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January 5, 2018 | NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS
WORKER SAFETY
FedEx executive will be
Trump’s new OSHA chief
Scott Mugno — President Don-
ald Trump’s nominee to head
the Occupational Safety and
Health Administration (OSHA)
— got the thumbs up from the
Senate Health, Education, Labor
and Pensions (HELP) Commit-
tee in a party-line vote Dec. 13.
But that vote came after a Dec.
1 hearing in which he was
grilled by Sen. Patty Murray of
Washington and other Democ-
rats.
Mugno, nominated by Trump
on Oct. 27, is currently vice
president for safety, sustainabil-
ity and vehicle maintenance at
FedEx Ground. He also chairs
the U.S. Chamber of Com-
merce’ OSHA subcommittee.
“I’m concerned about your
record that stands against every-
thing OSHA should stand for,”
Murray told Mugno in the hear-
ing.
“During your two-plus
decades at FedEx, you have
consistently opposed stronger
safety and health protections for
workers,” Murray said — in-
cluding OSHA’s proposed respi-
rator and ergonomics standards.
“Can you name a single rule
proposed by OSHA that during
your career you supported?”
“I don’t recall,” Mugno
replied.
Massachusetts Democrat
Elizabeth Warren asked Mugno
if he would return to OSHA’s
practice of issuing press releases
publicizing big fines against
egregious job safety violators,
which she said serve as a deter-
rent to other employers. Warren
said OSHA averaged 400 such
releases a year under Obama,
but just 26 so far under Trump.
Mugno said he’d “have to con-
sult with staff.”
In the hearing, Mugno said he
recognizes the role of unions in
enforcing job safety and health.
He also said while he was in law
school, he was a shop steward
for Retail, Wholesale and De-
partment Store Workers Local
1-S at Macy’s in New York City,
and filed grievances over job
safety problems.
All Republican senators on
the committee voted to recom-
mend approval of the nomina-
tion, while all Democratic sena-
tors voted against.
The full Senate is expected to
confirm Mugno early this year.
COLLECTIVE BARGAINING
City of Portland ratifies DCTU deal
Nearly 1,100 workers at the
City of Portland have a new
contract. The District Council of
Trade Unions (DCTU), a coali-
tion of six unions that bargains
jointly with the City, announced
Dec. 12 that members voted to
ratify the deal. Portland City
Council then voted to ratify it on
Dec. 14. The agreement pro-
vides immediate 3.85 percent
raises retroactive to July 1, fol-
lowed by inflation-based cost-
of-living adjustments on July 1,
2018 and 2019. Workers in a
number of job classifications
will also get separate raises of
up to 10 percent — where the
two sides agreed that they were
underpaid compared to counter-
parts elsewhere. The new agree-
ment runs through July 1, 2010.
The unions involved are AF-
SCME Local 189, IBEW Local
48, Machinists Lodge 1005, Op-
erating Engineers Local 701,
UA Local 290, and Painters Dis-
trict Council 5.
Were you part of it
when it happened?
The Northwest Labor Press is look-
ing for stories of labor union mem-
bers who participated in the strug-
gle for civil rights, who helped win
racial justice improvements in the
workplace, or fought to make
unions more equitable and inclu-
sive. To share your story, call us at
503-288-3311 — or email us at
editor@nwlaborpress.org.
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