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About Northwest labor press. (Portland , Ore.) 1987-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 20, 2017)
NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS | January 20, 2017 | PAGE 7 WORKERS RIGHTS Who’s on our side? By Tom Chamberlain Oregon AFL-CIO President GOP ramping up to dismantle the labor movement I n a few days, the Republican Party will be in control of both houses of Congress and the presidency for the second time in 70 years. The agenda of Republican leadership of the Senate and House is not secret: Repeal Obamacare, leaving 30 million of the most vulnerable without health care. Make no mistake about it, Republican leaders are not just coming for Oba- macare, they are coming after all our health care, and Social Security, too. We expect them to tee up, through the budget process later this spring, massive cuts to Medicaid, the priva- tizations of Medicare, and cuts to Social Security benefits. Any attacks on Medicare or Social Security will be major points of vulnerability for Republicans, and especially for Trump, since he made repeated, explicit promises not to cut either program. How many Americans who voted for Trump want to work un- til they are 68? What is occurring in Washington, D.C., is a ramp up to dis- mantle the American union movement. Federal employees will experience wage freezes, privatization, and the downsizing of their workforce through attrition. The Building Trades face ei- ther an attempt to eliminate Davis Bacon (prevailing wage) or the development of strategies to circumvent prevailing wage. Trump’s promised $1 trillion infrastructure plan may be funded by tax credits, allowing corporate America to sidestep prevail- ing wage laws. Public-sector unions will be watching who will be appointed to the U.S. Supreme Court vacancy, knowing that a bad decision on a Friedrichs-like case would implement “right-to-work” for public workers nationwide. There are still rumors that “right-to-work” and “paycheck deception,” which limits how union workers can make their voices heard in the political process, are targets for federal legislation. The Koch brothers have wasted little time in implementing a state strategy to undermine workers’ rights. Kentucky Re- publicans, who gained control of all three branches of their government in November, slammed through “right-to-work,” paycheck deception, and repealed prevailing wage in a bogus emergency legislative session of two weeks’ age. All three bills went into immediate effect. All three branches of government are under Republican con- trol in Missouri and New Hampshire. Both states face legisla- tion drafted to implement “right-to-work,” paycheck decep- tion, and repeal prevailing wage. At this juncture in our history, our first priority is to work and fight together. When we are divided, we will surely fail. When “right-to-work” was passed in Michigan, first respon- ders were exempted. Just last week, the Michigan Legislature passed “right-to-work” for first responders. This is the time to stand together as a labor movement — and with our commu- nity partners. Understanding the power we have collectively, we will educate and activate Oregonians. Our fight will be statewide: Klamath Falls, Bend, Medford, Salem, Eugene, and Portland. I believe, by and large, our Con- gressional delegation will stand with all Oregonians. But for those who support an anti-worker agenda, we will hold you accountable. We are living in an historical moment. Every one of us has an obligation to fight as hard as we can, to get off the couch and activate and agitate. Fighting together, we can stop attacks on Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid. We stopped the Trans-Pacific Partnership dead in its tracks. Fighting together, we have defeated scores of ballot measures that would have undermined workers’ rights and the quality of life in Oregon. Tom Chamberlain is president of the Oregon AFL-CIO, a 130,000-member-strong federation of labor unions. Burgerville suspends unionist over a bagel A vocal leader of the dozen other labor or- campaign to unionize the ganizations. Burgerville fast food Vaandering says an chain has been sus- assistant manager gave pended without pay him the bagel during a since Jan. 6 — ostensi- paid break on Jan. 5, bly for failing to pay 70 and didn’t ask him to cents for a bagel and pay for it. Several hours cream cheese. after Vaandering Jordan Vaandering, Jordan Vaandering opened the restaurant who has worked for 14 the next day, he was months at the Burgerville store in confronted by the store’s general Vancouver Plaza, thinks the manager about the “bagel inci- bagel is a pretext, and that his dent” — the manager said he’d union activity is the real reason been informed by human re- for his suspension. Vaandering, sources that Vaandering had who’s incidentally the nephew of taken a bagel without paying for Oregon teachers union president it. Vaandering offered to pay, but Hanna Vaandering, has been ac- was refused and sent home five tive recruiting coworkers to join hours before the end of his shift. the Burgerville Workers Union, That same day, Vaandering an affiliate of the Industrial filed an unfair labor practice Workers of the World (IWW). charge with the National Labor The union is calling for afford- Relations Board. It’s against the able employer-provided health- National Labor Relations Act for care and a $5.00 raise for all an employer to discipline a hourly Burgerville workers, worker for taking part in union among other demands. Their activity. campaign has been endorsed by On June 7, the union organ- the Oregon AFL-CIO and half a ized supporters to call the com- Black history month pany, and on Jan. 9, Vaandering, two coworkers, and two IWW members visited company HQ to present a bagel and $0.70 to a company executive, along with a request that he be returned to work. The next day, Vaandering was called into a meeting with the store general manager and hu- man resource consultant Lacey Halpern, told he wasn’t allowed to take notes or have a witness, and asked for his side of the story. Vaandering says they told him they’d let him know their decision by Jan. 11. He was still waiting for the call as of Jan. 17. PICKET TO BRING BACK JORDAN If Burgerville, as expected, fires union activist Jordan Vaandering, the Burg- erville Workers Union plans to picket outside the Rose Quarter Burgerville before the Lakers-Blazers game. ■ Time: Wed., Jan. 25, 6:30-8 p.m. ■ Place: Burgerville, 1135 NE MLK Jr Blvd., Portland ■ More info: http://bit.ly/2jXsuge
