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paycheck deception, and repealed prevailing wage in a bogus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