NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS |
COLLECTIVE BARGAINING
UNION ORGANIZING
Oregon Ballet Theatre dancers unionize
OBT voluntarily recognizes a
union after dancers and stage
managers sign union cards
Oregon Ballet Theatre (OBT)
on Sept. 19 officially recog-
nized American Guild of Musi-
cal Artists (AGMA) as the rep-
resentative of 30 dancers and
stage managers after a majority
of them signed cards authoriz-
ing the union to represent them.
AGMA, an affiliate of the,
AFL-CIO, represents about
7,500 opera singers, ballet and
modern dancers, and produc-
tion personnel at most major
ballet companies and several
modern dance companies
across the country.
Oregon Ballet Theatre
(OBT) is the largest profes-
sional ballet company in Ore-
gon, employing nearly 200
people and attracting artists
from around the globe.
The new bargaining unit
consists of 28 dancers and two
stage managers.
OBT is the third ballet com-
pany this year where employ-
ees have unionized with
AGMA. In March, employees
of Sarasota Ballet in Florida
voted to join AGMA. And in
April, employees of Sacra-
mento Ballet voted 23-1 in fa-
vor of unionization.
OBT Board Chair Nancy
Locke said in a press statement
that OBT views the dancers’
and stage managers’ selection
of AGMA to represent them as
a positive. “The Ballet is proud
of the long, positive working
relationship that it has had with
the dancers and stage man-
agers,” Locke said. “That rela-
tionship was built on mutual re-
spect and trust, and having the
dancers and staging staff repre-
sented by AGMA will strength-
en that relationship.”
Negotiations for a first con-
tract are expected to begin this
month.
Bus drivers in Hood River win union
Columbia Area Transit drivers
will be part of Amalgamated
Transit Union Local 757
Bus drivers at Columbia Area
Transit (CAT) in Hood River
have won union representation
with Amalgamated Transit
Union (ATU) Local 757.
Ten full- and part-time CAT
bus drivers filed a petition with
the Oregon Employment Rela-
tions Board (ERB) Aug. 18
asking state agency to certify
them as members of Local 757.
ERB accepted the drivers’ pe-
tition Sept. 21 because the
overwhelming majority of eli-
gible workers filed union au-
thorization cards.
In a press statement, Local
757 said CAT bus drivers just
want to be treated fairly. Driv-
“For 100 years, our union has worked to
organize and improve the lives of transit
workers across Oregon and Southern
Washington, and that century of experi-
ence has made one thing crystal clear:
Workers win when we stand together.
We’re looking forward to rolling up our
sleeves and fighting for a fair contract
for CAT drivers.”
— ATU Local 757 President Shirley Block
ers have seen their hours cut
without being consulted, the
union said. They get less time
to inspect their buses to make
sure they’re safe before a trip.
And the company has de-
manded that they work a two-
hour layover in Portland with-
out pay.
Now that the drivers’ peti-
tion has been approved by
ERB, drivers will appoint a
bargaining team to begin nego-
tiating their first contract with
Columbia Area Transit.
No bargaining dates have
been scheduled.
...Precision Castparts welders join Machinists
From Page 1
partment or occupational clas-
sification could unionize while
others remained nonunion. The
Machinists asked the National
Labor Relations Board
(NLRB) in July to hold a union
election for a proposed unit
consisting of 100 rework
welders at Precision Castparts
sites in the Portland area. But
Precision Castparts argued that
the only legally appropriate
union bargaining unit was the
company’s entire 2,000-plus
local production and mainte-
nance workforce. That group as
a whole rejected unionization
by about a 4 to 3 margin four
October 6, 2017 | PAGE 9
years ago, following three pre-
vious unsuccessful attempts to
unionize in the 1970s and
1990s.
But the NLRB rejected Pre-
cision Castparts’ argument in
accord with its decision in a
2011 case known as Specialty
Healthcare. That case opened
the door to smaller units known
as “micro-units.” Antiunion
business groups have thun-
dered against that ruling ever
since, and paid for an unsuc-
cessful court challenge. They
hope it will be overturned after
new Trump appointees take
their seats on the NLRB.
Precision Castparts has ap-
pealed the NLRB’s ruling al-
lowing the welders-only union
bargaining unit. But for now, at
least, the company is required
by federal law to recognize and
bargain with the union.
