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About Northwest labor press. (Portland , Ore.) 1987-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 15, 2017)
NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS | September 15, 2017 | PAGE 3 WASHINGTON UNION ORGANIZING Cowlitz County commissioner cancels presentation by anti-union Freedom Foundation Machinists win the right to union election for welders at Precision Castparts KELSO, Washington — A Cowlitz County commissioner has cancelled a proposed hear- ing about opening union nego- tiating sessions up to the public. The county negotiates collec- tive bargaining agreements with nine labor unions, and those talks customarily take place in private session. Last month, Commissioner Arne Mortensen invited the anti- union Freedom Foundation to make a case to the county com- mission on Sept. 26 in favor of a resolution to open negotia- tions to the public. But after union members and community supporters demanded equal time to counter the group, Mortensen decided to cancel the Sept. 26 meeting, citing an urgent need to work on the county budget as justification. “This should have never been scheduled in the first place,” said Shawn Nyman, president of the Cowlitz- Wahkiakum Central Labor Council in an official state- ment. “There is absolutely no reason to set our local family wage earners up for attack by this anti-labor group invited by the commissioner.” HEALTH CARE Merkley co-sponsors Medicare for All legislation WASHINGTON, D.C. – Ore- gon U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley became one of six Senate co- sponsors when Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont introduced Medicare for All legislation Sept. 13. Meanwhile, in the U.S. House of Representatives, 117 House Democrats have so far signed on as co-sponsors of a companion bill, HR 676, in- cluding Oregon’s Earl Blume- nauer, Suzanne Bonamici, and Peter DeFazio. The United States already has a “single payer” publicly- sponsored health insurance program, but you have to be at least 65 or disabled to get it: It’s called Medicare. Sanders’ bill would expand Medicare to all Americans. When Congress passed Medicare in 1965, it was seen as a first step towards universal health care. Announcing his co-sponsor- ship, Merkley said he has heard from many Oregonians about the importance of simplifying the fragmented health care sys- tem to ensure that no Ameri- cans fall through the cracks. “Health care should be a right for every single Ameri- can, not a privilege reserved for the healthy and the wealthy,” he said. “Right now, our health care system is incredibly com- plex, fragmented, and stressful. It would be terrific to have a simple, seamless system where, solely by virtue of liv- ing in America, you know that you will get the care you need.” Medicare for All appears to have majority public support: a June Kaiser Foundation poll found that 53 percent now fa- vor a single-payer health plan in which all Americans would get their insurance from a sin- gle government plan. At Precision Castparts, 102 Portland-area welders have an opportunity to join the Interna- tional Association of Machin- ists in a Sept. 22 vote on union- ization. Lawyers for Precision Cast- parts tried to block such an election, arguing that the union vote ought to include Precision Castparts’ entire 2,000-plus lo- cal production and maintenance workforce. Workers in that group as a whole rejected unionization by about a 4 to 3 margin four years ago. But Na- tional Labor Relations Board regional director Ronald Hooks ruled Aug. 28 that the welders would constitute an appropriate bargaining unit on their own, and therefore the election can take place. If a majority of the welders vote to join the Machinists, it would be the first union organ- izing win at one of the Portland area’s largest nonunion indus- trial employers. Eugene Urgent Care clinic network fights union campaign by SEIU Local 49 At ICCO, LLC, which owns a network of medical clinics in the Eugene area, the results of an Aug. 17 unionization elec- tion won’t be determined until the National Labor Relations decides what do to about 11 workers whose eligibility to vote was challenged. Of the ballots that were counted, a slight majority of 72- 70 favored joining Service Em- ployees International Union (SEIU) Local 49. Local 49 spokesperson Rae Dunnaville said workers want a union in order to win raises, ad- equate paid time off, quality af- fordable healthcare and a voice on the job. Company management op- posed the union effort, and held several mandatory and optional worker meetings with an anti- union agenda. UNIONIZATION ] JULY-AUG 2017 The following are Oregon and Southwest Washington workplaces where workers have decided whether to be represented by a union. The thumbs-up symbol means workers will be union- represented. Thumbs-down means they’ll be on their own. The information comes from the National Labor Relations Board and the Oregon Employment Relations Board. Union election results Raymond Thomas James Coon Employer (Location) Union Yes-No PeaceHealth Peace Harbor (Florence) SEIU Local 49 78-72 ^ ■ 185 CNAs, cooks, lab assistants, clerical and other support staff Albertsons (Ontario) UFCW Local 368-A 2-4 % ■ 6 deli clerks Cynthia Newton Melissa Haggerty Chris Frost Sydney Montanaro You need a lawyer who understands how your union disability benefits and your Social Security disability benefits will fit together. 820 SW Second Ave., Suite 200, Portland, OR 97204 Scott Sell Chris Thomas www.tcnf.legal Eugene Urgent Care (Eugene) SEIU Local 49 72-70 ? ■ 160 CNAs, LPNs, and support staff at 13 Eugene-area clinics owned by ICCO, Inc. City of Brookings Brookings Police Assn. vs. Teamsters Local 223 15-0-0 ■ 15 police officers voted to disaffiliate with Teamsters and join an independent union City of Gervais (Gervais) Gervais Police Officers Association ■ 4 police officers formerly represented by Laborers Local 483 4-0 ^
