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About Northwest labor press. (Portland , Ore.) 1987-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 1, 2017)
NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS | December 1, 2017 | PAGE 7 TRADE UNION-MADE GIFTS: WHERE TO BUY THEM, HOW TO SEND THEM UNION RETAILERS Shop Fred Meyer and Powell’s, not Wal- mart, Target and Amazon When you buy at Fred Meyer, Portland’s only unionized general retailer, the money you spend will employ members of UFCW Local 555 (and Bakers Local 114, at Fred Meyer bakery departments). Or keep it simple and get a Fred Meyer gift card. And why shop at Amazon when you could buy books and gifts at Powell’s Books and support about 420 Portland-area members of ILWU Local 5, from cashiers to truck drivers to computer programmers. Powells pays wages that average over $13.50 an hour, and provides health benefits for full-time employees. And if you shop online through ilwulocal5.com, 7.5% of your purchase goes to the union strike fund. UNION SHIPPERS Sending cards and packages? Ship it union with USPS and UPS, and don’t pa- tronize antiunion FedEx U.S. Postal Service (USPS) is a publicly-owned employer that provides nearly half a million career union jobs with benefits in every community in America. UPS is the single largest employer in the Teamsters Union, with about 250,000 union-represented employees. Trump would gut NAFTA’s hated ISDS In the North American Free TradeA- greement (NAFTA) renegotiation talks that have been under way since August, union trade policy experts are finding that Trump Administration trade negotiators are more willing to listen to their suggestions than Obama trade officials were. Trump trade representative Robert Lighthizer wants to gut one of NAFTA’s most controversial provi- sions: The so-called Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS), which al- lows foreign investors to sue govern- ments in special trade tribunals if new regulations deprive them of opportu- nities for profit. The Administration proposes to let foreign investors sue governments over the direct seizure of property, but nothing more. And each NAFTA country could opt out of be- ing sued by foreign investors. The U.S. is also proposing to signif- icantly increase “rules of origin” re- quirements for automobiles: Cur- rently, to get tariff-free status, just 62.5 percent by value of a vehicle’s com- ponents must have been manufactured in the three NAFTA countries. The White House wants to raise that to 80 percent. Other proposals would allow coun- tries to favor domestic industries in government contracting, and require the three nations to periodically vote “These are steps in the right direction.… But unless a renegotiated NAFTA has stronger worker pro- tections, it still won’t be a good deal.” — Russell Lum, Oregon Fair Trade Campaign to keep the deal in place or else face NAFTA’s expiration in five years. But Russell Lum, coordinator of the Oregon Fair Trade Campaign, says unless a new NAFTA does something to improve workers’ rights and raise wages in Mexico, the free-trade zone will still be a bad deal, and labor and its allies would oppose it. Trump has threatened to walk away from NAFTA if his demands aren’t met. Lum says that wouldn’t be a bad outcome — if the alternative is an agreement that fails to protect workers rights. The talks continue this month in Washington, D.C., and late next month in Montreal. Workers at TriMet ratify new 3-year deal Workers at TriMet voted over- whelmingly to approve a new three-year contract, Amalga- mated Transit Union Local 757 announced Nov. 28 as this issue went to press. The vote was 1,220 to 68, or almost 95 percent in favor. The agreement covers 2,500 bus and light rail operators, mechanics, cleaners, and cus- tomer service representatives. The agreement now goes to the Dec. 13 meeting of TriMet’s Board of Directors for approval. When it takes effect, it 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 will also provide a one-time $1,000 payment to about 300 journey-level rail mechanics and a 6.6 percent step increase at the top of the scale for up to 300 workers who clean buses and light rail platforms. WA-Club golf tourney nets $100k for charity The Washington CLUB Charity Golf Classic donated $100,000 to three charities Nov. 8 at its cele- bration dinner in Seattle. CLUB stands for Contractors, Legisla- tors, Unions and Business. The largest donation of $50,000 went to the Diabetes Research Institute via the national AFL-CIO’s DAD’s Day (Dollars Against Di- abetes) campaign. Two chil- drens’ charities—Holly Ridge Center and Seattle Childrens Hospital, each received $25,000. WA-CLUB was founded by the Washington State Building Trades Council in 2000. This year’s event reached its goal of $100,000, something it hasn’t achieved since 2008. Since its inception, WA- CLUB has donated nearly $1.4 million to charities. “It’s fun to look back over the past 17 years and see how the event has grown and remained popular,” Bettendorf said. CORRECTION Jill Alcantar 360.787.6975 12/31/17 2017 An article in the Nov. 17 edi- tion, “Union drive launches at New Seasons,” incorrectly listed Cash & Carry in the list of nonunion grocers. In fact, workers at all 20 Cash & Carry stores in Oregon are represented by Teamsters Local 206. (All the other union grocery stores on the list are represented by UFCW Local 555.) The Labor Press regrets the error. CO
