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About Northwest labor press. (Portland , Ore.) 1987-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 17, 2020)
NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS | January 17, 2020 | PAGE 3 UNIONIZATION ] NOV-DEC 2019 The following are Oregon and Southwest Washington workplaces where workers have decided whether to be represented by a union. The thumbs-up symbol means workers will be union- represented. Thumbs-down means they’ll be on their own. The information comes from the National Labor Relations Board and the Oregon Employment Relations Board. Union election results Employer (Location) Union Yes-No Swire Coca-Cola (Wilsonville) Teamsters Local 162 3-5 % 20-0 ^ 9-5 ^ 29-9 ^ ■ 8 checkers at a Coca-Cola distribution facility St. Charles Medical Center (Bend) ONA ■ 21 registered nurses in infusion and medical oncology Saint Alphonsus Medical Center (Baker City) ONA ■ 20 medical techs Grand Central Bakery (Portland) Bakers Local 114 ■ 44 production bakers and dishwashers at Northwest Portland wholesale bakery Willamette Valley Medical Center (McMinnville) ONA 109-13 ^ ■ 177 registered nurses Boise Cascade (Medford, White City) Pacific Northwest Carpenters 279-61 % ■ 375 workers at Medford plywood and White City laminated veneer lumber plants Unionization by majority signup Employer (Location) Union City of Salem (Salem) Salem Police Employees Union ■ 24 police sergeants City of Hillsboro (Hillsboro) Hillsboro Police Officers Association ■ 22 police sergeants and police records supervisors Salem Area Mass Transit District (Salem) ATU Local 757 ■ 10 operation supervisors WORKERS’ RIGHTS Station owner trying to bust union at KOIN-TV About 40 union-represented workers at KOIN 6-TV have been working without raises since their last union contract expired September 2017. On Jan. 8, they learned that station owner Nexstar Media Group — the largest owner of television stations in the United States — no longer recognizes their union. According to workers, KOIN station manager Pat Nevin said in meetings that Nexstar will no longer provide information to The National Association of Broadcast Employees & Tech- nicians (NABET) Local 51 or meet and negotiate with the union, and that workers don’t need to pay union dues any more, because the union no longer has the support of a ma- jority of workers. Local 51 is an affiliate of Communications Workers of America (CWA). That came as news to NA- BET-CWA staff representative Carrie Biggs-Adams. Biggs- Adams says the two sides last met to negotiate in December, and are scheduled to meet again Jan. 23-24 and Feb. 11-12. The union has filed several charges with the National Labor Rela- tions Board (NLRB) in the course of bargaining, accusing the company of refusing to bar- gain in good faith, and refusing to provide information neces- sary for the union to bargain. The NLRB found merit to at least some of the allegations, and a hearing before a federal judge is set for March 3. “It really is an anti-union es- calation of the highest order,” Biggs-Adams told the Labor Press. At KOIN, a Portland CBS af- filiate, NABET represents news photographers, engineers, edi- tors, assignment desk editors, directors, web producers, and commercial production work- ers. Texas-based Nexstar owns 170 TV stations and is capable of reaching 69% of Americans. It bought KOIN in 2017. Who’s on our side? By Graham Trainor Oregon AFL-CIO President We need labor law reform We hear a constant drumbeat of media coverage about the rosy economic pic- ture, GDP records being broken, and low unemployment rates. Meanwhile, we have refreshingly seen an uptick in coverage about economic inequality and the wealth divide, challenges fac- ing the working class, the homeless- ness crisis, and the face of poverty in America. But we rarely hear about the interconnectedness of today’s working class struggle and our nation’s eroded, undermined, and outdated labor laws. According to a recent study by the Economic Policy Institute, between 1978 and 2018, CEO compensation rose 940% compared to a 12% rise in pay for the average worker. We in the Labor Movement know that the only real check to ruthless, relentless greed in our economy is strong, thriving unions. But let’s look at the reality for workers today. Imagine this scenario: You and a group of coworkers have made it through the daunting task of forming your first union. You commence bar- gaining with your employer, who is legally required to do so, and you’re met by a brick wall. Your employer re- fuses to bargain in good faith, drags on the process for over a year, and forces your coworkers to lose confidence in the process and their ability to bargain a fair contract. Charges are filed with the NLRB, but the regional NLRB of- fice is so understaffed with a backlog of cases that further delays ensue. As you and your coworkers have grown frustrated by union-busting tactics, sev- eral have been cultivated by managers to oppose the union. They file a decer- tification petition aiming to formally remove the union that was just voted in by a majority of workers and are suc- cessful. Or imagine this: A group of workers is organizing their union when their employer flies in an out-of-state “union avoidance consultant.” This “consul- tant” schedules a special all-employee meeting aimed at deterring the organiz- ing effort. This meeting is followed up by mandatory one-on-one meetings with each employee where fear and in- timidation tactics are used to under- mine the workers ability to connect with enough of their coworkers to suc- ceed with their campaign. These types of scenarios might seem outlandish or far-fetched, because these types of tactics used by employers are seemingly illegal. Unfortunately, these and countless other ruthless tactics are used by the Corporate Agenda in Ore- gon and across the country everyday to silence the voice of working people. The “union avoidance” legal industry has grown to a multi-billion dollar in- dustry, and it’s had a string of suc- cesses. In fact, every single change to the 1935 Wagner Act, also known as the National Labor Relations Act, since it was passed has been an anti-worker change. Workers need a rewrite of our labor laws, and we need them fast. For the first time in a decade, a com- prehensive labor law reform bill is poised to move forward in the U.S. House of Representatives. The PRO (Protecting the Right to Organize) Act, H.R. 2474, has passed out of Commit- tee, but a vote on the floor of the U.S. House has been delayed for several months. After a group of over 70 Dem- ocratic members of the U.S. House, in- cluding our own Congresswoman Suzanne Bonamici, wrote a recent let- ter to Speaker Pelosi urging a swift vote on this critical bill, it appears that the vote could happen before Presi- dent’s Day. While this is an exciting step to ensure workers have an unfet- tered opportunity to join unions if they choose, it’s one of many steps needed to fix our broken economy. While nearly every single Demo- cratic member of Oregon’s Congres- sional delegation has signed onto the PRO Act as a co-sponsor, one disap- pointment has been Congressman Kurt Schrader who said he will not vote for the bill in its current form. Workers ex- pect more from their elected leaders, they are looking for champions. If lawmakers want to be a champion for workers, if they want to get real about fixing economic inequality, they MUST prioritize making it easier for more workers to join unions immedi- ately. Workers have been told to wait for change for far too long. The Oregon AFL-CIO is a 138,000-member-strong federa- tion of labor unions.
