SERVING ORGANIZED LABOR IN OREGON AND SOUTHWEST WASHINGTON SINCE 1900
NORTHWEST
in tHiS iSSuE
LABOR
PRESS
VOLUME 118, NUMBER 24
uniOn-MaDE GiFt GuiDE: Yes, you can still fill a
stocking and put some solidarity under the tree | Page 4
uniOn VictOry FOr OFnHP #5017 With workers at
PeaceHealth Sacred Heart in Eugene/Springfield. | Page 7
Meeting notices p.14 Daimler leaves iaM pension p.25
PORTLAND, OREGON
DECEMBER 15, 2017
'tis the Season to be Jolly
SALEM, Oregon — For 77
years, unions affiliated with
the Marion-Polk-Yamhill
Counties Labor Chapter have
hosted a free holiday party for
children and their parents and
grandparents (some of whom
attended when they were kids).
The party is held the first
weekend in December at the
historic Elsinore Theatre in
downtown Salem.
This Dec. 3, children sang
holiday songs with Norman
Sylvester and Friends (above),
watched a movie, met Santa
and Mrs. Claus, (left), then
headed out with a goodie bag
filled with union-made prod-
ucts purchased at the local
unionized Fred Meyer store.
Sylvester is a member of
Musicians Local 99, and Santa
is played by Jack Rusen of Al-
bany Steelworkers Local 6163
(Mrs. Claus is his wife). The
emcee is Jeff Anderson, secre-
tary-treasurer of United Food
and Commercial Workers Lo-
cal 555. Anderson has played
the part of “Elfie” for nearly
30 years.
The event is funded by local
unions and unionized busi-
nesses in the tri-county area.
uniOn OrGanizinG
natiOnal
new Seasons deploys same union-busters
used by trump las Vegas hotel
Furor over GOP tax bills
After a second pro-union worker
is fired, union supporters ques-
tion the grocer’s ‘B Corp’ status
By Don Mcintosh
New Seasons Markets, after
spending decades cultivating a
feel-good image as a progres-
sive employer, is now engaged
in a full-fledged anti-union
campaign led by a well-known
union-busting firm. The cam-
paign follows classic union-
busting template: holding anti- After 11 years working at New Seasons, grocery clerk Terra Bosart was ter-
union meetings in the work- minated Nov. 28. She’s the second open union supporter to be fired there.
place, enlisting managers as
anti-union ground troops, and, Relations Board. In the agers are interrogating and co-
according to charges filed by charges, Local 555 alleges that ercing workers, and telling
United Food and Commercial New Seasons violated the Na- them not to talk about the
Workers (UFCW) Local 555, tional Labor Relations Act union organizing campaign.
A 2009 Oregon law says
violations of federal labor law. when it fired union supporters
Three charges against New Adrian Mendoza on Oct. 4 and employers can’t require work-
Seasons are now being investi- Terra Bosart on Nov. 28. A ers to attend anti-union meet-
gated by the National Labor third charge alleges that man-
Turn to Page 25
In the dead of night, Senate Re-
publicans passed a sweeping
package of tax changes Dec. 1.
The bill reduces taxes dramati-
cally on corporations and high-
income taxpayers, while raising
them slightly on many working
people. It was rushed to a vote
without a hearing, and passed
51-49 with no support from De-
mocrats. The U.S. House passed
a separate version of the bill in
a 227-205 vote Nov. 16. At
press time Republican leaders in
the two chambers were trying to
modify and reconcile the two
versions and bring a harmonized
bill back for final approval.
No Oregon or Washington
senators voted for it, and Ore-
gon’s Ron Wyden called it a
“scam,” in a press conference
call: “They started out promis-
ing a substantial tax cut to the
middle class,” Wyden said, “but
they produced a multi-trillion
handout to the wealthy that will
raise taxes on hardworking
Americans.”
Signs are the public is not
pleased: Polls show just 31 per-
cent of Americans support the
tax changes, and 64 percent said
the wealthy will reap the most
benefits from the overhaul.
“The GOP tax bill that passed
the Senate by one vote is noth-
ing but an attack on America’s
workers,” said national AFL-
CIO President Richard Trumka.
“We will pay more, corporations
and billionaires will pay less.”
Congress’ Joint Committee
on Taxation estimates the Senate
version of the plan to cut taxes
on the rich would add $1 trillion
to the federal debt. That’s if Re-
publican leaders don’t then cut
spending. But House Speaker
Paul Ryan already is talking
about cutting Medicare, Medi-
caid and welfare when Congress
returns to work in 2018 — to try
to lower the deficit.