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About Northwest labor press. (Portland , Ore.) 1987-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 4, 2017)
PAGE 2 | August 4, 2017 | NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS (International Standard Serial Number 0894-444X) Established in 1900 in Portland, Oregon as a voice of the la- bor movement. Published on a semi-monthly basis on the first and third Fridays of each month by the Oregon Labor Press Publishing Co. Inc., a non-profit mutual benefit corpo- ration owned by 20 unions and councils including the Ore- gon AFL-CIO. Serving more than 120 union organizations in Oregon and Southwest Washington. Office location: 4275 NE Halsey St., Portland, Oregon Mailing address: P.O. Box 13150, Portland, OR 97213 Phone: (503) 288-3311 Web address: http://nwlaborpress.org Editor & Manager: Michael Gutwig Associate editor: Don McIntosh Office manager: Cheri Rice Printed on recycled paper, using soy-based inks, by members of Teamsters Local 747-M. SUBSCRIPTIONS: Individual subscriptions are $14 a year for union members, $22 a year for all others. Pay by credit card online at nwlaborpress.org/subscribe, or send a check to our mailing address (above) along with your name, address and union affiliation, if any. Group rates of $10.08 a year per person are available for 25 or more subscriptions; call 503-288-3311 for details. CORRECTIONS: See an error? Please let us know at editor@nwlaborpress.org or by phone at 503-288-3311. PERIODICALS POSTAGE PAID AT PORTLAND, OREGON. CHANGE OF ADDRESS: If you move, let us know at nwlaborpress.org/subscriber-services or by mail at our mailing address (above). Be sure to provide your old and new addresses and the name/number of your local union. Please allow three weeks for the change to take effect. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS P.O. BOX 13150 PORTLAND, OR 97213-0150 140 Paula Tentative City of Portland agreement delivers sizable raises for members of Laborers Local 483 By Don McIntosh Laborers Local 483 has reached tentative agreement with the City of Portland on a pair of contracts that will raise wages for over 1,000 city workers. One contract covers about 600 labor- ers at city bureaus that maintain roads and sewers. The other covers a seasonally fluctuating workforce of 400 to 700 work- ers at city recreation centers, in- cluding several hundred newly unionized workers. City laborers win longevity, shift differential, other raises The city laborers agreement would raise wages in multiple ways: ▪ All members get annual cost-of-living increases based on the consumer price index, with a minimum of 1 percent and a max of 5 percent. ▪ Workers who’ve been at the City more than 10 years get a 2 percent longevity raise. ▪ Members working swing or graveyard shift get increased “shift differential” pay for the first time in 20 years: Swing shift will now pay a $1.50-an-hour premium (up from $0.84), and graveyard shift will izes members if they don’t schedule one medical checkup every two years; members who fail to do so would pay 10 per- cent of health care costs, com- pared to 5 percent currently. Rec center pay will top $15 Under the recreation center con- tract, starting wages will rise to $15 and more, and shift differ- entials will match the city la- borer group. The contract also provides cost-of-living raises, plus raises of 3 or 5 percent on top of that for several classifica- tions. Those who work at least 30 hours a week on average for six months will get employer- provided health insurance. Em- Members of Laborers Local 483 turn out at Terry Schrunk Plaza at a May 25 ployees will also get “just rally for a fair contract at the City of Portland. cause” discipline and grievance day off, but “essential” workers, rights after 3,120 hours and pay a $2-an-hour premium (up from such as those who operate snow three years of work. $1.16). Those premiums will rise with plows, haven’t. The new con- inflation from now on. ▪ Workers in 12 classifications get one-time tract would give them a paid day Members are voting on both off, to be taken later. increases ranging from 1.5 to 10 percent agreements by mail, with ballots Local 483 did make several due Aug. 7. The union bargain- — to bring them more in line with their concessions, including an end to ing team is recommending rati- counterparts at comparable cities. Up to now, when the city a requirement that the City hire fication. If approved, the con- closes for extreme weather, first from among existing em- tracts will run four years, “non-essential” workers like of- ployees when hiring for new po- through June 30, 2021. fice workers have gotten a paid sitions. The contract also penal-
