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About Northwest labor press. (Portland , Ore.) 1987-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 17, 2020)
PAGE 2 | January 17, 2020 | NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS (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 Oregon Democrats meet with public workers whose retirement contributions they voted to cut In the basement at Oregon AFL- accounts — and “redirected” the CIO headquarters, Oregon’s savings to refill the underfunded House Speaker Tina Kotek and Oregon’s Public Employee Re- fellow Portland House Democ- tirement System (PERS). rat Rob Nosse came face to face Kotek, who had told the Oregon Jan. 10 with several dozen pub- AFL-CIO she wouldn’t cut pub- lic workers whose retirement lic employee retirement bene- savings they voted to cut last fits, had led passage of the leg- year. It was a gloomy meeting islation together with Oregon that left no one satisfied. Senate President Peter Court- Most in attendance were ney. Nosse, a union rep for the members of IBEW Local 48, Oregon Nurses Association, which organized the event, but voted for it, even though it re- co-workers in AFSCME Local duced the compensation of 189, Laborers Local 483, and some of his union’s own mem- Plumbers and Fitters Local 290 bers. who work for the City of Port- Under SB 1049, the diversion land and Portland Public of funds will go on for 10 to 15 Schools were also in attendance. years, until PERS is restored to Graham Trainor, president of 90% funding. More senior em- the Oregon ployees who are AFL-CIO, in the more gen- opened the erous PERS “They seem to think meeting. Tiers 1 and 2 they have this solved. I The public are losing retire- employee ment savings don’t think anybody left union mem- account contri- feeling all that reassured.” bers came to butions equal to — IBEW Local 48 Union Rep hear Kotek 2.5% of their Kevin Jesequel and Nosse ex- salary. Less sen- plain Senate ior public em- Bill 1049, which among other ployees who have the less gen- things reduced contributions by erous defined benefit pension public employers to public known as OPSRP (Oregon Pub- workers’ individual retirement lic Service Retirement Plan), will lose contributions equal 0.75%. Employees with annual salaries under $30,000 are spared from the cuts. Kotek and Nosse told union members SB 1049 was the least bad solution to restore stability to the retirement system, which took a big hit in the 2008 finan- cial market crash. If Republi- cans had their way, they’d get rid of public employee pensions going forward, and offer just a 401(k) style retirement savings plan, Kotek and Nosse said. Since 1996, Oregon lawmak- ers have repeatedly reduced public employee retirement ben- efits. Some of the cuts and changes have been struck down in the courts. The cuts are part of a decades-long nationwide trend in both the public and private sector toward less secure retire- ments for workers. “They seem to think they have this solved,” Local 48 rep Kevin Jesequel said of Kotek and Nosse after the meeting. “I don’t think anybody left feeling all that reassured.” 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!
