NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS | January 6, 2017 | PAGE 5
2016 in review
As chronicled in 24 issues of the Northwest Labor Press,
here are some of the year’s most important stories
■ NATIONAL
Scalia’s death ends Friedrichs threat
Unions count Verizon strike as a win
Clinton loses in the electoral college
Trans-Pacific Partnership, dead at last
In a case known as Friedrichs vs. Cal-
ifornia Teachers As-
sociation, the U.S.
Supreme Court was
getting ready to im-
pose so-called
“right-to-work” sta-
tus on all public em-
ployees in the
United States —
making dues strictly
Antonin Scalia
voluntary and thus
weakening unions considerably. But
the death of conservative Supreme
Court Justice Antonin Scalia in Febru-
ary resulted in a 4-4 deadlock on the
case. The threat to labor could return,
however, if a similar case is filed after
another anti-union justice is ap-
pointed.
America’s biggest strike in four years
took place in April
and May as
39,000 members
of CWA and
IBEW struck Veri-
zon’s East Coast
landline opera-
tions rather than
accept contract
concessions at the
highly-profitable
company. The
strike ended after Solidarity in Portland:
IBEW 48’s Terry Reigle
45 days with a
deal brokered by U.S. Secretary of La-
bor Thomas Perez on terms the union
called a win, including 10.5 percent
raises over four years, and protections
against outsourcing of call center jobs.
In the general election, Hillary Clinton
had the support
of nearly every
labor union in
the country,
and she won
nearly 3 mil-
lion more
votes than
Donald Trump.
But she lost
where it mat-
tered: The
electoral col-
lege, thanks to
narrow Trump
A cardboard cutout at wins in Michi-
Hillary Clinton campaign gan, Pennsyl-
offices was her only pub-
lic appearance in Oregon. vania, and
Wisconsin.
For the first time since NAFTA, a cor-
porate-writ-
ten trade deal
died on the
vine. The 12-
nation Trans-
Pacific Part-
nerhip (TPP)
was one of
Obama’s top
priorities, but
broad public
hostility to
the deal — Carpenters Local 146 union
and the de- officer Norm Curry protests
the TPP March 21, 2016.
fection of
some Republicans over industry con-
cerns — prevented ratification in Con-
gress. Trump’s election sealed its fate.
■ OREGON
Biggest union organizing wins
With unions prepared to put minimum
wage increases on the ballot, the Ore-
gon Legislature stepped up to do the job
and put the minimum wage on track to
12.50 to 14.75 by 2022, depending on
the region. That amounts to an hourly
raise of $3.25 to $5.50 an hour for hun-
dreds of thousands of Oregon workers.
■ 886 support workers at PeaceHealth Southwest
Medical Center joined OFNHP Local 5017.
■ 793 PSU grad students joined American Federation of
Teachers /AAUP.
■ 310 hospital technicians at PeaceHealth Southwest
Medical Center joined AFT.
■ 165 workers at Boeing
paint contractor
Commercial Aircraft
Painting Services
joined the Machinists.
■ 80 DirecTV workers joined CWA Local 7906.
■ 61 alcohol and drug treatment workers at Volunteers
of America joined AFSCME.
Photo courtesy of the Yes on 97 campaign
Top legislative win: Minimum wage
Oregon Bernie vote: a mandate for
bolder action by Democrats?
Minimum wage and sick leave
Madore is no more, in Clark County
Berry boycott ends with union deal
Raise the minimum wage to $13.50,
and give workers the right paid sick
leave? Voters did it, approving union-
backed I-1433 by 59-41 percent.
Flamboyantly anti-union Clark County
Commissioner David Madore — who
once pushed unsuc-
cessfully for a local
“right-to-work” or-
dinance — lost re-
election in the Au-
gust primary. In the
general election,
union-backed candi-
date Tanisha Harris
lost to John Blom,
but local unions were still pleased to
see their nemesis go.
A three-year
union boycott
against
Sakuma and
Driscoll
berries ended
in September,
when Skagit
Valley agri-gi-
ant Sakuma
Berries agreed
to allow a
union election
and recognize and bargain a contract
with the farmworkers union.
Photo courtesy of the governor’s office
■ 205 workers at a Jeld-Wen door plant in Chiloquin
rejected the Machinists union in a 52-137 vote.
■ 179 workers at Portland Specialty Baking rejected the
Bakers union in a 38-123 vote.
Hillary Clinton won among Democrats
nationwide, but in Oregon, Democrats
showed an appetite for a bolder kind of
politics — backing a candidate who re-
jected Wall Street money and called for
universal health care, free public col-
lege tuition, and a $15-an-hour mini-
mum wage. In Oregon, Bernie Sanders
packed arenas and outpolled Clinton by
over 70,000 votes, 56 to 44 percent.
Gov. Kate Brown signs minimum wage leg-
islation, a top priority of the AFL-CIO.
Biggest ballot defeat: Measure 97
Despite $16 million in local and na-
tional union money, a proposal to raise
taxes on the biggest corporations doing
business in Oregon was rejected by
voters. As a result, instead of new in-
vestment in schools, health care and
senior services, the state of Oregon
faces a budget shortfall next year, once
again.
Biggest union organizing losses
■ WASHINGTON
Sound gets serious transit investment
Another ballot victory was voter ap-
proval for an ambitious 25-year plan to
make $54 billion worth of transit im-
provements in the Puget Sound region,
including 62 miles of light rail and
new bus and heavy rail service to
King, Pierce and Snohomish counties.
The project will mean union jobs, less
congestion, and a cleaner environment.