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About Northwest labor press. (Portland , Ore.) 1987-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 3, 2020)
PAGE 2 | January 3, 2020 | NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS ...Columbia Sportswear ripe for a union From Page 1 (International Standard Serial Number 0894-444X) Established in 1900 in Portland, Oregon as a voice of the la- bor movement. Published on a semi-monthly basis on the first and third Fridays of each month by the Oregon Labor Press Publishing Co. Inc., a non-profit mutual benefit corpo- ration owned by 20 unions and councils including the Ore- gon AFL-CIO. Serving more than 120 union organizations in Oregon and Southwest Washington. Office location: 4275 NE Halsey St., Portland, Oregon Mailing address: P.O. Box 13150, Portland, OR 97213 Phone: (503) 288-3311 Web address: http://nwlaborpress.org Editor & Manager: Michael Gutwig Senior staff reporter: Don McIntosh Office manager: Jill Lukens Printed on recycled paper, using soy-based inks, by members of Teamsters Local 747-M. SUBSCRIPTIONS: Individual subscriptions are $15 a year for union members, $23 a year for all others. Pay by credit card online at nwlaborpress.org/subscribe, or send a check to our mailing address (above) along with your name, address and union affiliation, if any. Group rates of 47 cents an issue per member — $11.28 a year are available for 25 or more subscriptions; call 503-288-3311 for details. CORRECTIONS: See an error? Please let us know at editor@nwlaborpress.org or by phone at 503-288-3311. PERIODICALS POSTAGE PAID AT PORTLAND, OREGON. CHANGE OF ADDRESS: If you move, let us know at nwlaborpress.org/subscriber-services or by mail at our mailing address (above). Be sure to provide your old and new addresses and the name/number of your local union. Please allow three weeks for the change to take effect. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS P.O. BOX 13150 PORTLAND, OR 97213-0150 Low Prices! Coats, etc. Mon-Fri 9-6, Sat 9:30-5:30, Sun 12-6 PLEASE SHOW OUR ADVERTISERS YOU APPRECIATE THEIR SUPPORT FOR THIS LABOR MOVEMENT NEWSPAPER! were raised: Who would pay for it? What if employees steal band- aids? Neither Williams nor any- one else would take action. After months of trying to get first-aid kits restocked, Gatto stopped trying. But he knew something was wrong. How could a company where a cloud- based warehouse management system tracks every article of clothing be unable to keep band- aids in stock for injured employ- ees? Why would a company that thanked workers for record pro- ductivity every quarter be unwill- ing to attend to something so small? The failed band-aid crusade opened Gatto’s eyes, and he started talking with co-workers about what he was seeing. What it’s like to work there None of them had any problem with the work itself. But beyond that, there were many com- plaints. With little or no climate control or insulation, the 182,860-square-foot metal box they work in is like a refrigerator in winter, and parts can be sti- flingly hot in the summer. Fre- quent last-minute schedule changes wreak havoc on em- ployees’ personal lives.Workers Unable to get Columbia Sportswear managers to keep first aid kits stocked, Rory Gatto started talking with co-workers, and a union campaign began. also have no say over major changes: Managers recently eliminated the top of a pay scale, and changed the workweek from four 10-hour shifts to five eight- hour shifts. Workers are subject to computer-tracked perform- ance goals, contributing to a high-pressure environment — for some pretty low wages. Wages that range from the legal minimum wage to just under $20 an hour aren’t enough in the Portland metro area, where me- dian rent on a one-bedroom apartment is now $1,234 a month. Clearly, Columbia Sportswear knows wages are too low: Signs in the break room direct workers to a phone number where they can access the Oregon Food Bank. And the company spon- sors employee donation drives several times a year in which workers donate to help co-work- ers who can’t afford school sup- plies and Christmas presents for their families. By the summer of 2019, Gatto and some of his co-workers were ready to act. Gatto called Team- sters Local 162, one of several Portland-area Teamsters locals that represents warehouse work- ers, asking for help. It wasn’t the first time the union had heard from workers there, says Local 162 President Mark Davison. Pay, benefits, and working conditions at the Co- lumbia Sportswear distribution center are far below local union standards for the thousands of warehouse workers represented by the locals that make up Team- sters Joint Council 37. But a union isn’t something outsiders can win for you; workers them- selves must become active, form an organizing committee, and mount a campaign in the work- place. Columbia warehouse workers never seemed ready for that before, Davison said. This time, things were different. A group of workers formed, began to meet, and created a community via Discord, a text chat channel originally devel- oped for gamers. They got to know each other, and started spreading the word. Seeing that readiness, Local 162 asked the international union for support. Experienced union organizers ar- rived in Portland to support the campaign. The union-busters arrive On Oct. 1, Alonzo Plater, Colum- bia Sportswear vice president of global distribution, called an all- employee meeting for each shift. “We’ve started to hear some rumors about conversations with the Teamsters Union,” Plater told the assembled workers, in one of several recordings made by workers who attended. “One of the things I love about our culture is that we’re so open Turn to Page 6
