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About Northwest labor press. (Portland , Ore.) 1987-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 18, 2019)
SERVING ORGANIZED LABOR IN OREGON AND SOUTHWEST WASHINGTON SINCE 1900 NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS VOLUME 120, NUMBER 20 IN THIS ISSUE OSEA WON’T ENDORSE PERS-CUTTERS The union joins AFSCME in repudiating dozens of Democrats. | Page 5 UNION VOTE SCHEDULED AT THE COLUMBIAN As the vote nears, union posters blanket the newsroom. | Page 8 Meeting notices p. 4 Bricklayers Local 1 expands p. 6 PORTLAND, OREGON COLLECTIVE BARGAINING UFCW members approve grocery contract By Don McIntosh At sites around Oregon and Southwest Washington Oct. 4- 11, members of UFCW Local 555 voted to approve more than 90 individual collective bargain- ing agreements. Negotiated all together, they cover about 20,000 workers at the big grocery em- ployers in Oregon and Southwest Washington, including Fred Meyer, Safeway, Albertsons, and QFC. The agreements were reached Sept. 28 after a six-day boycott of Fred Meyer that garnered sig- nificant local publicity and ap- peared to have an immediate and significant impact on Fred Meyer sales. Now that the agreement has been reached and ratified, Local 555 is calling on shoppers who formerly shopped at Fred Meyer to return. The agreements run three years. For the first time, they guarantee at least 20 hours a week for workers who want the hours and are available to work them. That’s huge for some who’ve struggled to get more than 20 hours, which is the threshold where health and re- tirement benefits kick in. And be- cause it removes employers’ eco- nomic incentive to limit work hours, the guarantee could result in workers getting fuller sched- ules generally. The agreements also contain substantial wage increases. Most journey-level workers will get hourly raises of 55 cents each year. [About half the workforce is journeylevel, having worked the equivalent of four years at full time.] And the mostly-female workers whose jobs are paid at the “Schedule B” wage scale will get hourly raises of 90 cents each year. During its campaign for a fair contract, Local 555 called on employers to address a gender pay disparity that stems from a tendency to place female appli- cants into the lower-paid and his- torically female-dominated deli and bakery departments that make up Schedule B. The new pay raises for Schedule B will move them one-third of the way Turn to Page 6 Union contract avoidance: Multnomah County says seniority rights don’t apply Nonunion non-profit CareOregon is taking over work done by unionized County employees. By Don McIntosh On Oct. 4, Multnomah County Commissioners heard a heartfelt plea from a delegation of County health department workers: Honor the County’s contract with their union, AFSCME Lo- cal 88. Several dozen workers who administer Medicaid-funded mental health benefits won’t be Multnomah County employees as of Jan. 1, because the work they do is being transferred to non-profit CareOregon. Article 21 in the union con- tract says workers with the most seniority are supposed to be the last to be laid off. Faced with layoff, senior workers even have the right to “bump” (replace) less senior workers in the same job classification anywhere in the County. But County legal and human resources staff — citing a state law that they say supersedes the union contract — are saying they don’t have to follow that OCTOBER 18, 2019 A UNION GUIDE TO WASHINGTON’S 2019 GENERAL ELECTION Ballots will be mailed Oct. 18 and should arrive by Oct. 24. For your Washington ballot to count, it must be postmarked by Tuesday, Nov. 5! BALLOT MEASURES Initiative 976 OPPOSE Washington’s roads are among the most congested in the nation, and many bridges, tunnels and overpasses are overdue for repair. I-976, sponsored by union foe Tim Ey- man, would slash vehicle license fees and taxes and thereby cut millions from local road and transit budgets, including an SR 14 widening project and potential I-5 bridge replacement. Washington State Labor Council, Wash- ington Building Trades Council, Laborers District Council, SW Washington Central Labor Council no976.org Initiative 1000/ Referendum 88 SUPPORT In 1998, voters passed Tim Eyman’s Initiative 200, making Wash- ington one of only two states in the nation to explicitly ban affirmative ac- tion. This year lawmakers passed a law overturning that, allowing the state to remedy past discrimination in public education, employment, and con- tracting by implementing affirmative action, though without quotas or preferential treatment. Washington State Labor Council, Pacific NW Regional Council of Carpenters, SEIU 1199NW, Teamsters Joint Council 28, UFCW 21, Washington Education Association approve88.org CANDIDATES Clark County Council District 4 Facing the transfer of their work to a non-profit in January, Local 88 members Raymond de Silva, Charmaine Kinney, Kristine Britton Dills, and Sherry Yan appealed directly to the County Commission Oct. 4 to honor the union con- tract seniority provisions. union contract seniority rule be- cause the workers aren’t losing their jobs, just having their jobs transferred to CareOregon. For workers like those who addressed County commission- ers Oct. 4, there are important differences between public and private sector work. At CareOre- gon, they expect to have lower pay and less generous health benefits. They’d also be leaving the Public Employee Retirement System, and would lose their union and the job security and workplace rights it protects. “Many of us have chosen a life in public service,” said Sherry Yan, one of four county workers to testify during the public comment period. “Our primary objective as public em- ployees has been ensuring that the needs of our community are Turn to Page 3 Gary Medvigy, a Republican incum- bent who was appointed to a vacant seat, is a retired California judge and Army major general. He’s being chal- lenged by Democrat Adrian Cortes, a special education teacher for Camas School District, chair of the C-TRAN Board and a member of the Battle Ground City Council. Medvigy is endorsed by SW Washington CLC. Cortes is endorsed by ATU Local 757. Evergreen School Board Position 2 Bethany Rivard, a high school the- ater and literature teacher in the Van- couver School District, is running against incumbent Rob Perkins, who was on the board when the district withheld state funds for teacher raises, which led to a 13-day strike last year. Rivard is a former labor council delegate and was named Union Mem- ber of the Year by the Labor Round- table of SW Washington. Evergreen Education Association, IBEW 48, SW Washington CLC, Laborers 335, Fire Fight- ers 452 Evergreen School Board Position 4 Rachael Rogers, Clark County senior deputy prosecutor, was appointed to the board in February. SW Washington CLC Vancouver Port Commission Jack Burkman is a longtime former Vancouver City Council member. SW Washington CLC, IBEW 48 burkman- forport.com Vancouver City Council Position 2 Erik Paulsen, a banker, is the incum- bent. SW Washington CLC, Fire Fighters 452 ep4cc.com Vancouver City Council Position 4 Bart Hansen, the incumbent, was first elected in 2010 and serves as Mayor Pro Tem. He is unopposed. SW Washington CLC, ATU 757, Fire Fight- ers 452 Vancouver City Council Position 5 Ty Stober, the incumbent, is an advo- cate for union rights, apprenticeship, and affordable housing. SW Washing- ton CLC, Fire Fighters 452, Vancouver Edu- cation Association, UFCW 555, ATU 757, Pacific NW Regional Council of Carpenters, Laborers 335 votety.com Vancouver City Council Position 6 Sarah Fox is a city planner. SW Wash- ington CLC Vancouver School Board Position 4 Lisa Messer is a high school science teacher and proud teachers union member. SW Washington CLC, Vancou- ver Education Association, IBEW 48, La- borers 335 lisaforvancouver.com Vancouver School Board Position 5 Tracie Barrows is a school psycholo- gist and union member. SW Washing- ton CLC, Vancouver Education Association, IBEW 48, Fire Fighters 452, Laborers 335.
