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About Northwest labor press. (Portland , Ore.) 1987-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 16, 2016)
NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS | December 16 , 2016 | PAGE 7 Boeing terminates contract to paint aircraft after workers vote for union 147 Machinists-represented workers will be terminated, though many may be hired by a new contractor from France. Boeing is terminating its con- tract with Commercial Aircraft Painting Services (CAPS) — the company that paints its air- craft in Portland. Workers at CAPS had just voted on July 8 to unionize with Machinists District Lodge W24, and were in the process of negotiating a first union contract. But CAPS’ five-year contract with Boeing was set to expire Jan. 31. The contract is for painting new Boeing planes after assem- bly in Everett, Washington, be- fore delivery to customers. The work is supervised by Boeing employees, and takes place in a pair of aircraft hangars that Boe- ing leases from the Port of Port- land. CAPS sought to renew the contract, but it was up against These Portland airport hangars say Boeing, but the Boeing aircraft in them are painted by a contractor — with work- ers paid much less than Boeing workers who do the same work in Everett. To address that, workers voted in July to unionize. Now their company is being replaced by another contractor. bids from two other companies, and it lost the contract to STTS, an aircraft painting company headquartered in Blagnac, France. Painting of the Boeing air- craft will continue in the Port- land hangars, but under the di- rection of STTS starting Feb. 1. CAPS notified the State of Oregon Dec. 1 that it will termi- nate its 147 union-represented employees effective Jan. 31, 2017, and 27 management em- ployees no later than Feb. 28. STTS operates in Europe, Asia, and the Middle East, and this would be its first operation in North America. In a Dec. 1 letter to CAPS management and staff, STTS Christophe Cador said the com- pany’s top priority over the next two months will be to recruit its U.S. workforce. “We need to meet with CAPS management over the next few days to agree appropriate proto- cols but we would like to give you, the staff, a more compre- hensive presentation of the STTS Group, our implementa- tion plan for launching in Port- land and our employment offer, in the hope that some of you will want to join STTS USA Inc, or indeed any of our subsidiaries around the world,” Cador wrote. If STTS hires more than half of the incumbent employees, it would be obliged by federal la- bor law to recognize the incum- bent union. UNION ORGANIZING Merry Christmas Warm Wishes for a Wonderful Holiday Season and a very Happy New Year from OFFICE & PROFESSIONAL EMPLOYEES INTERNATIONAL UNION LOCAL 11 May your holiday be filled with the joy of the season from OFFICERS, EXECUTIVE BOARD, MEMBERS & STAFF Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers & Grain Millers Local 114 Union for Fighters? Mixed martial artists form union Uber runs anti-Teamsters ad during Seahawks game Several top mixed martial arts fight- ers announced Dec. 1 that they in- tend to form a union — the Mixed Martial Arts Athletes Association — to pool their bargaining power and get a union contract with Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Pro- moter Bjorn Rebney, one of the fig- ures behind the effort, criticized UFC’s business practices as ex- ploitive, and says the union wants a benefits package comparable to what NFL players have. The response so far? Fighting words. UFC’s president called Rebney “the biggest scumbag in the history of combat sports.” Since the City of Seattle passed a unique-in-the-nation ordinance giv- ing Uber drivers a way to unionize, Uber has come out swinging against Teamsters Local 117, which seeks to represent them. The company even aired a TV ad during a recent Sea- hawks football game in which an Uber driver says that with the Team- sters union, he’d no longer have the flexibility to run his business the way he chooses.” Reality check: Drivers decide when and how much to drive, but Uber sets rates and all the rules, including termination without re- view. Time for a Uber union?
