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About Northwest labor press. (Portland , Ore.) 1987-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 1, 2017)
PAGE 2 | September 1, 2017 | NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS NORTHWEST ...Void where prohibited? At TriMet it could cost your job LABOR PRESS From Page 1 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 defecated in the parking lot. Bal- ick and TV anchor Jeff Gianola told the story from the perspec- tive of the outraged office worker, who presumably has ac- cess to a workplace restroom. They expressed no sympathy for the unnamed driver. Stevens’ union, however, de- fended her. An officer of Amal- gamated Transit Union (ATU) Local 757 represented her in a disciplinary hearing. Labor’s Community Service Agency, a union-sponsored charity for union members in hardship, helped pay her rent. And Local 757’s communication depart- ment gave Stevens the chance to tell her side of the story in a video the union published on YouTube July 28. After two paycheck-free months, Stevens was formally terminated on Aug. 21. “You urinated on the ground next to your vehicle,” First Tran- sit said in her termination letter. That’s “a Class 1 infraction” the letter explained — “illegal, im- moral or indecent behavior.” Local 757 has filed a griev- ance protesting the termination. Because it’s a human rights is- sue, says Local 757 vice presi- Photo by Andrew Riley (International Standard Serial Number 0894-444X) THe ULTIMaTe PORT-a-POTTY? Yes, that’s ATU Local 757 VP Jon Hunt, and yes, he’s holding a toilet next to a TriMet bus. Retiree Bob Cummings is shoot- ing a series of videos to publicize the union’s “Pee in Peace” campaign high- lighting inadequate restroom breaks and facilities, a major issue for drivers. dent Jon Hunt, Stevens’ fellow union members may be willing to take her case all the way to binding arbitration. “What’s the message to this group: Go in your pants or you’re going to be terminated?” Hunt asked. Taking bathroom breaks is a perennial challenge for profes- sional drivers of all kinds. It’s a problem for TriMet bus opera- tors, Hunt says, and even more so for TriMet LIFT drivers, who may not be able to leave vulner- able passengers unattended. Even as Local 757 is fighting to get Stevens’ job back, one of her co-workers is facing termination after more than 15 years of work at TriMet LIFT — for urinating in a bottle on or next to a bus. Stevens’ grievance is against First Transit, but Hunt is con- vinced First Transit was told by TriMet to fire Stevens. Even as it was terminating her from TriMet LIFT, First Transit of- fered her a position in its school bus division. Stevens declined the offer. She loved helping disabled indi- viduals get around, and after two and a half years, she’d been earning $17.77 an hour plus benefits, and working up to 60 hours a week. Like Hunt, Stevens thinks she was fired because she embar- rassed TriMet. “You think they were embar- rassed?” Stevens told the Labor Press. “How do you think I felt?” TriMet spokesperson Tia York wouldn’t say whether a TriMet manager directed that Stevens be fired, but explained agency policy in an emailed statement: “LIFT operators are allowed to take comfort breaks outside regular break times, but for safety and security reasons, they are required to first contact dispatch. If the operator finds herself in an unfamiliar area, dispatch will guide her to a lo- cation where she can utilize the restroom at no cost. The opera- tor in this situation did not con- tact dispatch to request a com- fort break before stopping her vehicle and relieving herself in a parking lot.” IN HER OWN WORDS Teressa Stevens tells her own story in a union video published on YouTube: https://youtu.be/8CVOwFj2Duo
