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About Northwest labor press. (Portland , Ore.) 1987-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 4, 2017)
PAGE 6 | August 4, 2017 | NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS ...Legislature From Page 1 maintain Oregon’s ‘Obamacare’ Medicaid expansion in the face of a long-planned reduction in the federal government’s share of the program’s costs. It does that by increasing Oregon’s existing hospital provider tax to 6 percent of net revenue (from 5.3 percent) and adding a 1.5 percent tax on insurers and 4 percent on smaller rural hospitals. [Passed House 36- 23, Senate 20-10] ■ Reproductive Health Equity HB 3391 requires insurers to cover reproductive services at no cost to the patient, and extends Oregon Health Plan coverage of reproductive health services to 23,000 women who would be eligible for Medicaid except for their immigration status. [Passed House 33-23, Senate 17-13] ■ Overtime protections for manufacturing workers HB 3458 started as a business-backed effort to strike down a worker-friendly legal interpretation of a law requiring overtime pay after 10 hours in factories and mills. But labor organizations succeeded in amending the bill to guarantee 10 hours rest between shifts of eight hours or more, plus a new weekly cap of 60 hours, and no mandatory workweeks longer than 55. Unionized workers are allowed to waive some of those provisions in their collective barg- aining agreement. [Passed Senate 30-0, THE TOP THREE UNION-BACKED BILLS: HOW MEMBERS OF THE OREGON SENATE VOTED LEGEND ✓ -voted for the bill ✗- voted against N/A - didn’t cast a vote House 51-8] ■ Apprentice opportunities on public works HB 2162 mandates that state construction contracts of over $5 million require contractors to make sure at least 10 percent of the work hours are performed by apprentices. The requirement also applies to subcontractors that do at least 25 percent or $1 million of the work. [Passed House 54-4, Senate 24-4] ■ Expanded union rights for professors HB 3170, a priority for AFT-Oregon, allows public university faculty to unionize even when they have some supervisory responsibility. [Passed Senate 17-13, House 36-22] Some key union-backed bills that failed to win passage Protection for Renters In response to a crisis of rising rents, HB 2004 would have lifted a state-wide pre-emption on local rent control ordinances, and it would have barred landlords from evicting a tenant for no cause after six months of a tenancy. It passed the House with support from all Democrats except Caddy McKeown and Brad Witt. But it couldn’t find majority support in the Senate, even after the bill was watered down so much that it lost the support of the union-styled group Portland Tenants United. Housing advocates blame Democratic Senators Rod Monroe and Betsy Johnson for the failure. Former state rep Shemia Fagan has already announced she will challenge Monroe in the primary because of it. [Passed House 31-27; failed to get a vote in the Senate] Paid Family Leave HB 3087 would have created a family and medical leave insurance program to provide workers with paid leave for the birth of a child, an illness, or military service, funded by payroll contributions up to 0.05 percent of employee wages to be paid by employers and employees. The Legislature’s attorneys determined that those contributions would be considered a tax, which meant supporters would have to get a 3/5 supermajority to pass it. Given that hurdle, the bill didn’t make it to a vote. On nearly every legislative is- sue, unions went to Salem with allies and in coalitions. One of those was Fair Shot for All, which includes the Oregon AFL- CIO, Oregon AFSCME, Oregon Education Association, Ameri- can Federation of Teachers-Ore- gon, Oregon Nurses Association, Service Employees International Union, and United Food and Commercial Workers, and over a dozen community groups. Three of its five priority bills passed this year: Cover All Kids bill, Re- productive Health Equity, and a bill targeting racial profiling by police. But two came up short: the paid family medical leave bill and the renter protection bill. Special gift for you just because you are a Union member! Bring this coupon to the location nearest you for a FREE Teeth Whitening Package Union and Independently-owned locations throughout Washington and Oregon You do not need to be our patient & there’s absolutely no obligation *One kit per family; you must present the original coupon, no NWLP copies will be accepted. EXPIRES: August 31, 2017-NWLP Beaverton - 503.914.4003 Chehalis - 360.639.3377 Eugene/Springfield - 541.622.0602 Gresham- 503.914.4005 Hillsboro - 503.719.6452 Longview - 360.639.3388 Milwaukie - 503.821.0089 Salem - 503.914.4007 Salmon Creek - 360.639.3399 Coming soon! Southern Oregon - 541.227.6966
