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About Northwest labor press. (Portland , Ore.) 1987-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 17, 2017)
SERVING ORGANIZED LABOR IN OREGON AND SOUTHWEST WASHINGTON SINCE 1900 NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS VOLUME 118, NUMBER 22 IN THIS ISSUE TENTATIVE DEAL AT CITY OF PORTLAND DCTU wins long-overdue raises and greater gender parity. | Page 2 PRECISION CASTPARTS STILL STALLING The company is refusing to recognize union vote | Page 3 Meeting Notices p. 4 Why GOP tax bill hurts workers p. 6 PORTLAND, OREGON UNION ORGANIZING NOVEMBER 17, 2017 WASHINGTON Union drive launches at New Seasons Big night for Washington By Don McIntosh On Wednesday, Nov. 1, 9 a.m., a dozen employees of New Sea- sons Market filed into the com- pany’s fourth floor headquarters in the rehabbed former high school now known as Revolu- tion Hall, and asked to speak with CEO Wendy Collie. As they waited in the reception area, awkward minutes crept by — until one worker began hum- ming the union anthem “Soli- darity Forever,” and the rest joined in. Collie, they were informed at length, was not available to see them. So the workers presented a letter to her assistant, accom- panied by signatures from 260 workers, announcing the forma- tion of a new organization, New Seasons Workers United. The letter requests a meeting, and asks the company to sign a code of conduct committing to re- spect workers’ right to organize. Half an hour later, joined by labor as votes come in After six years, Democrats re- take Senate majority. And a top labor political aide wins elec- tion to Seattle City Council. WILL NEW SEASONS AGREE TO UNION NEUTRALITY? “If this company truly practices the values that they promote, they should have no hesitation in agreeing to this set of standards,” declared union supporter Rev. Andrew Guthrie of Lynchwood Christian Church at the North Williams New Seasons. another couple dozen workers and community supporters out- side the New Seasons grocery store on North Williams Ave. in Portland, they made a public an- nouncement: A union organizing campaign has begun at New Seasons — backed by United Food and Commercial Workers Local 555. Turn to Page 5 DIVERSIFYING THE BUILDING TRADES Portland City Council mandates diversity in public construction Portland City Council voted 4-0 Nov. 8 to adopt several ordi- nances to increase participation of women and minorities as workers and contractors on pub- lic construction projects. City projects over $25 million will operate largely union under what amounts to a project labor agreement; those between $10 to $25 million would try to meet the same targets but without a formal role for unions. City managers will report back later on the success rate of the two approaches. Meanwhile, a new fund will set aside 1 percent of hard con- struction costs to fund pre-ap- prenticeship training programs to prepare women and minori- ties for construction trades, and technical assistance for women- and minority-owned businesses. Though Commissioner Chloe Eudaly (left) was out for the vote, all five mem- bers of Portland’s City Council are in support of a new policy that enlists unions in efforts to get more women and minorities in construction. “This is a living, breathing document that can be adjusted to meet our needs,” said Mayor Ted Wheeler introducing the or- dinances. “I appreciate the leadership you’ve shown to get us to where we need to be today,” said Colum- bia Pacific Building Trades Council Executive Secretary-trea- surer Willy Myers. “We’ve gone way past window dressing to ac- tually having a policy that works.” The City of Portland has hun- dreds of millions of capital proj- ects in the pipeline, including wastewater treatment plant up- dates and a new filtration plant. The Nov. 8 general election re- sulted in some great news for working people in Washington, said the Washington State Labor Council (WSLC), AFL-CIO. In the critical 45th Legisla- tive District race to determine which party controls Washing- ton’s State Senate, labor-en- dorsed Democrat Manka Dhin- gra beat Republican Jinyoung Lee Englund, 55.4 percent to 44.6 percent in King County. Other labor-endorsed De- mocrats capturing Senate seats were Rebecca Saldaña in Dis- trict 37, and Patty Kuderer in District 48. In District 31, Re- publican Phil Fortunato de- feated Democrat Michelle Ry- lands, but both candidates were endorsed by WSLC. The state labor federation fell short in Senate District 7, where endorsed Democrat Karen Hardy lost to Republican Shel- ley Short. In the House, labor-endorsed Democrat Vandana Slatter de- feated Republican Ciaran Dougherty in District 48, and la- bor-endorsed Republican Mor- Turn to Page 5 COLLECTIVE BARGAINING ATU reaches deal at TriMet After almost a year of rocky negotiations, TriMet and Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) Local 757 announced Nov. 10 they’ve reached tenta- tive agreement on a new three- year contract covering 2,500 union-represented bus and light rail operators, mechanics, cleaners, transit police officers, and customer service represen- tatives. Local 757 President Shirley Block says the deal was struck after an 8 a.m. meeting over coffee and orange juice with TriMet General Manager Neil McFarlane, as the two sides prepared to go to binding arbi- tration. The final step in that process was for each side to make a final comprehensive contract proposal. TriMet in- cluded approximately 40 of ATU’s proposals in its pro- posal, and that proved to be enough to clinch the deal. If ratified, the agreement will provide an immediate 3 percent raise retroactive to the Dec. 1, 2016 expiration of the previous contract; another raise of 3.25 percent Dec. 1; and a third raise of 3.25 percent on Dec. 1, 2018. It would also pro- vide a one-time $1,000 pay- ment to about 300 journey- level rail mechanics and a 6.6 percent step increase at the top of the scale for up to 300 work- ers who clean buses and light rail platforms. And it increases the night shift differential to $1 an hour (up from 25 cents) for maintenance employees, dis- patchers, road and rail supervi- sors, and others. TriMet dropped several pro- posals the union objected to, including one that would have reduced opportunities for serv- ice workers to apply for ap- prentice openings as mechan- ics. The agency also agreed to a cost-neutral health insurance plan change that will save re- tirees money. The union agreed to allow light rail vehicles to be over- hauled off-site by outside con- tractors, and it dropped its de- mand to return to a 90-10 health premium split. The agreement now goes to union members for a ratifica- tion vote. If approved, the agreement would run through Nov. 30, 2019.
