Northwest labor press., February 02, 2018, Page 12, Image 12

PAGE 12 |
February 2, 2018 | NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS
... The ‘anti-union’ organizers
From Page 11
or their heirs, such as the Walton
Family Foundation, Sarah
Scaife Foundation, Lynde and
Harry Bradley Foundation, and
the Gilder Foundation.
In its communication with
public employees, Freedom
Foundation casts itself as their
defender: “We’re fighting to free
thousands of workers from the
tyranny and immorality of
forced unionization,” says one
blog post, in a typical example
of the group’s rhetoric.
Yet the only workers’ right
that Freedom Foundation works
to defend is the right to not pay
dues. Meanwhile, the rest of the
group’s agenda is diametrically
opposed to the interests of public
employees. At legislatures and
in opinion pieces and research
papers, Freedom Foundation
staff have argued against public
employee pensions, flexible
schedules, paid sick leave man-
dates, and minimum wage in-
creases.
“They hate our agenda and
what we’re fighting for,” says
Rebecca Sandoval, a home care
worker and president of Local
503’s home care sub-local. “Our
agenda is that we are trying to
push for a healthy society that
works for all people.”
Ironically, home care workers
— the group the Freedom Foun-
dation has most focused its
“drop the union” message on —
is arguably the greatest union
success story in recent years.
When Oregon’s SEIU Local
503 began its campaign among
home care workers, they made
minimum wage, had no em-
ployer-provided benefits of any
kind, and weren’t even consid-
ered eligible for workers’ com-
pensation if they were injured
on the job. Today, after union
negotiations and persistent leg-
islative lobbying, they make
$14.65 an hour, are eligible for
overtime pay, and have not only
workers’ comp insurance, but
access to health benefits and
training.
“Every year the home care
budget is on the chopping
block,” Sandoval said. “But
when we walk into the Capitol
with the union, our voices are
heard.”
YOU DIDN’T SEE THIS ON THE TV NEWS: Outside KATU studios on Sandy Boulevard in North-
east Portland, several dozen union members and supporters held a noon hour protest Jan. 27.
Demonstrators included camera operators from several unions. The protest was called by IATSE
Local 600, which represents 24 workers at KATU who have been working without a contract since
October 2015. One sticking point has been the refusal of station owner Sinclair Broadcasting
Group to commit to keeping the local studio open and continuing to produce local news. That’s
a concern because Sinclair is working to get approval for a $3.9 billion acquisition of Tribune Me-
dia Co. which could involve consolidating stations in many local TV markets. At press time, the
two sides had no further union bargaining sessions scheduled.
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