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.