Lukens said the next step is
for the union to work with the
welders to appoint and train
union stewards in the work-
place to defend members, and
to form a contract bargaining
committee. Members will
likely seek safety improve-
ments, better health benefits,
and wage increases, Lukens
said. Wages currently range
from $26 to $31 an hour
among members of the group.
— Don McIntosh
WPAS strike ends, but strikers fired
MERCER ISLAND, Wash. —
Seventy-five members of Office
and Professional Employees Lo-
cal 8 ended a nearly five-week
long strike against Welfare and
Pension Administration Serv-
ices, Inc. (WPAS) Sept. 25 after
ratifying a new collective bar-
gaining agreement. But hours
after the contract was ratified,
WPAS owners abruptly fired 10
of the strikers before they could
return to work. The 10 women
were handed boxes with their
personal belongings and told to
leave the premises when they
showed up to work. Most had
worked at WPAS for more than
15 years, and one employee had
been there for 30 years. Local 8
filed an unfair labor practice
charge and grievances on behalf
of the fired union members.
Under the new collective bar-
gaining agreement, workers
won their fight to keep seniority
rights, sick leave benefits, and to
place a cap on health care costs.
Several other takeaways WPAS
had demanded were dropped,
the union said.
“WPAS owners make their
money from administering
union health and pension trusts,
said Local 8 Business Manager
Suzanne Mode. “Shame on
them.”
WPAS, headquartered in
Mercer Island, Washington,
provides third party administra-
tive services to union health and
pension trusts.
A “Go Fund Me” account has
been set up to help the “WPAS
10” who were fired, as well as
the 75 strikers who sacrificed
wages and benefits for more
than a month. To contribute,
visit gofundme.com/36vk5bs.
...DCTU declares impasse
From Page 1
nical Employees Local 17.
“And then to force the DCTU
to accept what they settled for,”
said Rich Thallheimer, a parking
code enforcement officer and
member of AFSCME Local
189. “Well, I’ve got news for
you. That’s not enough for the
DCTU. We’re bargaining our
own contract. We’re not bar-
gaining a master contract for all
of the other labor organizations
in the City. But if you do want
to force a contract on us, feel
free to force the police PPA
(Portland Police Association)
contract that gave them 3 per-
cent (raises) a year for three
years. We would be happy to
take that.”
DCTU is seeking across-the-
board raises for all employees.
Members gave up cost of living
increases (known as COLAs) in
the previous contract, and half
of their COLA in the current
contract that expired June 30,
2017, because of a bad econ-
omy. The economy has now re-
bounded, and now DCTU is
asking to get back what they
sacrificed, Thallheimer said.
DCTU also insists on full
retroactive pay back to June 30,
when the contract expired, main-
taining internal promotion lan-
guage, and no HIPPA (Health In-
surance Privacy and Protection
Act) release requirement to
maintain lower out-of-pocket in-
surance costs. DCTU supports
workers getting a preventative
medical exam, but argues that a
doctor’s note that the exam has
been completed should be suffi-
cient.
“The things we are asking for
at the bargaining table are not
created in a vacuum; they are
carefully drafted with a chorus of
input and support from all of the
employees we represent,” said
Mary Prottsman, a police desk
clerk and member of Local 189.
“We want to get a fair con-
tract,” Bush told commissioners.
“We want to get it resolved soon
so that everybody can get back
to work and put the sideline
grumblings that are happening in
all the shops in the past.”
Also speaking before the City
Council were Chris Mont-
gomery of Operating Engineers
Local 701 and Mark Hinkle, a
20-year electrician at the Bureau
of Environmental Services and a
member of IBEW Local 48.
Following their declaration of
impasse, Mayor Ted Wheeler re-
sponded: “I’m sorry to hear
that,” before moving on to the
next item on the agenda.
Members of the DCTU han-
dle parking enforcement, police
records, finger printing, permit
inspections, delivery of clean
water, revenue collection, main-
tenance and repair of critical in-
frastructure and the City fleet, as
well as administrative support
for all of the City’s bureaus.
Other unions affiliated with
DCTU are Plumbers and Fitters
Local 290 and Painters and Al-
lied Trades District Council 5.