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About Northwest labor press. (Portland , Ore.) 1987-current | View Entire Issue (May 3, 2019)
NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS | preferred hire for women and minority- owned workers and contractors; higher rebates are available for developers that sign project labor agreements or community workforce agreements. Infrastructure spending Lawmakers approved a two-year, $4.9 billion capital construction budget and a $10 billion transportation budget. Capital expenditures include $1.04 billion for K–12 school construction; $175 million for affordable housing projects; and $95 million for sewer, drinking water, solid waste, street, and storm water projects. SOCIAL JUSTICE Legalize affirmative action Citizen initiative I-1000, unanimously endorsed at the Washington State Labor Council’s COPE Convention, effectively overturns I- 200, a ban on affirmative action in state contracting, education and hiring that voters passed in 1998. Under I-1000, the state will now be allowed to use affirmative action policies to address discrimination or underrepresentation so long as those policies don’t rely on quotas or constitute preferential treatment. However, I-1000 opponents say they will gather signatures on a referendum to put the issue on the November 2019 ballot. More notice in cases of eviction Washington lawmakers changed the Residential-Landlord Tenant Act to require that landlords give 14 days notice prior to eviction. The current requirement is three days. May 3, 2019 | PAGE 3 WILL VANCOUVER DEMOCRAT MONICA STONIER BE THE NEXT HOUSE SPEAKER? De- mocrat Frank Chopp , above at the podium, announced late in the session that he’ll be stepping down after 20 years as House Speaker. House Democrats will choose a new speaker in July. West Vancouver state rep Monica Stonier of House District 49, a strong labor ally, is one of four state representatives who are vy- ing to succeed Chopp. Better luck next time? Not all union-backed bills made it to the finish line. Here are some that didn’t pass the Wash- ington Legislature this year Universal health care SB 5822 would have created a work group — with representatives from labor leaders knowledgeable about Taft-Hartley health trusts — to make recommendations for a system of publicly funded, privately delivered health care for all Washington state residents. The bill passed in the state senate, but died in a house committee. Capital gains tax House Democrats proposed a 9.9 percent “extraordinary profits” tax on the sale of stocks and bonds when profits are over $200,000, but couldn’t find enough support for it. Fair scheduling Modeled after an ordinance recently approved in Seattle, HB 1491 would have required large fast- food, coffee, restaurant and retail chains to provide workers advance notice of schedules and give part-time workers access to additional hours. The proposal got hearings, but didn’t pass this time. Crackdown on worker misclassification Employees who are wrongly classified as independent contractors can be cheated out of minimum wage protections, overtime pay, unemployment insurance, and workers’ compensation coverage if they are injured at work. SB 5513 would have created one clear test to determine who is truly an independent contractor so that the rules are the same for the minimum wage, prevailing wage, workers’ compensation, and unemployment insurance, which currently use differing tests to answer the question. Contractor accountability HB 1521 would have adopted performance metrics and accountability measures for all public contracts. Safer railroad staffing Past rail disasters involving trains hauling hazardous materials would have been prevented had more than one worker been assigned to the train. HB 1841 would have ended single-member crews for hazardous material trains. It passed the House, 72- 24, but failed to get a Senate vote. LERC faces drastic budget cut The union training and research center is slated for a 45% cut University of Oregon is propos- ing a devastating 45 percent budget cut to the only program on campus that’s focused on or- ganized labor. Labor Education and Research Center (LERC), which celebrated its 40th an- niversary a year and a half ago, learned on April 8 of plans to cut its annual budget by $488,000. With six faculty, five support staff, and office space in Eugene and Portland, LERC is a small corner within the giant university, focused on providing training and research to Oregon unions. Over the years, thousands of union stewards and officers have taken part in LERC-sponsored events like the Collective Bargaining In- stitute, the AFL-CIO Summer School, and the Public Employ- ment Relations Conference. The LERC cuts are part of a package of cuts to UO programs that serve the public. Others on the chopping block include the university art and natural history museums and the university- sponsored Oregon Bach Festival. “We were totally blindsided by this,” said LERC director Bob Bussel. “LERC really is the one place in the university fo- cused on working class needs and concerns.” LERC supporters are appeal- ing to Provost Jayanth Banavar and University of Oregon Presi- dent Michael Schill to recon- sider. On April 24, the UO fac- ulty senate passed a resolution calling on the university to re- think its plan for disproportion- ate cuts to the public-facing pro- grams and instead distribute any cuts more equitably across all units. Supporters also created a web site, SaveLERC.com, where people can find sample emails and sign an online petition. Bussel said if the cuts are ap- proved, they would take effect July 1 and be implemented over the next two years.
