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About Northwest labor press. (Portland , Ore.) 1987-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 21, 2016)
NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS | October 21, 2016 | PAGE 7 UNION ORGANIZING Jeld-Wen workers reject chance to go union Workers at a Jeld-Wen door manufacturing plant in Chilo- quin, Oregon, said no to the Ma- chinists union in a 137-to-52 vote Sept. 21. It was the first- ever union election at the door factory, located in Klamath County, 45 minutes north of the California border on Highway 97. It was also the first time Jeld- Wen workers have voted on union representation since Feb- ruary 2013, when the Machinists announced a long-term effort to unionize the overwhelmingly non-union company. Oregonians may know Jeld- Wen as the Oregon-based door and window company that Dick Wendt founded in 1960 in Kla- math Falls. But after Wendt died in 2010, his heirs sold a majority stake in the company to Toronto private equity firm Onex, and the company shifted its head- quarters to Charlotte, North Car- olina. Today, Jeld-Wen has an- nual revenues of $3.5 billion and is one of the world’s largest manufacturers of doors and win- dows — with approximately 20,000 employees and 113 man- ufacturing facilities in 25 coun- tries. On June 1, Jeld-Wen filed preliminary paperwork to go public with an initial public of- fering on the New York Stock Exchange. Details are still being worked out, and the company is also reportedly exploring a sale to a private party. Meanwhile, in tiny Chilo- quin, population 724, the union campaign was conducted by the workers themselves. To help, the Machinists assigned Jake Merkel, a Raymond, Washing- ton, resident who works for the national union as an apprentice organizer. Merkel found the Chiloquin plant to be a high-turnover in- dustrial workplace where pay starts at $11 an hour and tops out about $20, with most workers making about $14.50. Merkel says workers told of poor treat- ment, expensive health benefits, and short-notice requirements to work overtime. When the union asked the National Labor Relations Board on Aug. 24 to schedule a union election, Merkel says 65 percent of the workforce had signed pa- pers saying they wanted to join the union. Then came the em- ployer anti-union campaign. “We were always confident that once employees learned the facts about what the union mem- bership would mean to them and their families, they would reject bringing a third party into the employment relationship,” said Jeld-Wen’s in-house labor attor- ney Eric Martin in a company news release quoted in the Kla- math Falls Herald and News. Jeld-Wen itself had no qualms about using third parties. In legal proceedings before the National Labor Relations Board, it was represented by at- torney Victor Kishch of Stoel Rives. It also hired California- based union avoidance consult- ants Cruz and Associates to talk to its workers. Jeld-Wen previ- ously paid $1.66 million to Cruz and Associates for work at 36 worksites over a six-month pe- riod in 2013 — just after the Machinists announced the for- mation of Justice for Jeld-Wen Workers. That’s according to mandatory disclosures the com- pany filed with the U.S. Labor Department; disclosures of more recent payments aren’t available yet. In the weeks leading up to the union vote, Merkel says Cruz and Associates led daily anti- union meetings at the plant. Jeld-Wen also gave raises and got rid of mandatory overtime. When the election was held, Machinists had just 28 percent support. “We’re not done with Chilo- quin, just because we lost,” Merkel said. Union supporters continue to work at the plant, and if conditions change, they could try again to find majority support. Union- made Halloween treats If you want your Halloween to be all treats and no tricks, make sure all your candy is union-made in America. The Los Angeles County Federation of Labor’s resource site, Labor 411, has an extensive list of union-made candies. Here are some highlights, featuring sweets made by the Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers and the United Food and Commercial Workers: 5th Avenue, Abba-Zaba, Almond Roca, Baby Ruth, Big Hunk, Bit-O-Honey, Butterfinger, Cadbury, Candy House Buttons, Caramello, Clark Bar, Dum Dums, Ghirardelli Chocolate, Gimbal’s Fine Candies, Hershey’s Kisses, Hershey’s Hugs, Hershey’s Nuggets, Jawbreakers, Jelly Belly, Kit Kat, Laffy Taffy, LOOK!, Mallo Cups, Malted Milk Balls, Mary Jane, Mighty Malts, Necco Wafers, Red Vines, Rocky Road, Rolo, Russell Stover, See’s Candies, Sky Bar, Smarties, Snaps, Sour Patch Kids, Sour Punch, Super Ropes, Toblerone, Tootsie Rolls, Trolli, U-NO, York Peppermint Patties, and Zagnut. Boycott Note: Until a Bakers Union strike is resolved, don’t purchase Just Born candies. Products include Marsh- mallow Peeps, Mike and Ike, Hot Tamales, and Golden- berg’s Peanut Chews. Rep. Carla Piluso believes in Doing the Best for Gresham. That’s why, she’s endorsed by…. • The Gresham Outlook • The Willamette Week • Oregon AFL-CIO • Oregon Working Families Party •Oregon Education Association • SEIU Locals 49 & 503 •Oregon Public Retirees •Teamsters Joint Council No. 37 • Oregon AFSCME Council 75 • National Electrical Contractors Association • Northwest Oregon Labor Council, AFL-CIO • Oregon State Building and Construction Trades Council • United Food and Commercial Workers Local 555 Vote Carla Piluso for State Representative, House District 50!
