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About Northwest labor press. (Portland , Ore.) 1987-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 15, 2017)
PAGE 10 | September 15, 2017 | NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS CULTURE OPEIU Local 8 strike at Welfare & Pension Inc. continues New documentary film looks at the life of farmworker union leader Dolores Huerta Photo by George Ballis , © 1976 Take Stock - The Image Works Dolores, a documentary about celebrated United Farm Work- ers union leader Dolores Huerta, is coming to Portland and Eugene, Oregon. Huerta was co-founder with Cesar Chavez of the organiza- tion that later became the United Farm Workers. She helped lead the historic boycott of California grapes, and it was she who coined the phrase “Sí se puede” (“Yes we can”). The documentary will COMING TO A SCREEN NEAR YOU United Farm Workers leader Dolores screen Sept. 29-30 at the Huerta at a march in Coachella, California in 1969. Northwest Film Center in Port- times, visit nwfilm.org/films/do- broadwaymetro.com] land. Director Peter Bratt will lores.] And it will air on Oregon attend several showings and an- It will also appear October 6- Public Broadcasting (OPB) at swer audience questions after- 12 at the Broadway Metro the- 10 p.m. Feb. 26, 2018 — on the ward. [For tickets and show- ater in Eugene. [For details, visit PBS series Independent Lens. Low Prices! Mon-Fri 9-6, Sat 9:30-5:30, Sun 12-6 For the second year in a row, union nurses at Bay Area Hos- pital in Coos Bay have part- nered with nonprofit First Book to sponsor a book drive for chil- dren ages 2 to 13. They expect to distribute more than 1,000 books to children Sept. 16 dur- rights, cap the medical premium cost share, and reestablish their retirement after losing their pen- sion benefit last year. WPAS is a private for-profit corporation. The company has continued to administer union benefits with a skeleton staff that includes temporary scab workers. Picketing is held from 6 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Fri- day at the WPAS office at 7525 SE 24th St. in Mercer Island. Washington State Labor Council is calling on supporters to call WPAS owners and tell them to settle a fair contract now: 1-800-732-1121. SAFE JOBS Washington L&I offering grants to help workplace safety and health innovations BUILDING COMMUNITY Coos Bay nurses donate over 1,000 books to kids Members of Office and Profes- sional Employees International Union (OPEIU) Local 8 who work at Welfare & Pension Ad- ministration Service, Inc. (WPAS) in Mercer Island, Washington, were still on strike as this issue of the Northwest Labor Press went to press. After 11 months of negotia- tions and seven months without a contract, 95 workers who ad- minister health and pension ben- efits for thousands of Pacific Northwest union members walked off the job Aug. 23. Employees there have had a union contract since 1973 and last struck in 1988. Workers are fighting to maintain seniority ing the Bay Area Fun Festival Parade. The parade begins at 1 p.m. at the corner of 4th St. and Golden Avenue in downtown Coos Bay. Oregon Nurses Association (ONA) represents more than 350 registered nurses at Bay Area Hospital and more than 14,000 RNs statewide. TUMWATER, Wash. – Every year, hundreds of people are hurt or killed on the job in Washing- ton. The Department of Labor & Industries (L&I) is always look- ing for ways to make work- places safer and lower that num- ber. One of those ways is to provide grants for projects and ideas to improve workplace safety and health. A new round of safety and health grants is now available through L&I’s Safety and Health Investment Projects (SHIP) grant program. Applications will be accepted until Oct. 31, 2017. The agency is looking for in- novative ideas for training, equipment or strategies to pro- tect workers and prevent in- juries. In the past two years, SHIP grants funded 19 safety and health projects at a total of $2.5 million. Recent grants have funded projects to prevent injuries among special education teach- ers and to create a best practices manual to reduce the risk of can- cer in firefighters. SHIP grants are meant to en- courage innovative solutions to occupational health and safety challenges, as well as to promote labor and management working together to make workplaces safer. Grants are also available for return-to-work projects. The goal of these grants is to encour- age new ways to help injured workers get back to work so that employers can have the processes in place before an in- jury occurs. The return-to-work grant period is open until further notice. The grants are capped at $150,000 and the projects must be completed in 24 months. For more information, go to www.Lni.wa.gov/SafetyGrants or call 360-902-5588. Albert Einstein, Time magazine’s “Person of the 20th Century” was a visionary scientist, philosopher, teacher — and a union member. In fact, he was a founding member of the Princeton Federation of Teachers Local 552, signing its charter in 1938. Pretty smart guy, huh? (From the Washington State Labor Council)
