in America. So let’s make things in the United States of America!” The Northwest Oregon Labor Council didn’t invite U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden or U.S. Reps. Earl Blumenauer, Kurt Schrader, and Suzanne Bonamicci on to the stage to speak because of their support for fast tracking the Trans-Pacific Partnership. Fast track status requires Congress to take an up-or-down vote on trade agreements, with limited debate and no amendments. Merkley gave a shout out to Gov. Kate Brown, Attorney Gen- eral Ellen Rosenblum, and To- bias Read, a candidate for state treasurer. He asked picnickers to vote for them in the general elec- tion in November. He also put in a big plug for Brad Avakian, who is running for secretary of state. Republicans “really want to control” this office, he said. “And they’re bringing in a lot of outside money to do it.” Merkley said redistricting is a big reason the GOP is working so hard for the seat. “We’ve seen what’s happened in Texas and North Carolina and other states” that redistricted in a way that give Republican candidates an advantage at the polls. “Let’s make sure that Brad Avakian wins. It’s a critical, critical race,” Merkley said. Daimler’s Portland truck plant set a new record this summer: Fewest manufacturing jobs ever. The plant, which entered the 21st century with about 3,000 production workers, today has 570. That’s after the most recent round of 170 layoffs in June. Remaining at the plant are about 350 members of Machinists Lo- cal 1005, 85 members of Team- sters Local 305, 50 members of Sign Painters and Paint Makers Local 1094, and 18 members of Service Employees Local 49. The Daimler layoffs won’t just hurt Daimler workers: Ma- chinists District Lodge W24 Business Rep Joe Kear says the latest downsizing will push the multi-employer Automotive Machinists Pension Plan toward insolvency within 20 years. The Seattle-based pension plan, founded in 1958, is respon- sible for the retirement benefits of 8,416 current and former em- ployees of firms that have had contracts with the Machinists union. But the pension plan has been severely weakened by job losses at participating union em- ployers: As of the end of 2014, the pension was paying benefits to 4,137 retirees, while taking in employer contributions for just 1,605 active workers. (And an- other 2,674 former employees are entitled to benefits in the fu- ture.) That “upside down” struc- ture makes it difficult or impos- sible for the fund to recover from investment losses in the 2008 fi- nancial crash. As of the end of 2014, the pension plan had an estimated $1.5 billion in future liabilities, and $717 million in current assets. Daimler — the pension plan’s largest employer — is currently paying $10.62 an hour into the pension, of which $6.15 is a sur- charge to make up for the plan’s funding shortfall. That sur- charge was part of a rehabilita- tion plan designed to help the pension plan recover, but thanks to the newest layoffs, it won’t be enough. Looming insolvency could even lead pension plan trustees to seek government per- mission to reduce current retiree benefits, which they’re allowed to do under a controversial law passed in 2014. What to do about the Machin- ists pension will be a big part of the next joint union contract ne- gotiations with Daimler, which are set to begin Sept. 20. The current contracts covering mem- bers of the four unions expire on Oct. 28. Three years ago, Ma- chinists and Painters struck for 23 days before the current Daimler deal was reached. Ultimately, unions say U.S. trade policy—especially the North American Free Trade Agreement—is largely to blame for the long-term decline in jobs at Daimler’s Portland plant. Portland is where Freightliner was born, but Daimler gradually shifted its production to Mexico, then stopped its Portland pro- duction altogether in 2007. Since that time, the Portland plant has produced Western Star trucks. [Daimler bought West- ern Star in 2000, and closed the Kelowna, British Columbia, plant where that truck origi- nated.] A federal government pro- gram called Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) provides ex- tra benefits to manufacturing workers who lose their jobs be- cause of trade. Even though there were 270 layoffs at a Daimler plant in Mexico too, the Oregon Employment Depart- ment has asked the U.S. Depart- ment of Labor (DOL) to ap- prove TAA benefits for the latest layoffs. The state’s petition to the DOL cited reports that Port- land work is being moved to Mexico and India.
